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Sql

Pro SQL Server 2005 Database Design and Optimization

Format: Paperback
Author: Louis Davidson
ReleaseDate: 01 May, 2006
Publisher: Apress
Rating:

A great read
Definitely a book to add to your library. This book is very well written and does a good job explaining new functionality and design of SQL 2005 as well as contrasting with SQL 2000 implementation.

A must-have
Not only does it have excellent content, but it's written as if you were sitting at a table talking to Mr. I have the 2000 version of this book, which I thought was outstanding. Davidson directly.

This updated version should be a staple on any database developer or administrator's bookshelf. There is a solid discussion of design, securing the database (new encryption capabilities of 2005) and much more. But these aren't the reasons why you should own this book. It is as much a "how-to" book as it is a "what-to" book. You get real advice, not just screenshots and step-by-step examples. I wish more books were written this way, as technical knowledge without a procedural "framework" is a recipe for disaster.

Do yourself a favor and make the investment. Personally I know that any custom database design course I teach from this point on will include this book as reference for my students.

An essential guide for SQL Server database designers


The book starts with a solid introduction/refersher on basic database concepts, which brings the reader up to the required level to start thinking about issues such as normalization and data integrity -- extremely important issues if you value your data!

Past there, the book gets deep (very deep) into data modeling, including discussions of such important concepts as when to use surrogate keys, what kind of data constraints should be defined, and the increasingly important question of how best to secure your data. If you need to learn how to design a SQL Server database the right way, from the bottom up (or top down, depending on your persective), you can do no better than this book.

The book closes with a few specialized, more advanced chapters, which I found to be especially interesting. These include a chapter on concurrency, "code-level architectural decisions" (really, best practices for writing great T-SQL), and finally a VERY useful chapter on database interoperability -- a must for those who have to make SQL Server talk to other DBMSs.

In short, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn to be a great SQL Server database designer.