Professional SQL Server 2000 Programming

This book is great if you want to learn how USE SQL Server 2000. Be prepared to read, though. It's not really meant to be a reference. If you don't like to read, you'll hate it. (I use it as a reference, but only because I've read it cover to cover and I know where to look for answers). This book was really all I needed to pass the MCP exam. When I took the exam, I was right out of college with no IT experience other than computer science coursework. I think that says a lot about this book (I'm not sure what that says about the MCP exam).Here are some things to remember about SQL Server 2000:1) Your best REFERENCE manual is Books Online... hands down. Another reviewer complained that if, for example, you wanted to find out the order of the arguments for a SQL Server function, this book does not allow you to do that quickly. That's true, but so what... use Books Online.2) Your best bet for learning SQL Server 2000 as a whole is toread this book cover to cover.3) Don't expect to learn advanced topics from a book that provides an overview (like this one). If you want to learn DTS, buy a book on DTS... same with XML... same with WMI.Also in this book is a great chapter on Stored Procedures and examples of how to most effectively use what little error handling options you have in T-SQL.

I used this book and Thearon Willis' "Beginning SQL Server 2000 for VB Developers" (also from WROX) to study for the Designing and Implementing Databases using Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (70-229) test. Robert Vieira definitely knows SQL Server. I also have his Professional SQL Server 7.0 Programming book. I have read his 2 books religiously from cover-to-cover. The first 12 chapters of this book provide a solid foundation in SQL Server 2000 but Vieira augments those chapters with some advanced thinking. Chapter 12 - Stored Procedures is probably the heart of the book and this chapter is one of the best in the book. I have read this chapter several times and learned something new every time. Chapter 13 through Chapter 18 contain advanced SQL Server 2000 features and Vieira does an outstanding job explaining them. I found a lot of questions on the exam came from those chapters. Chapters 19 and 20 are concerned XML and how this technology is constantly changing. The author does an outstanding job of explaining XML. The chapters toward the end of the book are concerned with advanced features that an administrator might need to know but the knowledge is helpful in my employment and I use DTS almost every other day. In order to comprehend SQL Server 2000, these chapters should definitely be read. That would have been impossible without Chapters 21 through 31. This book rates as a 5-star in my book and I highly recommend this to any serious SQL Server developer and/or administrator. I will also be using this book for the 70-228 exam.

I just passed Microsoft's "Designing and Implementing Databases with Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition" for by 4th and final test to obtain my MCSD certification. This book was almost all I needed. I was glad Viera was comprehensive (1000+ pages); it was needed. This is also a great reference book. If you need to find a specific SQL programming detail in an area that you might not use everday this is the perfect book.I did not want to buy a number of texts for this test and I researched which book to buy very carefully. There are some really poor ones on the market. I assure you this book is far out in front of the rest.Microsoft's Training Kit book on SQL 2000 Database Design and Devlopment was somewhat useful but really almost an outline and incomplete in some areas. "Professional SQL Server 2000 Programming" and the "Transcender" tests are all you need (with maybe a little help from "Books On Line").

Professional SQL Server 2000 Programming is an essential component of your library if you are a MS Active Server Page developer.My library consists of Beginning ASP, Professional ASP, Beginning ASP Databases, Professional SQL Server 2000 Programming, and Vbscript Programmers Reference, all published by Wrox. Combined with MSDN, I have yet to run into a ASP problem that I could not solve.This book in particular will help you leverage the power of SQL Server. Specifically, the ability to form complicated stored procedures that contain limited logic will help you tune and manage your web application. This book also offers a nice foundation of basic SQL and solid relational DB design tips. I was particularly impressed with the explanation of all the fun tools that SQL Server ships with, but that no one ever shows you how to use.With ASP development, developers more and more find that they are forced to develop applications quickly and without the help of a dedicated DBA. A well-normalized, solid DB is the foundation of any good web application. If you blow the DB design, you will pay the price for the entire life of the application. Buy this book and spare yourself the pain that comes from a bad database, and learn some neat tricks along the way to make your code more stable and professional.Highly recommended!