Great little book, 12 Jun 2008
I bought this book because I am a programmer and need to interact with SQL on a daily basis. However...I do not want to know the fine grain details about database management systems. This is a great little book. It is very easy to read and met my needs perfectly. The samples are all easily achievable in 10 minutes, just like it says on the cover. This makes them very easy to scan over for a refresher when you are trying to work out a solution to a problem. It does not go into great details on the more advanced topics, however it does offer a primer on some of them such as transactions and cursors. Overall I would have no hesitation in recommending this book. It won't make you a SQL pro...but it will definitely make you more comfortable in common situations using this query language.

Perfect for beginners, 19 Apr 2008
This is the best book I have seen for people learning SQL from scratch. It takes you through the basics very quickly without assuming prior knowledge. Recommended for anyone with little or no prior SQL experience. You may want a basic SQL reference book to complement it.

You are better off with online tutorials, 27 Jan 2008
I recently wrote a simple database application for a hobby use. I have previous experience with SQL, but I wanted a handy reference to remind me of the basics. Time and time again I found this book useless, and resorted to an online search. I found the organisation of the book odd. If you want to create a simple application to learn with, you have to start from the back, as he tells you how to create a database and tables at the end.

Good Basic Introduction, 10 Dec 2007
This book is a great place to start for SQL. It tells you pretty much everything you are going to need to know for basic database usage. The later chapters on more advanced features such as triggers and stored procedures aren't massively useful as they don't go into enough depth but the author does say that they are only really intended to give you an idea of what you can do, not how to do it.

This book isn't going to teach you everything you need to know about SQL but it will give you the basics quickly and painlessly.


A great (if not simplistic) reference, 19 Jun 2007
This is a great reference for those starting out with SQL, or those just looking for a quick reference book to keep on their desks.

Don't be mistaken tho, it's by no means a complete reference, and doesn't cover any of the advanced SQL, but it's explanation of triggers, stored procedures, and transactions is a great reference to get around those mental syntax blocks

Great little book, 12 Jun 2008
I bought this book because I am a programmer and need to interact with SQL on a daily basis. However...I do not want to know the fine grain details about database management systems. This is a great little book. It is very easy to read and met my needs perfectly. The samples are all easily achievable in 10 minutes, just like it says on the cover. This makes them very easy to scan over for a refresher when you are trying to work out a solution to a problem. It does not go into great details on the more advanced topics, however it does offer a primer on some of them such as transactions and cursors. Overall I would have no hesitation in recommending this book. It won't make you a SQL pro...but it will definitely make you more comfortable in common situations using this query language.

Perfect for beginners, 19 Apr 2008
This is the best book I have seen for people learning SQL from scratch. It takes you through the basics very quickly without assuming prior knowledge. Recommended for anyone with little or no prior SQL experience. You may want a basic SQL reference book to complement it.

You are better off with online tutorials, 27 Jan 2008
I recently wrote a simple database application for a hobby use. I have previous experience with SQL, but I wanted a handy reference to remind me of the basics. Time and time again I found this book useless, and resorted to an online search. I found the organisation of the book odd. If you want to create a simple application to learn with, you have to start from the back, as he tells you how to create a database and tables at the end.

Good Basic Introduction, 10 Dec 2007
This book is a great place to start for SQL. It tells you pretty much everything you are going to need to know for basic database usage. The later chapters on more advanced features such as triggers and stored procedures aren't massively useful as they don't go into enough depth but the author does say that they are only really intended to give you an idea of what you can do, not how to do it.

This book isn't going to teach you everything you need to know about SQL but it will give you the basics quickly and painlessly.


A great (if not simplistic) reference, 19 Jun 2007
This is a great reference for those starting out with SQL, or those just looking for a quick reference book to keep on their desks.

Don't be mistaken tho, it's by no means a complete reference, and doesn't cover any of the advanced SQL, but it's explanation of triggers, stored procedures, and transactions is a great reference to get around those mental syntax blocks

Very good book regarding SQL, 06 Sep 2008
This is a fair thick volume containing a wealth of knowledge regarding SQL server. Much of the work and example are specific to MS SQL Server 2005, but where this is the case it is clearly pointed out, often with examples to achieve the same effect in previous version given. That said much of the theory (specifically in the initial chapters of the book) are more general and can be applied across all major relational database implementing SQL.

The author is clearly an expert in the field.

The book does contain a chapter on Optimising SQL queries, however it is fairly sparse and should not be used as much more than an introduction and "a few pointers" on what to look for when one begins optimisation.
I look forward to reading "Inside Microsoft® SQL Server(tm) 2005: Query Tuning and Optimization" (another book in the series) but have not done so yet.

