Useful for any developer who works with Microsoft SQL Server databases, Beginning Visual Basic SQL Server 7.0 delivers the goods on several key technologies, as well as a thorough introduction to working with SQL Server and its related tools. It's an essential resource for anyone who wants to take advantage of the performance and reusability of server-side stored procedures on the Microsoft platform.
This book covers a number of absolutely essential APIs that will be needed by any programmer who works with Microsoft databases. First, the author presents a good introduction to ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), the recommended standard for programming with databases.
The text's principle strength has to be its comprehensive tour of Microsoft Transact-SQL (T-SQL), starting with simple SELECT and action queries, to different types of joins between relational tables. What's best here is the author's step-by-step tutorial for each SQL statement, along with an example written using client-side SQL (where the SQL is written in ADO on the client), as well as the same code executed as a stored procedure on the server. (Here ADO is used to invoke server-side T-SQL.) This approach not only provides an excellent introduction to SQL itself, it also furnishes what you need to use stored procedures effectively. Server-side database programming used to be the stuff of experts only, but this book shows how anyone can do it using today's Visual Basic.
The title closes with several case studies that show off database front ends for a hypothetical auto dealership. In all, Beginning Visual Basic SQL Server 7.0 provides vital material on database programming that can let beginning or intermediate VB developers take their skills to the next level and get the most out of Microsoft database tools and technologies. --Richard Dragan
Topics covered: History of Microsoft SQL Server, SQL Server database files and tables, normalization, Visual Basic DB APIs (OLE DB, ODBC, and ADO), installation hints, using the SQL Server Enterprise Manager, Query Analyzer, Profiler, creating database objects, SQL Server security, roles and object security, ADO objects, DSN and DSN-less database connections, using the Visual Basic Data Environment Designer, stored procedures and Transact SQL (T-SQL) basics, select, insert, update and delete procedures, joins, server-side vs. client-side database programming with SQL, creating database user interfaces, building business components with VB, using binary data, performance issues, backups, and sample case studies.
With the step up from 6.5 to 7.0, SQL Server 7.0 has become a more flexible and powerful database, and can be installed on Windows 95/98 as well as Windows NT. Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 is available as a standalone product and also as part of the Microsoft Backoffice suite of products. The high rate of adoption of SQL Server 7.0 is reflected in increasing book sales figures. This book brings VB developers up to speed with SQL Server 7.0, and covers the interaction between VB and SQL Server in depth.
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