Beginning SQL Server 2005 Programming

I am not going to reiterate the reviews already posted. The other reviews have already lauded the good SQL intro but little has been said about the chapter covering XML. The author did a superlative job covering the intro to XML and it leaves the reader at a point where he can go ahead and read more advanced books on XML (I personally like the XML Pocket Consultant by William R. Stanek). If you are looking towards SQL 2005 certification, I recommend that you purchase this book first. It will give you the background you need before you start studying the books for the exams like the MCITP Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Database Administrator.

Finally a book that is easy to understand and gives you all the tools needed to start using SQl.

Vieira strikes the perfect balance of introductory and practical content. Databases in general and SQL Server 2005 in particular make for an enormous field of content, and there's no way to cover it all in one book. In fact the introduction says as much, and the back cover presents a diagram outlining how this title fits into the publisher's 5-book series. Although the publisher lists this book as being in the middle of the series, I found it a good place to start. I had made a couple of attempts to dive into SQL Server 2005 using the online help and various 3rd party Web sites and articles. For me that approach just didn't work. There's really no substitute for a good book to get you started. Vieira provides clear and often humorous explanations of the book's concepts along with useful hands-on exercises (so make sure you've got SQL Server up and running as you read). The thing I especially like about this book is that it covers the new features of SQL Server 2005 without expecting that you've used prior versions, so those of us new to the program can get started quickly and confidently. The book does, however, provide tips for upgraders as well as anyone who will be dealing with legacy code from prior versions. At 650 pages there's more than enough to keep you busy and learning. However, as Vieira and his publisher point out, you can't do it all in one book. There are several choices that by their title may seem redundant to this one, but are in fact complementary. Vieira's companion work, Professional SQL Server 2005 Programming or Brust's and Forte's Programming Microsoft SQL Server 2005 will find a useful place on your bookshelf once you've mastered this book's content.

I have never written a review about anything. I found this book so enlightening and so well written that I thought I owed it to the author to let others know how much I enjoyed the book. SQL Server 2005 has so many facets that it is hard to begin learning it own your own. This book has come to the rescue. It leads us through a lot of topics in a very logical progression. The examples are very well chosen and very easy to try out. (I actually typed in every single one of them myself--because that is how I learn.) What is incredible is how well the author keeps track of what he has already told us when he advances to a new topic. I am looking forward to the release of his new book "Professional SQL Server 2005 Programming."

I purchased this book for 2 reasons. First, I'm in IT and my organization uses quite a few professionally created small/medium SQL Server databases. While I'm familiar with the essentials of SQL Server administration, I wanted to know more about the data side to help me think through problems that arise as well has to help me leverage the data by using it as a source for other applications and custom build databases. I also just started creating small ASP sites and want to use SQL Server 2005 as the back end. This book is fantastic. Because of the nature of my job I've read a large technical book (500+ pages) every couple of months for years now and this is the best written book I can remember since reading Mark Minasi's "Master Windows 2000 Server" 5 years ago. This is a beginning book and thus if you have programming and/or SQL Server experience you will probably find more detail than you need--I'd rather have more than less! However, I think it is misleading to think of it merely as a beginning book. After reading it there was little I found in my organization's professionally developed small to medium databases that I do not now understand. I'm sure there is much more to learn when dealing with highly distributed massive databases, but if you're at that level you're certainly not reading this review! After reading this book, I'm now able to create my own custom built databases which read data from our professionally developed databases. For example, I've created custom databases which use our SQL Server based personnel database as the source for basic employee info, thus my custom database does not have to deal with replicating employee information as this information is pulled directly from the source database. I also now know everything I need on the SQL Server side for the small ASP applications I'm creating. It's hard to put my finger on what I most like about the book. The best term I can come up with is balance. It provides a great balance between background theory and discussion of practical examples. Vieira has a great sense for knowing when discussing theory is the best way to explain something versus knowing when to jump right into an example. The other thing I really like about the book is that his real-world experience is apparent on every page. This book is not just a dry "this is how this function works" book. The book is filled with best practices and small gray boxes which warn of possible pitfalls. He is also not afraid to give his own opinion about possibly controversial issues, but he does so in italics to make it clear he is giving his opinion and he also very clearly states his reasons for his opinion. In one sentence, I like this book because reading it felt like I was having a private tutoring session with an experienced SQL programmer.