The book continues to fairly indepth and advance search techniques, covering subjects such as pivot queries, along with commands like ROLLUP and CUBE.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who has some previous experience in database development and is looking to improve their skills in the field.

An excellent well written book, 04 Mar 2008
I looked through the reviews of the books with SQL in the title and opted for this one as is had the highest number of 5 star reviews.

Having read 5 chapters in the last day my conclusion is that this is one of the best technical computer books I have ever read, and I have quite a few. The progress through the book is well paced with good thought provoking examples. An acceptable number of times I have had to re-read sections to fully understand the concepts and this has noticably improved by understanding of the SQL language.

I would recommend this book to anyone with equivalent experience, which is a few months of SQL table design/querying such that you have the basics already in hand. This moves you on from the basics.

Get this book if you are looking to improve SQL querying. Do not get this book if you are looking to program data access in .Net or something else, get a C# book then.

Thorough explanation of SQL language & much more, 21 Sep 2007
This book is mainly aimed at programmers, but I purchased it along with a number of other books to better understand what SQL is, and how it can help me to write better queries in an ACCESS database, rather than to write programes. This book is authored by some of the worlds experts on the S.Q.L language and of coarse on the dialect T-SQL. I can't say how useful it will be to programmers, but anyone who is in a scientific or technology design job, will find the subject fascinating and will very quickly begin to understand how a server application works. If you don't understand mathematical logic, then I would strongly recommend your finding a book on it first before attempting to read this book, but any design engineer or scientist should be competent enough not to need to read up on the subject. If all you want to do is write better queries for ACCESS databases though you will be better purchasing "Microsoft Access 2003 Forms, Reports, and Queries", which I purchased from Amazon a while ago. If you want to understand the SQL language behind Access purchase this book also.

Fantastic stuff, 14 Feb 2007
I have used SQL for about 20 years and TSQL for about 10 and, although I did not finish the book yet, I am delighted with what I have read so far.
Superb and very clearly explained.
A "must by".

Everyone can learn from this book!, 28 Nov 2006
Itzik is an internationally renown lecturer, trainer and writer who anyone familiar with SQL Server will immediately recognise.
The two books that he has authored in the "Inside SQL Server" series "T-SQL Querying" and "T-SQL Programming" are probably going to be the two defining books on T-SQL written for SQL 2005. They are very well written books, which even the most experienced SQL Server DBA or Developer, will learn from.

Great little book, 12 Jun 2008
I bought this book because I am a programmer and need to interact with SQL on a daily basis. However...I do not want to know the fine grain details about database management systems. This is a great little book. It is very easy to read and met my needs perfectly. The samples are all easily achievable in 10 minutes, just like it says on the cover. This makes them very easy to scan over for a refresher when you are trying to work out a solution to a problem. It does not go into great details on the more advanced topics, however it does offer a primer on some of them such as transactions and cursors. Overall I would have no hesitation in recommending this book. It won't make you a SQL pro...but it will definitely make you more comfortable in common situations using this query language.

Perfect for beginners, 19 Apr 2008
This is the best book I have seen for people learning SQL from scratch. It takes you through the basics very quickly without assuming prior knowledge. Recommended for anyone with little or no prior SQL experience. You may want a basic SQL reference book to complement it.

You are better off with online tutorials, 27 Jan 2008
I recently wrote a simple database application for a hobby use. I have previous experience with SQL, but I wanted a handy reference to remind me of the basics. Time and time again I found this book useless, and resorted to an online search. I found the organisation of the book odd. If you want to create a simple application to learn with, you have to start from the back, as he tells you how to create a database and tables at the end.

Good Basic Introduction, 10 Dec 2007
This book is a great place to start for SQL. It tells you pretty much everything you are going to need to know for basic database usage. The later chapters on more advanced features such as triggers and stored procedures aren't massively useful as they don't go into enough depth but the author does say that they are only really intended to give you an idea of what you can do, not how to do it.

This book isn't going to teach you everything you need to know about SQL but it will give you the basics quickly and painlessly.


A great (if not simplistic) reference, 19 Jun 2007
This is a great reference for those starting out with SQL, or those just looking for a quick reference book to keep on their desks.

Don't be mistaken tho, it's by no means a complete reference, and doesn't cover any of the advanced SQL, but it's explanation of triggers, stored procedures, and transactions is a great reference to get around those mental syntax blocks

Very good book regarding SQL, 06 Sep 2008
This is a fair thick volume containing a wealth of knowledge regarding SQL server. Much of the work and example are specific to MS SQL Server 2005, but where this is the case it is clearly pointed out, often with examples to achieve the same effect in previous version given. That said much of the theory (specifically in the initial chapters of the book) are more general and can be applied across all major relational database implementing SQL.

