The Guru's Guide to Transact-Sql

The best thing about this book is that it doesn't follow the example of most of the other SQL Server books out there -- it doesn't settle for merely repeating the Books Online. Instead, it fills in the details the BOL leaves out and provides expert advice that only a guru could.I've been a certified SQL Server DBA since Microsoft first offered the certification, and I can say that this book is hands down the best T-SQL book around, as Joe Celko says in the book's Foreword. Beyond that, it's the best book I've seen on _any_ SQL dialect - Microsoft or otherwise. The best parts of the book are the early chapters. The Data Types chapter, for example, provides an expansive tour through the many nuances of the SQL Server data types, including the new ones introduced by SQL Server 7.0. The new GUID type, for example, is covered in detail, and expert comparisons with other similar types are offered.The Nulls chapter is also a gem. Most database writers avoid getting drawn into the sometimes philosophical debate over missing values. Henderson handles the subject adroitly and succinctly -- recommending a course of action without sounding religious.The DDL Insights and DML Insights chapters are also quite good. The book could have stooped to merely regurgitating the BOL, but this book doesn't do that. So, instead of a 100 pages each on DML and DDL, with have two chapters of about ten pages a piece that focus on the things not mentioned by the BOL -- things only a guru would know.The chapter titled The Mighty SELECT Statement is the crown jewel of the book. I was well aware of most of the things SELECT could do before I ever read this book, however, this book takes the subject to a new level. It exposes features and power even veterans like myself would normally miss. It showed me ways of making SELECT work for me that I'd never even dreamed of. I used one of the techniques it illustrates just yesterday and blew my coworkers away. Like many of the techniques in this book, that one tip alone was worth the price of the book.All around, I'd say this is the best investment you can make with your SQL Server $$. If you want to know Transact-SQL like the gurus do, read this book and learn it inside out.

What really sets this book apart from the other SQL Server books I have is the attention to detail. There is no stone left unturned in terms of the language -- it's many quirks, nuances, and hidden features. From a collection of sprocs that implement better soundex routines than SOUNDEX(), to the gory details of cursors and transactions, to over a hundred undocumented routines/features of the language, this book has it all.I spoke with the author at a conference this past weekend and asked whether any of the techniques he mentioned in his speeches were also in his book. When he told me all of them were, I went out and purchased the book immediately. Holy Toledo!! The book is an expert's catalog of all that's worth knowing about Transact-SQL! I was blown away by all the code. I've never seen a programming book of any kind with so many examples, let alone a database programming book. I've learned so many new techniques with this book. For example, I had no idea you could perform OLE Automation with Transact-SQL. The sp_GenerateSQL procedure is a real gem -- it uses Automation to control SQL Server's SQL-DMO interface and basically do anything Enterprise Manager can do (all from T-SQL!). I now use this procedure anytime I need to generate an SQL script for an object -- no need to fire up EM.The row-positioning queries are priceless too. Who knew you could compute the median of a distribution set of any size with just a few lines of T-SQL? Who knew how to perform complex operations results with T-SQL? I had no idea.Last by not least, the Undocumented T-SQL chapter is worthy of its own book. It uncovers all sorts of hidden stored procedures, functions, trace flags and the like to give you access to the same tools the SQL Server developers themselves use. I love it.Bottom line: this is a wonderfully practical and comprehensive guide to the language, written by a T-SQL guru for those who would become T-SQL gurus themselves.

Ah, where to begin. This book is a masterpiece. It is over the top. It distills, in one volume, all that's worth knowing about advanced Transact-SQL. If you've read the Books Online, this book is a natural next step in your T-SQL education. It took me from a rank amateur to an advanced coder within days. It gave me insights into new ways of coding that I'd never have thought of on my own. It showed me how to work in harmony with T-SQL and SQL Server, rather than try to get them to do things they weren't designed to do. The best chapters, are, IMHO, these:- DML Insights- DDL Insights- The Mighty SELECT- Statistical Functions- Transactions- Cursors- Sets- Arrays- Stored Procedures and Triggers- T-SQL Performance Tuning- Administrative T-SQL- OLE Automation- Undocumented T-SQLThere's so much good info in this book, it's hard to pick a list of the "best chapters." To be sure, there's not a weak chapter in the book, and you should read every last one of them.[...] This book is a must-read for anyone serious about coding in Transact-SQL.

Because it was called a "Guru's Guide" I didn't know whether this book expected me to already be a guru or whether it was claiming that it was written by one. Luckily for me, it was the latter. Myself, I'm relatively new to Transact-SQL. When I got this book, I very much considered myself a beginner. I'd only begun working in T-SQL about a year and a half ago.I can honestly say that this book was so full of great information that I began moving to the next level almost immediately. The author pulls no punches and delivers on his committment to avoid filler material throughout. This is a dense, gem-packed treatise on the language that belongs in the library of every would-be Transact-SQL expert.Favorite parts:- Cursor chapter (the story of the ill-fated SQL Server conversion is priceless -- I have been there, I have been there...)- Performance & Tuning chapter (could be a book unto itself)- Undocumented T-SQL chapter (because I like hidden goodies)- Preface (because it's honest)If you want to be a Transact-SQL coder or DBA worth your money, get this book and learn its many secrets inside out.

I loved this book. I've already ordered several more copies to use with the classes I teach. Henderson is practical, scholarly, thorough, and often quite funny. The quotes that begin each chapter are insightful as well as humorous and give us some insight into who the man behind the book is. I like technical books that I can connect to on a personal level.As for technical merits, you will have to look very hard for a better T-SQL book. I have most of the T-SQL books out there and the Guru's Guide beats them hands down. Henderson includes everything but the kitchen sink without being overwrought. I especially like the chapters on cursors and transactions. I never really understood the fine details of transactions until I read this book. Also very handy was the chapter on full text searches via T-SQL. I'd always wanted to know how to use this powerful facility in my own code, but had never really delved into how to go about it. The Guru's Guide makes it easy.Lastly, I really liked the free T-SQL programming environment the author included. It's apparently one he wrote himself (!) It beats the pants off Query Analyzer, runs faster, and has features we could only dream of in QA (block indention, comment spell check, scripting, keyboard macros, etc., etc.). My team and I have switched to it as our main T-SQL development environment and have realized some real productivity gains in doing so. The author could easily sell this package and make real money from it. If you want a great book and a tremendous CD value, get the Guru's Guide.