Pro SQL Server 2008 Relational Database Design and Implementation (Expert's Voice in SQL Server) [Paperback]

Louis Davidson (Author), Kevin Kline (Author), Scott Klein (Author), Kurt Windisch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 2008 | ISBN-10: 143020866X | ISBN-13: 978-1430208662 | Edition: 1

Learn effective and scalable database design techniques in a SQL Server environment. Pro SQL Server 2008 Relational Database Design and Implementation covers everything from design logic that business users will understand, all the way to the physical implementation of the design in a SQL Server database. Grounded in best practices and a solid understanding of the underlying theory, authors Louis Davidson, Kevin Kline, Scott Klein, and Kurt Windisch show how to 'get it right' in SQL Server database design and lay a solid groundwork for the future use of valuable business data.

• Solid foundation in best practices and relational theory
• Maximize SQL Server features to enhance security, performance, scalability
• Thorough treatment from conceptual design to an effective, physical implementation

What you’ll learn

• Develop conceptual models of client data using interviews and client documentation
• Normalize data models to enhance scalability and the long term use of valuable data
• Translate conceptual models into high-performing SQL Server databases
• Secure and protect the integrity of data as part of meeting regulatory requirements
• Take full advantage of new SQL Server features such as the spatial datatype, XML support, transparent data encryption, and more
• Create effective indexing to speed query performance

Who this book is for

Pro SQL Server 2008 Relational Database Design and Implementation is designed for programmers of all types who want to use SQL Server 2008 to store data. Rookie database programmers will find a complete course on the fundamentals of database design that includes conceptual designs and physical implementation. Seasoned veterans will find many tips and tricks for implementing database systems that will be well worth the time invested in reading this book.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Louis Davidson has been in the IT industry for more than 15 years as a corporate database developer and architect. He has spent the majority of his career working with Microsoft SQL Server, beginning from the early days of version 1.0. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in computer science, with a minor in mathematics. Louis is the data architect for Compass Technology (Compass.net) in Chesapeake, Virginia, leading database development on their suite of nonprofit–oriented CRM products, built on the Microsoft CRM platform and SQL Server technologies.

Kevin Kline is the technical strategy manager for SQL Server solutions at Quest Software, a leading provider of award-winning tools for database management and application monitoring on the SQL Server platform. Kevin is the president of the international Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS). He has been a Microsoft SQL Server "Most Valuable Professional" since 2004. Kevin is the lead author of SQL in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (O'Reilly, 2004) and Transact-SQL Programming (O'Reilly, 1999). Kevin writes the monthly SQL Server Drilldown column for Database Trends & Applications, blogs at SQLMag.com, and is a resident expert at SearchSQLServer.com. Kevin is a top-rated speaker, appearing at international conferences such as Microsoft TechEd, DevTeach, PASS, Microsoft IT Forum, and SQL Connections. When he's not pulling his hair out over work, he loves to spend time with his four kids and in his flower and vegetable gardens.

Scott Klein is a Microsoft SQL Server "Most Valuable Professional" and independent consultant specializing in SQL Server performance and business intelligence. Scott is the author of several books, including Professional SQL Server 2005 XML, Professional LINQ, and Pro ADO.NET 4.0 Entity Framework. He was a contributing author to Pro SQL Server 2008 Relational Database Design and Implementation, as well as to the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Bible. Scott has written many articles for the SQL Server Standard magazine. He holds the MCDBA, MCSD, and MCSE certifications. He is heavily involved in the south Florida community, running two SQL Server user groups and the South Florida SQL Saturday events. Scott also speaks frequently at user groups across south Florida. Scott has nearly 20 years working with SQL Server and consulting in small to enterprise-size environments.

Kurt Windisch is a senior technical specialist with Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc., a global provider of technology solutions with headquarters in Springfield, Illinois. He has more than 15 years of experience in IT, and is a database administrator and technical architect for the internal IT department at LRS. He spent five years serving on the board of directors for PASS, has written for several SQL Server magazines, and has presented at conferences internationally on the topic of database programming with SQL Server.

Product Details

• Paperback: 680 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1 edition (August 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 143020866X
• ISBN-13: 978-1430208662
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #738,609 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Pro SQL Server 2008 Relational Database Design and Implementation, February 7, 2009

By 

Denis Gobo "SQL Menace" (Princeton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pro SQL Server 2008 Relational Database Design and Implementation (Expert's Voice in SQL Server) (Paperback)

Good database design is extremely important if you want to have a database that performs well and is easily modifiable.
How many times did you have to go back and change countless lines of code because your database was not normalized and it was not easy to add another payment type to the existing database?

This is where Pro SQL Server 2008 Relational Database Design and Implementation comes in; in the first couple of chapters you are taught how to design a database in a normal form. Most books that deal with database design are dry and boring; you need to read a chapter several times to digest the information leaving you with a headache. Not this book, Pro SQL Server 2008 Relational Database Design and Implementation makes this almost fun, the author goes through the phases of database design in a fun way which is understandable to the common man

After the design is done and you have your database you will be shown how you can protect the integrity of your data. Remember nothing in the database is as important as to make sure the data is correct, if you have bad data then you might as well have no data at all. This book will show you how to protect the integrity of your data by using constraints and triggers

There is a whole chapter of some good tips and tricks, patterns and query techniques. I think that you will find out you can solve a whole lot of business problems with a numbers table much faster than if you had to do it without

Security is a big topic these days, look on the internet, ever week you here horror stories how some data was stolen or otherwise compromised. Fear not there one whole chapter about securing access to your valuable data

Table structure and indexing is also covered, how are tables stored internally, the differences between clustered and non clustered indexes. These are very important concepts to understand; there are plenty of stories of people who designed a database and it worked flawless when they tested it. Once they loaded it up with real data in the real world it became painfully slow, by then they had to spend countless hours trying to refactor that mess. This book will prevent these kind of things

Coding for concurrency is also covered. This is also a very important concept. Explained are the different isolation levels, the difference between optimistic and pessimistic locking and best practices

Each chapter has a summary and a best practices chapter. This is very handy because you can quickly get an overview of the whole chapter in a page or two.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn or get better at designing databases. Having a bad database design is like building a house on a weak foundation; sooner or later you will pay for it and you will have to tear parts down to fix that faulty foundation.

When it comes to database design and SQL Server I have no doubt in my mind that this is the book to get. This is the third version of the book I have read and I am pleased to see that every edition is a little better than the previous one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books on the market, for a long time to come, January 8, 2009

By 

James A. Luetkehoelter (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pro SQL Server 2008 Relational Database Design and Implementation (Expert's Voice in SQL Server) (Paperback)

As I thought with the 2005 version of this book, I find Louis' book extremely well written, extremely informative, and down to earth. You get the impression that you're just discussing things with the author. Another thing that I love is that Louis' actually presents a point of view rather than spitting out what's already in books online, or just online itself. Not just facts, guidance. We need more writing like this, and more authors like Louis.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely worth the price of admission, January 10, 2009

By 

A. Bertrand (Rhode Island) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pro SQL Server 2008 Relational Database Design and Implementation (Expert's Voice in SQL Server) (Paperback)

I don't know what Patric's problem is (and how could I? He wasn't specific at all). This book is simply great from start to finish. I have been heavily involved in SQL Server 2008 since the very early betas, so felt pretty comfortable in my "new" knowledge, but I found lots of new information peppered throughout this book. And where Louis is not teaching me something new, he's explaining a concept in a different way, and I can turn around and use that when I try to explain the same concept to a colleague or client. No book is perfect, but this is definitely something quite opposite of a "waste of time."