 | | |
| Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005: T-SQL Querying (Solid Quality Learning) | 
| Authors: Itzik Ben-gan, Lubor Kollar, Dejan Sarka
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Category: Book
List Price: $44.99
Buy New: $26.47
You Save: $18.52 (41%)
Buy New/Used from $26.47
Avg. Customer Rating:  (29 reviews)
Sales Rank: 16130
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 632
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.7
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6.9 x 1.6
ISBN: 0735623139
Dewey Decimal Number: 005.7565
EAN: 9780735623132
ASIN: 0735623139
Publication Date: April 26, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Must Have December 20, 2006
37 out of 40 found this review helpful
This will be a standard book on most DBA's desktops. Itzik Ben-Gan of Solid Quality Learning has taken the Advanced T-SQL course that he teaches and turned it into a fantastic book.
The first two chapters cover the logic of query processing and what physically occurs when you run a query. Very early on Itzik establishes a practice of defining a problem or a question about T-SQL and then spends time working through the solution. This approach carries through the entire book. This not only allows the user to see the problem solving approach in action, but enables the user in pursuing the solutions themselves. Itzik takes the time to lay out a very detailed methodology for identifying and tuning problem queries from the server, through the database, down to the query that's causing the problems. From these foundation chapters he explores topics such as Subqueries and Table Expressions, Joins and Set Operations, Aggregating and Pivoting Data, Top and Apply, Data Modification and finally Graphs, Hierarchies and Recursive Queries.
The greatest thing about the book is that Itzik really explores his solutions. He walks the user into a mind set that accepts only set based operations as the norm for data access. He shows multiple solutions to many of the problems and outlines where and how those solutions differ. This book acts as a good mechanism for actually learning the details of how to use T-SQL withing SQL Server 2005. He also points out where there are differences from 2000 and supplies 2000 only solutions to a lot of the problems, which can help those that need to maintain two code bases. He regularly uses and addresses 2005 functionality so there is zero indications of this being a 2000 book warmed over for re-publication.
Make no mistakes here. This is a high-end book. If you're just getting started in T-SQL, you may want to start out somewhere else. If, after getting down the concepts of SELECT.. FROM... WHERE... GROUP BY... ORDER BY, etc., then come back here and learn what happens and the right reasons to do the right things with the scripts that you write.
I work primarily as a database developer, doing database design from logical models and business requirements and then developing stored procedures, etc., for accessing data from those databases. This kind of information is absolutely vital to doing the best job I can. I think I was predisposed to like this work, but I've actually been picking it up during the day to refer back to points that were unclear to me or that I want to better communicate to others, especially from the first two chapters.
An essential read for serious T-SQL developers November 26, 2006
19 out of 20 found this review helpful
As someone quite familiar with Itzik Ben-Gan's work, I expected this to be a really good book. But since I've been reading about and working with SQL Server 2005 since early betas, I didn't expect to learn much. I was, as it turned out, wrong on both counts.
This book surpassed all of my expectations. It's more than just a really good book -- it's a great book -- and I learned quite a bit from reading it. Itzik and his co-authors have a knack for explaining every idea, down to the minute details that you might miss in other books or documentation. The examples are clear and precise, and the author team has done a great job of making even complex topics crystal clear.
This is certainly not a book for beginners; intermediate and advanced practitioners will want to use this book to help get more out of SQL Server. Learn the basics of T-SQL and SQL Server before tackling this one if you want to take full advantage of what it has to offer.
The bright side of SQL November 19, 2006
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
How many times in your life you expect something to be great,
and later find out that it is actually even better than what you've expected?
Reading this book, for me, was one of those times.
I think that in order to expertise in something you have to gain strong knowledge of the basics.
Itzik Ben-Gan lays for you the foundations to build your SQL expertise.
From the first chapter in which Itzik describes the Logical Query Processing Phases through the second chapter, in which Lubor Kollar explains about the Physical Query Processing and through the rest of the book where Itzik doesn't just give you SQL code the works in real life (and it works, believe me I tried), but also explains to you why and how you get the results.
Even tough it is not stated on the book cover you also get best solutions for SQL 2000 in addition to best solutions for SQL 2005 for almost every subject that is presented in the book.
Another bonus that I found is a description of the Tuning Methodology that was developed by Solid Quality Learning.
Even tough the explanations are very clear, in my opinion, don't expect everything to be obvious at first read. Some of the things require a deeper thinking.
I think this book is much more than just a help to improve your SQL code.
This book shows the beauty of SQL.
 SQL Developers' Helper November 7, 2006
I bought this book because of its positive rating. I was not expecting whole lots of scripting samples. The books has many T-SQL scripts that guide you through some common tasks developers faced. I was able to use Scripting in Cursor to clean the records inside the database which I didn't know how to do it previously. Now I can assign the job(Cursor) which I wrote in SQL Server to clean up my database during off peak hour(2 A.M everyday) using SQL Server Agent's DTS package. The scripting in "Cursor" is expensive and resource intense but useful if you use it properly that's why I assign the job to my SQL Server when it is least demanding. The SQL server is running rock solid and faster now! This book tell you what to do and not to do on SQL server which I am practicing as I learned. I would recommand this book to anyone interested to expanding their SQL Skills and SQL 2005 Server knowledge.
A really Solid Quality Book October 18, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book and its companion "T-SQL Programming" are two great books, they are not for beginners and in some part requires a full immersion, they are not an easy reading... but at the end you you will have a really deep understanding of the topics they covers. I've found really useful to read it two times, the second one I've noticed that a lot of sentences takes a new light after you've a whole overview of all the topics. A definitively must have. Both !
|
|
|
Powered by: Dknc, inc. and Amazon.com | | 
For your safety and security, orders are processed through amazon.com
|
|
|
|
