Advanced Transact-SQL for SQL Server 2000 [Paperback]

Itzik Ben-Gan (Author), Tom Moreau (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2000

This book explores the powerful capabilities of T-SQL and helps you to exploit them to the max. The book tackles advanced areas in T-SQL such as joins, subqueries, stores procedures, triggers, user-defined functions, indexed views, cascading actions, federated views, hierarchial structures and more. The book shows solutions to common problems both in SQL server 2000 and in previous versions. Special emphasis is placed on practicular problems in the industry and on writing efficient and well performing code. The book does not stop at ANSI-92 SQL but also represents features that are particular to SQL Server, especially SQL Server 2000. To help you in your journey, the book provides many puzzles (and beware, these are not simple ones) and proposed solutions.
About the authors:
Itzik Ben-Gan is a senior SQL Server instructor and consultant with ten years of experience in networking, development, databases and data warehousing. He is a popular columnist and contributing editor for SQL Server Magazine, and is a Microsoft SQL Server MVP.
Dr. Tom Moreau is President of Brockman Moreau Consulting, Inc. with more than sixteen years of professional experience in Information Technology. Moreau has been using SQL Server since 1993. He writes regularly for Pinnacle's Microsoft SQL Server Professional newsletter.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Whether you are an experienced SQL Server developer or just starting, this is a must-have." -- British Computer Society, September 2001

About the Author

Itzik Ben-Gan is a senior SQL Server instructor and consultant with 10 years of experience in networking, development, databases, and data warehousing. He is a popular columnist and contributing editor for SQL Server Magazine. Highly certified, he is also a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer + Internet (MCSE+1), a Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD), a Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA), and a Microsoft SQL Server "Most Valuable Professional".

Tom Moreau, Ph.D. is an MCSE, MCDBA, and independent consultant specializing in Microsoft SQL Server database administration, design, and implementation, based out of the Toronto area. Tom is an SQL Server "Most Valuable Professional" and writes the monthly "Dr. Tom's Workshop" column for Pinnacle Publishing's SQL Server Professional newsletter.

Product Details

• Paperback: 814 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1st ed. 2000. Corr. 2nd printing edition (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893115828
• ISBN-13: 978-1893115828
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,514,643 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Itzik Ben-Gan is a Mentor and Co-Founder of SolidQ. A SQL Server Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) since 1999, Itzik has delivered numerous training events around the world focused on T-SQL Querying, Query Tuning and Programming. Itzik is the author of several books including Microsoft SQL Server 2008: T-SQL Fundamentals, Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2008: T-SQL Querying and Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2008: T-SQL Programming. He has written many articles for SQL Server Magazine as well as articles and whitepapers for MSDN. Itzik's speaking activities include TechEd, DevWeek, SQLPASS, SQL Server Magazine Connections, various user groups around the world, and SolidQ's events to name a few. Itzik is the author of SolidQ's Advanced T-SQL Querying, Programming and Tuning and T-SQL Fundamentals courses along with being a primary resource within the company for their T-SQL related activities.
For more details please visit http://www.SolidQ.com, http://www.InsideTSQL.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Desktop Reference for Transact-SQL, April 1, 2002

By 

Kevin Daugherty (Marysville, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Advanced Transact-SQL for SQL Server 2000 (Paperback)

I was a little surprised when I read some of the negative reviews on this book. It has become the most used book in my library of late and I find it very helpful and easy to use. The code examples are short, clear and to the point. The topics are well indexed and logically grouped, making it very easy to find examples of what I need to know. So many other books in this category are designed for either Database Administration or Developers embedding SQL in applications. This book is aimed at people who code SQL in MS SQL Server. It focuses on how to write the most optimized queries and gives practical tips that make it easier to write and debug SQL.

I am somewhere in between a Beginner and an Advanced user. I have been coding simple embedded SQL for 5 years as a VB developer and recently writing more complex stored procedures. This book has been the most practical SQL reference I have found, much more helpful than the online help. It is has not been a "waste of time" or "beginner level at best" for me. I have learned quite a bit about SQL from this book and I thought I was fairly knowledgeable before I read it.

Others in my department have also purchased this book and it has become the standard reference many of us use to answer SQL questions. If you are looking for a practical reference to common and advanced questions, you will find this book very useful.

36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Shallow to a fault, December 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Advanced Transact-SQL for SQL Server 2000 (Paperback)

One of the problems with a lot of computer books these days is that they try to cover a wide range of topics without _really_ delving into anything. This is one such book. It will tell you what a stored procedure is, how to code it, what some of the syntax is - the basics - without really going into the details. In other words, you won't learn anything from this book that you couldn't learn on your own in an afternoon with the Books Online and Query Analyzer. The SQL presented in this book is neither advanced nor SQL Server 2K specific, and I think you'd be wasting your money to buy it.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the better ones I have seen, July 2, 2002

By 

"sql3642" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Advanced Transact-SQL for SQL Server 2000 (Paperback)

I have been writing SQL for a few years, and I have almost every book on TSQL. When I glanced over this book, I thought it was pretty good, but I waited until I saw the reviews on Amazon.com to get a second opinion. As the reviews were mostly negative, I did not buy the book back then.

Then some time later and with some spare money in hand, I got to the bookstore and this was the ONLY book on TSQL that I did not already own. So I caved in and bought it. This was a very wise move! The help given to me by this book has made it a more than worthwhile investement. I have over 10 SQL servers and have to maintain and write code for all of them. This books has been extraordinary help.

I you know very little of SQL, do not buy this book, get an intro book instead. But if you have "some" experience with SQL, then this is a great book to get deeper into TSQL. I will change the way you write code and make you a better TSQL developer.

Which leads me to wonder about the SQL capabilities of the writers of those negative reviews.... hum ;-)