The author is clearly an expert in the field.

The book does contain a chapter on Optimising SQL queries, however it is fairly sparse and should not be used as much more than an introduction and "a few pointers" on what to look for when one begins optimisation.
I look forward to reading "Inside Microsoft® SQL Server(tm) 2005: Query Tuning and Optimization" (another book in the series) but have not done so yet.

The book continues to fairly indepth and advance search techniques, covering subjects such as pivot queries, along with commands like ROLLUP and CUBE.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who has some previous experience in database development and is looking to improve their skills in the field.

An excellent well written book, 04 Mar 2008
I looked through the reviews of the books with SQL in the title and opted for this one as is had the highest number of 5 star reviews.

Having read 5 chapters in the last day my conclusion is that this is one of the best technical computer books I have ever read, and I have quite a few. The progress through the book is well paced with good thought provoking examples. An acceptable number of times I have had to re-read sections to fully understand the concepts and this has noticably improved by understanding of the SQL language.

I would recommend this book to anyone with equivalent experience, which is a few months of SQL table design/querying such that you have the basics already in hand. This moves you on from the basics.

Get this book if you are looking to improve SQL querying. Do not get this book if you are looking to program data access in .Net or something else, get a C# book then.

Thorough explanation of SQL language & much more, 21 Sep 2007
This book is mainly aimed at programmers, but I purchased it along with a number of other books to better understand what SQL is, and how it can help me to write better queries in an ACCESS database, rather than to write programes. This book is authored by some of the worlds experts on the S.Q.L language and of coarse on the dialect T-SQL. I can't say how useful it will be to programmers, but anyone who is in a scientific or technology design job, will find the subject fascinating and will very quickly begin to understand how a server application works. If you don't understand mathematical logic, then I would strongly recommend your finding a book on it first before attempting to read this book, but any design engineer or scientist should be competent enough not to need to read up on the subject. If all you want to do is write better queries for ACCESS databases though you will be better purchasing "Microsoft Access 2003 Forms, Reports, and Queries", which I purchased from Amazon a while ago. If you want to understand the SQL language behind Access purchase this book also.

Fantastic stuff, 14 Feb 2007
I have used SQL for about 20 years and TSQL for about 10 and, although I did not finish the book yet, I am delighted with what I have read so far.
Superb and very clearly explained.
A "must by".

Everyone can learn from this book!, 28 Nov 2006
Itzik is an internationally renown lecturer, trainer and writer who anyone familiar with SQL Server will immediately recognise.
The two books that he has authored in the "Inside SQL Server" series "T-SQL Querying" and "T-SQL Programming" are probably going to be the two defining books on T-SQL written for SQL 2005. They are very well written books, which even the most experienced SQL Server DBA or Developer, will learn from.


Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Administratorýs Pocket Consultant, 28 Jan 2006
Administering SQL 2005 is quite different to previous versions of SQL Server this books provides a very useful overview of the new graphical administration programs. A great resource for anyone that is new to SQL 2005 or wishes to migrate from previous versions.

The book very readable and I especially like the side notes, which come in Note, Tip, Caution, Real World and Best Practice forms. These give very useful practical information, which will help you avoid some the common problems that get posted to newsgroups.

Great little book, 12 Jun 2008
I bought this book because I am a programmer and need to interact with SQL on a daily basis. However...I do not want to know the fine grain details about database management systems. This is a great little book. It is very easy to read and met my needs perfectly. The samples are all easily achievable in 10 minutes, just like it says on the cover. This makes them very easy to scan over for a refresher when you are trying to work out a solution to a problem. It does not go into great details on the more advanced topics, however it does offer a primer on some of them such as transactions and cursors. Overall I would have no hesitation in recommending this book. It won't make you a SQL pro...but it will definitely make you more comfortable in common situations using this query language.

Perfect for beginners, 19 Apr 2008
This is the best book I have seen for people learning SQL from scratch. It takes you through the basics very quickly without assuming prior knowledge. Recommended for anyone with little or no prior SQL experience. You may want a basic SQL reference book to complement it.

You are better off with online tutorials, 27 Jan 2008
I recently wrote a simple database application for a hobby use. I have previous experience with SQL, but I wanted a handy reference to remind me of the basics. Time and time again I found this book useless, and resorted to an online search. I found the organisation of the book odd. If you want to create a simple application to learn with, you have to start from the back, as he tells you how to create a database and tables at the end.

