This book is designed to teach application developers all of the skills they need to use SQL to work with a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 database. But it's also a great first book for developers who are on the path to becoming a DBA.

Unlike most SQL Server 2008 books, this one starts by showing you how to use SQL queries to extract and update the data in a database, because that's what every application developer needs to know first. Then, it shows how to design and implement a database, how to use powerful backend database features like views, stored procedures, functions, triggers, cursors, transactions, locking, security, and how to work with BLOB and XML data. Finally, it shows how to use the CLR integration feature to create database objects using a .NET language such as C# or Visual Basic.

From the publisher
The SQL book that most developers don't even know they need that's how I think of this book.

To be an effective application developer, you need to master SQL for the database you re going to be using. But many developers get by with the SQL they know, never realizing how much they're missing out on.

So this is first of all a book for developers who use Microsoft SQL Server as their DBMS (though it can help you if you want to master standard SQL, too). No matter how much SQL experience you have, you'll find new features that you haven't been taking advantage of.

In section 1, you ll learn the concepts and terms you need for working with any database. You ll also learn how to use the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Management Studio to work with queries and databases. At that point, you ll be prepared for rapid progress as you learn SQL.

In section 2, you ll learn all the skills for retrieving data from a database and for adding, updating, merging, and deleting that data. These skills move from the simple to the complex so you won t have any trouble if you re a SQL novice. And they present skills like using outer joins, summary queries, and subqueries that will raise your SQL expertise if you do have SQL experience.

In section 3, you ll learn how to design a database and how to implement that design using either SQL DDL (Data Definition Language) statements or the Management Studio. When you re done, you ll be able to design and implement your own databases. But even if you re never called upon to do that, this section will give you perspective that will make you a better SQL developer.

Section 4 presents the skills for working with database features like views, stored procedures, functions, triggers, cursors, transactions, and security. It teaches you how to use SQL features to work with XML data. And it shows you how to use the 2008 FILESTREAM storage feature to work with binary large objects (BLOBs) such as image, sound, and video files. These are the features that give a DBMS much of its power and that give you an extra edge in your SQL skills.

To complete your SQL Server skills, section 5 shows you how to use the CLR integration feature. This feature allows you to create database objects like stored procedures and user-defined types using a .NET language like C# or Visual Basic.