Microsoft Sams Teach Yourself SQL Server 2005 Express in 24 Hours [Paperback]

Alison Balter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 26, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0672327414 | ISBN-13: 978-0672327414

Written with clarity and a down-to-earth approach, Sams Teach Yourself SQL Server 2005 Express in 24 Hours covers the basics of Microsoft's latest version of SQL Server. Expert author Alison Balter takes you from basic concepts to an intermediate level in 24 one-hour lessons. You will learn all of the basic tasks necessary for the administration of SQL Server 2005. You will also learn how to write and fully utilize:

• SQL Server stored procedures
• Functions
• Triggers using T-SQL, VB.NET, and C#

You will also learn how to output SQL Server data to reports and the Internet. Sams Teach Yourself SQL Server 2005 Express in 24 Hours is a well-organized, authoritative introduction that will quickly have you up and running with SQL Server 2005.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alison Balter is the founder of InfoTechnology Partners, Inc., a California-based computer consulting firm. Alison is a highly experienced independent trainer and consultant, specializing in the development of client/server applications using SQL Server, which gives her the practical experience needed to bring real-life examples to this book. During her twenty years in the computer industry, she has trained and consulted with many corporations and government agencies, including Shell Oil, Prudential Insurance and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Alison is also the author of over 300 internationally marketed computer training videos.

Product Details

• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: Sams (June 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672327414
• ISBN-13: 978-0672327414
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #878,938 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Alison Balter is the founder of InfoTechnology Partners, Inc., a computer consulting firm in California. She is a highly experienced trainer and consultant, specializing in Windows applications. During her 17 years in the computer industry, she has helped many Fortune 500 corporations as well as government agencies. The author of over 300 internationally-marketed computer training videos for KeyStone Learning Systems Corporation, Alison has also written several bestselling books for Sams Publishing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Reference Book from experience IT person, September 3, 2006

By 

Douglas Mackay (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Microsoft Sams Teach Yourself SQL Server 2005 Express in 24 Hours (Paperback)

I was not going to write a review- this is my first. I have read Ms Balter's SQL Server 2005 Exp & can say I found many fine examples of fundamental SQL action queries to triggers, T-SQL coding, database security to writing VB.NET and ADO for creating stored procedures. I have read other books - Murach's Introduction to VB.NET and Murach's SQL for SQL SERVER etc. This book is worth the price of those others. In my opinion and experience it is a good "fundamental and introductory" SQL 2005 book. The 1 problem I had was finding the T-SQL and VB.NET source code.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Hands-on Introductory Book, January 23, 2007

By 

Gary G. Frank (Green Bay, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Microsoft Sams Teach Yourself SQL Server 2005 Express in 24 Hours (Paperback)

I wanted a book that taught me how to use SQL Server Express so that I could use the free version of Microsoft's database for small projects. I did get that, and I also got hands-on training that gave concise information about SQL Server 2005 in general. The major topics were all covered, including database concepts, how to create and administer a database, the SQL statements to access it, and Stored Procedures. The point of this book is to present just enough material so that you have an overall understanding of SQL Server 2005 Express and how to code and administer it. It provides small exercises that allow you to test out and "own" the material as you move along. It gets you up-to-speed. Then after reading this book, a person can pick up other books such as "Murach's SQL Server 2005 for developers" in order to get more detail about these topics. It really helped me to get jump-started on both SQL Server 2005 Express and SQL Server 2005.

The CD that came with the book contains SQL Server Managment Studio Express, which is Microsoft's free tool to administer the database, and Visual [...] Express. I installed them on the machine at the customer site, and it was all that I needed to get the project completed. This book is what you need when you want to get a basic understanding of SQL Server 2005 and learn enough to do productive work with it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't bother looking at this book., October 25, 2007

By 

Val "the cookie fairy" (Texas) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Microsoft Sams Teach Yourself SQL Server 2005 Express in 24 Hours (Paperback)

I would not recommend this book to anyone. It pontificates in a grandiose manner, assuming you'll be impressed by the big words even though they say nothing. If you are looking for a tutorial, this book does not walk you through the processes and sometimes even leads you astray without explaining or helping you through the errors. It doesn't even tell you when you're working in a different database or where to go to get that database so you can continue to follow along. It's not even useful as a reference book. It will tell you a command and if the command requires a code, it just says you need a code. When we did an internet search to find out more about the code, it was explained in one line. Would it have made the book too long to add one more sentence? As someone new to SQL, I found this book to be a complete waste of money and time.

I agree with all the poor ratings listed here - I had not read them before because I bought the book as part of a group at work where we would all be learning together. We are all programmers in other disciplines and most dropped out of the class because this book is so bad. It's funny how some of the good ratings here have to explain how you get around the problems so you can learn from the book - DOES THAT TELL YOU SOMETHING???