Teach yourself SQL Server 2008 one step at a time. Get the practical guidance you need to build database solutions that solve real-world business problems. Learn to integrate SQL Server data in your applications, write queries, develop reports, and employ powerful business intelligence systems. Discover how to: Install and work with core components and tools Create tables and index structures Manipulate and retrieve data Secure, manage, back up, and recover databases Apply tuning plus optimization techniques to generate high-performing database applications Optimize availability through clustering, database mirroring, and log shipping Tap business intelligence tools Reporting, Analysis, and Integration Services CD features: Practice exercises and code samples Fully searchable eBook

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 5 Ratings

A Great Help in Understanding MS SQL Server - 2009-01-15
Reviewer Rating:
I just completed a different MS SQL Server 2008 book, and am now wishing that I would have read this first, basically because the author, Hotek, is so much more concise and is defining terms as he goes, and is clearer when describing database concepts. So now I am forced to read this book too, just to clear up what was confusing in the first book!

What this book has that the *other* didn't is a really organized approach to MS SQL Server, including a description of all the tools that come with it and a meaty section on Business Intelligence with chapters on SQL Server Integration, Reporting and Analysis Services, which is the reason I bought this book originally.

As a side note, Mr. Hotek also obviously has a lot of experience and is sane... in Chapter 5, he gives an opinion on database design that I have secretly thought for years and I can't believe he said this:
"...Lost in all of this material is the simple fact that tables have to be created to support an application and the people creating the tables have more important things to worry about than which normal form a database is in or if they remembered to build a logical model and render a physical model from the logical model."

That totally floored me and impressed me. I have read many books where the author is so freaked out about 1st, 2nd and 3rd normal form, that it made me completely cross-eyed. It is the application and the basic design of the database, and what the users need that is what's important... not worrying about conforming to some theoretical utopia. I'm not saying we should build tables full of redundant data - obviously not - but let's stay focused on the task at hand.

Anyway, I would say this is not a book for beginning programmers, but it is a great book for beginning MS SQL server developers.

I recommended in my review of the *other* MS SQL Server 2008 book that you should get more than one book on any technical subject to help fill in the gaps, and hopefully one book can explain concepts that the other can't... I still stand by that.

A Good Introduction to SQL Server 2008 - 2009-01-02
Reviewer Rating:
This book was a pleasant surprise, I was looking for an introduction to SQL Server and this book was exactly that. The chapters were all in manageable sizes with the right amount of detail and exercises (%95+ worked as expected) to reinforce the topic. I don't usually write reviews, but if you are looking like I was for a book provide a basic introduction to SQL Server 2008 I would recommend this one. As a bonus there script which the author says can be used in production to perform backups.

OK Overall.. - 2009-06-12
Reviewer Rating:
..but let down by some poor editing, and the fact that content, pointed out as being 'online' in the book, doesnt actually exist. Not sure why they couldnt just put the articles on the CD.

Also some of the 'steps' are incomplete..Google came to rescue on the odd occasion. This book needs a companion web site, with an errata list.

Also the book is 500 pages (approx.) not 800 as Amazon indicates.

I would probably supplement this with the 'Pro' book from Wrox.

Book has too many editting flaws - 2009-06-29
Reviewer Rating:
Hemmingway provides a very accurate assessment of this book. My annoyment level though is much higher. The inaccuracy, poor editing, typo's, omissions, examples different from the text make this book more of 1.5 stars. Unless you want to spend of lot of time dealing with editing issues, skip this book.

Scripts don't work but otherwise .... - 2009-09-04
Reviewer Rating:
I'm only on page 93 and already there are 2 scripts that don't work. Because I'm new to SQL this is a major setback because I have to now try to find a resource to help me resolve the problems until I can move forward. I have checked the errata but no mention of these broken scripts.

The author does a great job of making complex topics easy to understand and the book is organized well. The content seems to be most of what any beginning SQL admin would need to know.

I recommend the book but aware you will have trouble with the scripts.

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