Customer Reviews

Professional SQL Server 7.0 Programming

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A truely do-it-all book. Robert Vieira has written the Transact-SQL programmer's dream. Not only is it a good reference for the more advanced DBA, but makes a decent beginner's guide (the book is not a "teach yourself", but rather for a beginner who has completed some SQL Server basics). This is the book for the beginner who wants to move through intermediate to advanced topics. The book covers:

I. Particulars and History - Building DB Connected Systems, Data Access Models.

II. RDBMS - The components of a SQL Server DB

III. Tools of the Trade - Client/Server Network Utilities, Enterprise Manager, DTS, MS DTC, Performance Monitor, Profiler, Query Analyzer, OSQL, Service Manager

Then The Good Stuff:

First the basics:

IV. The Foundation Statements of T-SQL - Select, Where, ETC.

V. Joining Tables - Inner/Outer, Cross, Full, Union

VI. Creating and Altering Tables

Then the Intermediate Stuff:

VII. Constraints - Primary Keys, Foreign Keys, Unique, Check, Default, Disabling, Rules, Triggers

VIII.Normalization and Basic Design Issues - Relationships, Diagramming, De-Normalizing, Examples

Then the Advanced Stuff:

IX. Speeding Performance: Storage and Index Structures

X. Views - Simple, Complex, Editing, etc.

XI. Writing Scripts and Batches - OSQL

XII. Code Storage: Stored Procedures - Intermediate to Advanced - This is pretty much exhaustivly covered. Includes error handling, control of flow.

XIII.Transactions and Locks - More advanced SProc handling, Checkpoints, Locks and Concurrancy, Handling Deadlocks

XIV. Triggers - A truely great chapter, untangling what is usually a badly explained subject.

And a lot more... Chapters 15 through 25 cover the really advanced subjects like: Advanced Queries, Distributed Queries/Transactions, SQL Cursors, BCP, DTS, Replication (in detail), Advanced DB Design, OLAP (in detail), English Query and Full Text Search, Security (very well done), Performance Tuning (in detail), Advanced Administration.

The appendices cover: Global Variables, Functions, Tools, Error Listing, Access Upsizing. An excellent index rounds out the package. If you are worried about coverage on any of the above topics...don't the book is a real luggable (1.5" thick, a couple of pounds in weight).

The only other book I would recommend to round out the SQL Server DBA's library would be MS Press' Administrator's Pocket Guide. You really won't need anything else! This book is a must have.

This book is somewhat of a rarity to me. Many of the other SQL books are, as you can well imagine, very boring. Rob Vieira does a great job making this book flow from subject to subject in such a way that it's almost a page turner. If you have any interest in SQL design (or admin), I'm sure you will find yourself reading this book much longer than originally intended. It is an excellent job.

Rob Vieira obviously has real world experience with SQL Server, and it shows between the covers of SQL Server 7 Programming. I'd suggest you read the book from cover to cover, all along the way picking up little tips and suggestions, remembering what you may have forgotten, and learning a whole lot of new tips and tricks that you never knew (or at least I didn't know about).

The book's title doesn't fairly represent the content in my opinion. This book covers almost everything about SQL 7 Server, from T-SQL basics through OLAP, tuning, replication (a great chapter), etc. If there is a "bible" for SQL 7 Server, this book is it.

Most technical books on advanced subjects leave much to be desired. They are often too academic and are for the most part a repeat of the manufacturers standard literature, (for example Microsoft's literature). Robert Viera has written a book that is easy enough for the beginner to follow and yet aimed at the serious professional dealing with real world technical problems.

Professional SQL Server 7.0 Programming tacles the challenges that programmers face in the real world and it does it with in-depth discussion and examples. You hardly need to refere to other sources for more information.

What's more, I was pleasantly amazed when the author returned my email cry for help within a half hour. I was faced with a Microsoft bug in SQL 7 and Microsoft tech support was no where to be found. Mr. Vieira's prompt response saved the day. I don't expect the author to substitute for Microsoft technical support, but the incident convinced me that he was a working programmer's writing from the view point of a programmer.

I look forwards to buying any other books that he will author. How about one on MS Visual Interdev or ASP?

If you're looking for a well-organized and well-written approach to SQL7, this is the one. I looked at a few other, supposedly high-ranked books, and trust me, this one blows them all away.

The material is very broad, yet you never feel overwhelmed, as you move from one topic to another in an orderly and logical fashion. The author is both very technically knowledgeable and actually able to communicate; often a rare combination. In addition, the author's credentials are quite impressive (MCSD, MCDBA), having even participated in the authoring of exam 70-029 (for those of you pursuing certification). While this is not a certification text, all of the topic material is definitely applicable.

