Pro SQL Server 2005 Database Design and Optimization (Paperback)

by Louis Davidson (Author), Kevin Kline (Author), Kurt Windisch (Author)
Key Phrases: other database platforms, rowversion column, logical modeling phase, First Normal Form, Second Normal Form, Third Normal Form (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
<p><i>Pro SQL Server 2005 Database Design and Optimization</i> will teach you effective strategies for designing proper databases. It covers everything from how to gather business requirements to logical data modeling and normalization. It then shows you how to implement your design on SQL Server 2005.</p>

<p>The authors also describe how to optimize and secure access to this data, covering indexing strategies, SQL design and optimization, and strategies for increased scalability to support large numbers of concurrent users. They provide in-depth advice on optimal code distribution in SQL Server 2005 applications, in the wake of innovations to be able to use .NET code in the database itself. This essential book will ensure that projects have a well-designed database and secure, optimized data access strategies right from the start.</p>

About the Author
Louis Davidson has been in the IT industry for 10 years as a corporate database developer and architect. He is currently a database administrator for Compass Technology Management, supporting the Christian Broadcasting Network and NorthStar Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.

<p>Davidson has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in computer science with a minor in mathematics. The majority of his experience has been with Microsoft SQL Server from version 1.0 to the latest version (currently in beta). His areas of expertise are database architecture and coding in T-SQL, and he has written thousands of stored procedures and triggers through the years. In October 2004, Davidson was named a Microsoft MVP for SQL Server.</p>

A biography is not available for this author.

A biography is not available for this author.

Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Apress (May 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590595297
• ISBN-13: 978-1590595299
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #168,928 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential guide for SQL Server database designers, June 1, 2006

By	Adam Machanic "Data Dude" (Melrose, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you need to learn how to design a SQL Server database the right way, from the bottom up (or top down, depending on your persective), you can do no better than this book.

The book starts with a solid introduction/refersher on basic database concepts, which brings the reader up to the required level to start thinking about issues such as normalization and data integrity -- extremely important issues if you value your data!

Past there, the book gets deep (very deep) into data modeling, including discussions of such important concepts as when to use surrogate keys, what kind of data constraints should be defined, and the increasingly important question of how best to secure your data.

The book closes with a few specialized, more advanced chapters, which I found to be especially interesting. These include a chapter on concurrency, "code-level architectural decisions" (really, best practices for writing great T-SQL), and finally a VERY useful chapter on database interoperability -- a must for those who have to make SQL Server talk to other DBMSs.

In short, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn to be a great SQL Server database designer.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have, June 19, 2006

By	James A. Luetkehoelter (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have the 2000 version of this book, which I thought was outstanding. Not only does it have excellent content, but it's written as if you were sitting at a table talking to Mr. Davidson directly.

This updated version should be a staple on any database developer or administrator's bookshelf. There is a solid discussion of design, securing the database (new encryption capabilities of 2005) and much more. But these aren't the reasons why you should own this book. It is as much a "how-to" book as it is a "what-to" book. You get real advice, not just screenshots and step-by-step examples. I wish more books were written this way, as technical knowledge without a procedural "framework" is a recipe for disaster.

Do yourself a favor and make the investment. Personally I know that any custom database design course I teach from this point on will include this book as reference for my students.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Database Design and Optimization "must-have"...., August 13, 2006

By	JMess (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews

I highly recommend this book to anyone working with SQL Server 2005. The material presented is made more understandable (not to mention entertaining!) by the examples used by the author throughout the book. The new features for SQL Server 2005 that the author covers are very relevant to my job, especially Chapter 7, Securing Access to the Data. The continuity of the material presented is excellent. Each chapter serves as a reference guide to complex topics that the author successfully explains through a combination of expertise, experience and a sense of humor.