Samuel J. Sharper said
I'm new to T-SQL and this book has been a great help in getting me to up and running with some of the basic T-SQL statements. In addition to this book, I have a MS-Press Designing & Implementing SQL Server 2005. The Sam's book got me up to par to handle the more difficult design and implementation book.
Bruce Kirkpatrick said
There is a quick way to tell when a writer really isn't up to snuff on SQL Server. They will use ANSI 89 syntax. That's exactly what this writer does throughout the book. SQL Server has used ANSI 92 and later syntax forever. SQL Server can deal with the clunkier '89 syntax for backwards compatability, but anyone who teaches SQL Server with it should be avoided. One reason the older syntax is so prevalent in books is that Oracle relied on it until quite recently. Those writers coming from the Oracle world are less likely to use the more up to date, intuitive and flexible syntax native to SQL Server. Here is a quick and easy way for anyone to tell if the writer knows their SQL Server stuff. Search the book for table join examples. If the syntax looks like: ... FROM Table1, Table2 WHERE This = That ... BAD NEWS. If the syntax looks like: ... FROM Table1 INNER JOIN Table2 ON This = That ... GOOD NEWS. Guess what you will find in this book.
Bruce Kirkpatrick
MCSA, MCSE, MCSD, MCDBA, MCT, etc, etc
Lawrence D. Erickson said
Read this book if you are new to Microsoft SQL Server. This book is well written and gets right to the main points of T-SQL. I especially liked the later chapters on Views, Stored Procedures, XML, and programming with T-SQL. This is one of my top 10 computer books and I always keep this book close at hand for reference. Use another book if you are looking for the hard core nitty gritty details of SQL Server. I hope Ben Forta writes a "Sams Teach Yourself" book on for other SQL server features like SQL Server Integration Services or SQL Server Reporting Services.
Daniel P. Kirk said
This is a great book for any newbie to T-SQL. There are lots of examples and each of those is accompanied by an explanation, without assuming that you already knew something (a pet peeve of mine for many how-to books). The chapters are broken up well and each leads into the next seamlessly. It is not the ultimate reference guide, but if you are looking to learn and understand how T-SQL works, then this is the book for you.
K. Forward said
I am brand new to SQL Server and have been reading a handful of large SQL Server for beginners type books, but I kept getting hung up on all the T-SQL commands. No book seemed to explain it clearly, or they'd suddenly introduce a series of mind-numbing code without explanation - assuming you knew it. Fortunately for me, I stumbled on this gem of a book. It is well laid out, concise, and there is no filler. It starts with the absolute basics and works on up through to more complex T-SQL scripts (stored procedures, cursors, triggers etc.), but by the time you get there - you're more confident with this stuff. I'd highly recommend this book if you want to learn T-SQL.
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