In terms of depth, this is probably a 7/8 on scale of 10. There are always going to be issues that aren't covered, but that's what BOL and other forums are for. Having said that, I do find the book to be pretty deep, and it does give a detailed overview of all relevant areas.

I can't say enough good about this one.

This book is THE book when you want to learn SQL Serever 7 Databases. I passed the SQL Server 7.0 Database Design and Implementation exam 70-029 by studying this book! Its VERY clearly written. Anyone who has a concept of what SQL Server does and is, can master it by using this book. And guess what?, it has enough gun powder regarding SQL Server 7.0 to help you actually pass the 70-028 Admin exam as well! Last but not least, it is THE perfect companion for the DBA. I think many managers around the globe will be able to sleep at night if DBA's start using this wonderful book. I had a few problems with some topics...guess what..i e-mailed Mr. Robert Viera asking him to explain those topics. He replied within half a day!....its amazing! A man of such wisdom actually HAS time for his readers....and not only that he sent me a detailed e-mail of several paragraphs! Which i personally think is very impressive.

Anyway....what i had to say, said it....now its up to you the reader of this review to either remain in the dark or excel in the glittery world of SQL Server 7.0.

I REALLY Recommend this BOOK!

This is absolutely the best SQL Server 7.0 development book on the market. I had done a reasonable amount of SQL Server 6.x development in the past, but then spent almost two years working on other things. When a client asked me to do a 7.0 project I went rushing out for a book to get me back up to speed. I bought this one based on the previous reviews and it was some of the best money I've ever spent on a programming book.

Robert is obviously a professional SQL Server programmer who clearly understands exactly what's important and what's not. He's also an excellent writer, which makes the book a very enjoyable read. This book is not for beginners or academics, but for working programmers. Robert wastes no time on unnecessary introductory-level material or obscure technical details that you're unlikely to ever need. He gets right to the point and stays there.

I'd usually indicate which parts of a book I thought were particularly noteworthy, but after flipping back through the chapters I have to say this book is just uniformly excellent. My only complaint, which unfortunately applies to almost every programming book I've bought over the past few years, is that the book contained numerous minor typographical errors. This was a failure on the part of the editors, however, and none of the typos interfered with the technical quality of the material.

I have used *almost* all of the books on the market to bring me up to speed with SQL Server 7 and this book is the best to date. The best part, in my opinion, is the coverage on cursors. I have avoided using them like they were the plague, but this book brought to light the proper usage and handeling of cursors.

Not only does this book cover DTS and other features I needed for a project, but the book made it easy from the sample code included.

This book, along with Professional SQL Server 7 Programming will make any developers like much easier. Note: There is no ADO specific code samples, this is strictly on Transact-SQL (T-SQL).

Great book!

Having developed in SQL for the past 6 months, I had a pretty good understanding of SQL but this book offered more than just the chapters on Triggers and Stored Procedures I had bought it for. This book uses the ANSI standard convention of joining tables rather than the older 'standard' use of the WHERE clause. (It does cover the 'Standard' way as well.) This book actually is more intuitive than the QUE SQL book I have borrowed on a few occassions and far out does the other books I have read. You should only buy this if you want to learn SQL quickly. If you don't like learning things quickly and would rather suffer, might I recommend the "learn it in umpteenth hours or day" books or go to the little red headed Canadian guy named Iain in your office and ask for help as he breathes his skank breath on you and shows you his weapons of the week.

Let me start off by saying that I am not a DBA, nor do I have any desire to become one. I am an Internet Developer, which means I take care of all the back-end programming of a Web site (ASP, COM, SQL). I finally lost my last favor with questions to our DBAs, and this book is quite an excellent replacement.

I like the way the book is broken down. Vieira separates elementary, intermediate, and advanced concepts quite nicely. I particularly like the way the chapters are broken down by function, such as a chapter for triggers, a chapter for Stored Procedures, etc. When I have a problem, I turn immediately to the chapter.

The appendices are set up nicely too, although I would've liked to have seen an appendix dedicated to the internal stored procedures, and perhaps SQL keywords.

Having said all that, I would recommend this book to the developers, not the DBAs. If you need a SQL backend, and your DBA is cranky, you're best bet is to buy this book!

This has replaced 'Transact-SQL' as my favourite SQL Server book. Written by a programmer for a programmer. This is probably one of very few 1000+ pages non-reference technical books where 1000+ pages is just about the right size. He doesn't pad, talks down or preaches (too much) but gives quite a lot of good practical advise. I would normally be happy if I found 40% of a technical book useful, in this case I would probably read the whole book again just because ...

I want more.