Introducing SQL Server

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxiii

   PDF

2. What Is SQL Server?

   • Mike McQuillan

   Pages 1-5

3. Obtaining and Installing SQL Server

   • Mike McQuillan

   Pages 7-32

4. Database Basics

   • Mike McQuillan

   Pages 33-51

5. Tables

   • Mike McQuillan

   Pages 53-69

6. Putting Good Tables Together

   • Mike McQuillan

   Pages 71-95

7. Automating Deployment with SQLCMD

   • Mike McQuillan

   Pages 97-106

8. NULLs and Table Constraints

   • Mike McQuillan

   Pages 107-128

9. DML (or Inserts, Updates, and Deletes)

   • Mike McQuillan

   Pages 129-141

10. Bulk Inserting Data

    • Mike McQuillan

    Pages 143-162

11. Creating Data Import Scripts

    • Mike McQuillan

    Pages 163-176

12. The SELECT Statement

    • Mike McQuillan

    Pages 177-192

13. Joining Tables

    • Mike McQuillan

    Pages 193-222

14. Views

    • Mike McQuillan

    Pages 223-234

15. Indexes

    • Mike McQuillan

    Pages 235-263

16. Transactions

    • Mike McQuillan

    Pages 265-281

17. Functions

    • Mike McQuillan

    Pages 283-304

18. Table-Valued Functions

    • Mike McQuillan

    Pages 305-318

19. Stored Procedures—Part 1

    • Mike McQuillan

    Pages 319-335

20. Stored Procedures—Part 2

    • Mike McQuillan

    Pages 337-348

Introducing SQL Server is a fast and easy introduction to SQL Server and the world of relational databases. You’ll learn how databases work and how to use the T-SQL language by practicing on one of the most widely-used and powerful database engines in the corporate world: Microsoft SQL Server.

Do you quake at the sight of a SELECT statement? Start to shiver when people start talking about tables and rows? Fear not, Introducing SQL Server is here to rescue you. The book focuses on the knowledge and skills needed to begin your journey toward becoming a solid and competent SQL Server professional and database programmer. You’ll learn the core concepts of SQL Server, from installing the software to executing and profiling queries.

Introducing SQL Server is aimed at SQL Server newcomers as well as at those wanting to improve their database skills. You’ll put a comprehensive database together as you work through the book. You will create tables and learn to use constraints; create reusable functions and stored procedures; and even learn how indexes work and what they bring in terms of increased performance. Introducing SQL Server shows you that databases don’t need to be difficult.

• Teaches you how to build a SQL Server database from scratch
• Takes a tutorial-based approach, with each chapter building on the last
• Covers what you need to know for common SQL Server development tasks

Mike McQuillan is a software and database specialist who lives with his wife and daughter in the United Kingdom. Mike is a polyglot programmer who began messing around with computers in the 1980s, firstly with an Atari 800XL and then a Sinclair Spectrum. He took up databases in the 1990s, and quickly fell in love with SQL. He’s been working with SQL Server since version 7, and is a SQL Server MCSA. When he’s not tinkering with computers, Mike enjoys taking the family on walks around Cheshire with the family pups, Dolly and Bertie.

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