Pro SQL Server 2008 XML (Hardcover)

by Michael Coles (Author)
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Knowledge and ability to apply XML are de rigueur in today’s world, and SQL Server developers and administrators are no exception to that rule. Pro SQL Server 2008 XML is your key to unlocking the powerful XML feature set first introduced in SQL Server 2005 and since refined in SQL Server 2008. Author Michael Coles shows how to store XML using SQL Server’s built–in XML data type. Learn to query and manipulate XML data using standard technologies such as XQuery and XSLT. No SQL Server database professional can afford to be without knowledge of the XML feature set. Pro SQL Server 2008 XML delivers on the knowledge that you need to remain competitive in your career.

• Shows how to store, query, and manipulate XML documents in SQL Server
• Provides step–by–step examples showing best practices and advanced features
• Accurately discusses how SQL Server’s XML feature set stacks up against the ISO XML standards

What you’ll learn

• Store XML documents using SQL Server’s built–in XML data type.
• Query those stored documents using SQL/XML and XQuery.
• Manipulate and transform XML using XSLT and XPath.
• Understand how SQL Server’s XML support compares to the ISO XML standards.
• Create SOAP endpoints for use in web services applications.
• Create primary and secondary XML indexes to improve performance of XML queries.

Who is this book for?

SQL Server SQL/T–SQL developers and .NET developers who want to take advantage of the specific server–side XML functionality available in SQL Server 2008

About the Apress Pro Series

The Apress Pro series books are practical, professional tutorials to keep you on and moving up the professional ladder.

You have gotten the job, now you need to hone your skills in these tough competitive times. The Apress Pro series expands your skills and expertise in exactly the areas you need. Master the content of a Pro book, and you will always be able to get the job done in a professional development project. Written by experts in their field, Pro series books from Apress give you the hard–won solutions to problems you will face in your professional programming career.

About the Author

Michael Coles has over a decade’s experience designing and administering SQL Server databases. A prolific writer of articles on all aspects of SQL Server, particularly on the expert use of T–SQL, he holds MCDBA and MCP certifications. He received a bachelor’s of science (magna cum laude) in information technology from American Intercontinental University. A member of the United States Army Reserve, he was activated for two years following 9/11.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Apress (May 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590599837
• ISBN-13: 978-1590599839
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #248,725 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #9 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Databases > XML & Databases
  #51 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Programming > Languages & Tools > XML

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ultimate XML Reference for SQL Server 2008, June 23, 2008

By	A. Rocco (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Pro SQL Server 2008 XML book dives right into the details of XML from the first page. This book was written by a developer for developers, and the author goes to great lengths to demonstrate all the concepts presented in the book. In my opinion, this book scores highly in many areas.

The author assumes a basic knowledge of SQL, but he thoroughly explains every step of SQL Server's XML functionality along the way. The book even compares and contrasts the SQL Server implementation of XML to the W3C and ISO standards, pointing out where the SQL Server implementation differs.

However, while the book assumes this basic understanding, any developer interested in getting the most out of SQL Server's XML functions will find the book both informative and enjoyable. The author goes to great lengths to explain XML and why it's relevant in the database. This is absolutely the best reference for SQL Server XML that I've seen.


The author provides what he calls "Cross-Platform Tips" at various points to call attention to limitations of the SQL Server implementation, or areas where it differs from the standards. These types of tips, generously portioned throughout the book, are designed to keep people from wasting hours trying to figure out why the XQuery code sample they copied from the Internet (or some other source) isn't working as advertised on SQL Server. While this book is written for SQL Server 2008, much of the functionality described works with (or is similar to) SQL Server 2005 functionality (as the author points out, some notable exceptions include the added support for Geography Markup Language "GML", and the FLWOR statement "let" clause). As the book explains, the difference between SQL Server 2005 XML functionality and SQL Server 2008 XML functionality is not nearly as large as the leap was from SQL 2000 to 2005. New SQL Server 2008 features aside, this book works equally well as a reference to SQL Server 2005 XML functionality!



Another thing I like about this book is that the author builds on the code samples from one chapter to the next. There is a particularly detailed example of a hierarchical "bill of materials" that the author continually adds newly introduced functionality to over the course of a few chapters. He uses this example to demonstrate how to layer XML functionality to build an intricate application from a very basic premise. I really like the fact that this book provides examples and addresses the problems that most books go out of their way to avoid. Where many books give you a simple top-down hierarchical organization chart that's been done 100 times by 100 different people, this book gives you recursive XML Schemas. Instead of just rehashing the well-advertised SQL Server limitation that Document Type Definitions can't be used to validate your XML this book gives you working examples of code to get around the issue. The book provides many more real world examples, with some pretty intriguing ideas as well (like grabbing an XML RSS feed or searching eBay directly from SQL Server). A nice bonus: Almost all examples are designed to run directly in the AdventureWorks 2008 sample database, and all are freely downloadable from the publisher's website.



And this book doesn't just stop at the server. The author provides analysis of client-side tools including LINQ to XML, SQLXML, HTTP SOAP Endpoints, and a wide supporting cast of XML support tools - many that are provided "out of the box" with SQL Server.


This is the ultimate reference for all things XML on SQL Server 2008.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!. Finally a book that brings so many answers to your questions!! , June 12, 2008

By	Rosa M. Lopez - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was amazed to see how well this book explain the concept of Spatial Data and all different techniques of loading and transforming XML from diverse format and systems. It shows so many examples at a very granular level. This book is a "must read" for everyone that has any interest on learning great powerful XML techniques on SQL Server 2008. It is definitely great!

Rosa Lopez
MS Information Systems