The Rational Guide to Scripting with SQL Server 2005 Integration Services: Beta Review

I bought this book to learn about scripting in SSIS, and found it very straight forward and comprehensive. It packs a lot in 190 pages, and after you register the book online, you will get extra chapters and code. I was expecting it to be very technical, but I found it easy to read, and enjoyable. The title does not do it justice. It has a great overview of SSIS as well as a detailed review scripting. Also, don't let the "Beta Preview" in the title throw you, it also applies to the official release of SQL Server 2005. I like the "Rational Guide" format, and I really like their site. I will be giving this book to not only my developers, but also to my team leads and project managers.

This is a small text with a no frills, practical style. Book starts with a good architecture overview but focuses on real-world examples for the remainder. Sample code and bonus sections are very helpful and its chocked with best practices/tips along the way. For DBA types unfamiliar with .NET this book is not a .NET tome but it does show you how to utilize .NET for more efficient SSIS development. Considering the cost it's an incredible value and after 1 day I've incorporated some of the books content into a project for my customer. The only down-side was the bonus content wasn't available on the publisher's site when I bought the book - but even that had a plus...I got a personal email from the publisher explaining the situation. Doesn't get much better than that.