This essential reference is designed for database developers and administrators who need to write queries and develop code using Transact-SQL (T-SQL), the Microsoft implementation of the standard SQL language. Guided by SQL Server guru Itzik Ben-Gan, you'll walk through the steps for writing queries, including retrieving and modifying data, with an overview of programmable objects supported by SQL Server 2008. Rather than focusing just on the syntactical elements of T-SQL, however, this book explains the logic behind the language - helping you develop a true, core understanding of the elements and how to use them. You will learn to think in terms of sets, and follow real-world best practices for T-SQL programming. To complement the learning experience, the book provides exercises to practice and apply what you've learned. And you'll examine recommended solutions to compare with your own work. The entire book's code samples will be available for download from the companion Web site.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 12 Ratings

MS SQL Server 2008: T-SQL Fundamentals - 2009-06-16
Reviewer Rating:
This book is excellent. I began reading this book with a limited knowledge of SQL picked up from basic trial and error coding. Most of the time I did not know why or how something worked, only that it did work or in many cases did not work without hours of revision. After reading this book I now have a very good understanding of how code should work and why.

Itzik Ben-Gan is a wonderful author, who really understands how to teach a subject. Instead of just throwing code out there at you for a specific result, he often goes through it line by line letting you know exactly what each step is accomplishing. One of the greatest things about this book is the time taken to emphasize the order in which things are processed in SQL Server. This may seem trivial, but after knowing this I can honestly say 90% of the coding errors I ever suffered where due to not knowing the processing order.

The bottom line is, I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in knowing T-SQL.

Quirky Terms all around - 2009-09-17
Reviewer Rating:
I am not new to T-SQL, got this book for picking up some missing parts of the language that I am not familiar with

Frankly, I dont like the presentation/writing style of this book, for

1. Guess english is not authors first language.

2. This book uses quite some quirky terms( invented by authors himself) that haven't been used elsewhere but this book, such as "Logical Precedence Among rows". If you google "Logical Precedence", all the pages will refer to things about this guy..What the hell?? these awkward terms make some of the simple ideas more difficult to get.

3. Basically, T-SQL is based on ANSI SQL, and SQL itself is based on relational algebra as well as semantics of your business requirements. This book talks too much about syntax details of in microscope level, while too little on how to interpret the business demands in elegant T-SQL. i.e. how to map it into algebra equation.

This book separates join and intersection things into 2 chapters, which might not seem to be necessary for my part.

Hardly can say this book is enjoyable to read, but its OK for a T-SQL supplement.

Incorrect description - 2009-08-05
Reviewer Rating:
Contrary to the description, this is not the Pro-Developer title. the correct PRO-Developer title is:
Inside Microsoftr SQL Serverr 2008: T-SQL Querying

If you want the best intro to sql around, this is the book for you. If you want to take your sql to the next level, click on the link above.

Don't order the wrong title (like I did)

Lives up to the title - best book I've found on SQL Fundamentals - 2009-09-13
Reviewer Rating:
I'm not a SQL programmer or DBA. I use SQL to query databases and write reports in SSRS (Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services). I was looking for a book that would explain SQL fundamentals in a user-friendly manner and this is it. Mr. Itzik Ben-Gan writes like a teacher, not a technician. He gives you the technical details followed by real life explanation, with code and results; that a non-tech can understand. This book gives you the foundation you need to expand your SQL knowledge.
Should you buy it if you are using SQL 2005? Yes, even though 2008 is in the title, Mr. Ben-Gan covers both SQL versions, explaining differences between the versions.

Well-written book on T-SQL - 2009-07-04
Reviewer Rating:
This book not only covers the how of T-SQL but also the why. Ben-Gan does a good job explaining the theory behind the basic T-SQL Commands. Great book for beginners or intermediate SQL users. The explanations are clear and to the point. Each chapter has exercises to help reinforce what you just read. The solutions are also in the book, so this book is complete without having to download anything from the web.

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