Good Basic Introduction, 10 Dec 2007
This book is a great place to start for SQL. It tells you pretty much everything you are going to need to know for basic database usage. The later chapters on more advanced features such as triggers and stored procedures aren't massively useful as they don't go into enough depth but the author does say that they are only really intended to give you an idea of what you can do, not how to do it.

This book isn't going to teach you everything you need to know about SQL but it will give you the basics quickly and painlessly.


A great (if not simplistic) reference, 19 Jun 2007
This is a great reference for those starting out with SQL, or those just looking for a quick reference book to keep on their desks.

Don't be mistaken tho, it's by no means a complete reference, and doesn't cover any of the advanced SQL, but it's explanation of triggers, stored procedures, and transactions is a great reference to get around those mental syntax blocks

Very good book regarding SQL, 06 Sep 2008
This is a fair thick volume containing a wealth of knowledge regarding SQL server. Much of the work and example are specific to MS SQL Server 2005, but where this is the case it is clearly pointed out, often with examples to achieve the same effect in previous version given. That said much of the theory (specifically in the initial chapters of the book) are more general and can be applied across all major relational database implementing SQL.

The author is clearly an expert in the field.

The book does contain a chapter on Optimising SQL queries, however it is fairly sparse and should not be used as much more than an introduction and "a few pointers" on what to look for when one begins optimisation.
I look forward to reading "Inside Microsoft® SQL Server(tm) 2005: Query Tuning and Optimization" (another book in the series) but have not done so yet.

The book continues to fairly indepth and advance search techniques, covering subjects such as pivot queries, along with commands like ROLLUP and CUBE.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who has some previous experience in database development and is looking to improve their skills in the field.

An excellent well written book, 04 Mar 2008
I looked through the reviews of the books with SQL in the title and opted for this one as is had the highest number of 5 star reviews.

Having read 5 chapters in the last day my conclusion is that this is one of the best technical computer books I have ever read, and I have quite a few. The progress through the book is well paced with good thought provoking examples. An acceptable number of times I have had to re-read sections to fully understand the concepts and this has noticably improved by understanding of the SQL language.

I would recommend this book to anyone with equivalent experience, which is a few months of SQL table design/querying such that you have the basics already in hand. This moves you on from the basics.

Get this book if you are looking to improve SQL querying. Do not get this book if you are looking to program data access in .Net or something else, get a C# book then.

Thorough explanation of SQL language & much more, 21 Sep 2007
This book is mainly aimed at programmers, but I purchased it along with a number of other books to better understand what SQL is, and how it can help me to write better queries in an ACCESS database, rather than to write programes. This book is authored by some of the worlds experts on the S.Q.L language and of coarse on the dialect T-SQL. I can't say how useful it will be to programmers, but anyone who is in a scientific or technology design job, will find the subject fascinating and will very quickly begin to understand how a server application works. If you don't understand mathematical logic, then I would strongly recommend your finding a book on it first before attempting to read this book, but any design engineer or scientist should be competent enough not to need to read up on the subject. If all you want to do is write better queries for ACCESS databases though you will be better purchasing "Microsoft Access 2003 Forms, Reports, and Queries", which I purchased from Amazon a while ago. If you want to understand the SQL language behind Access purchase this book also.

Fantastic stuff, 14 Feb 2007
I have used SQL for about 20 years and TSQL for about 10 and, although I did not finish the book yet, I am delighted with what I have read so far.
Superb and very clearly explained.
A "must by".

Everyone can learn from this book!, 28 Nov 2006
Itzik is an internationally renown lecturer, trainer and writer who anyone familiar with SQL Server will immediately recognise.
The two books that he has authored in the "Inside SQL Server" series "T-SQL Querying" and "T-SQL Programming" are probably going to be the two defining books on T-SQL written for SQL 2005. They are very well written books, which even the most experienced SQL Server DBA or Developer, will learn from.


Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Administratorýs Pocket Consultant, 28 Jan 2006
Administering SQL 2005 is quite different to previous versions of SQL Server this books provides a very useful overview of the new graphical administration programs. A great resource for anyone that is new to SQL 2005 or wishes to migrate from previous versions.

The book very readable and I especially like the side notes, which come in Note, Tip, Caution, Real World and Best Practice forms. These give very useful practical information, which will help you avoid some the common problems that get posted to newsgroups.

A must have book for T-SQL programmers, 28 Nov 2006
Itzik is an internationally renown lecturer, trainer and writer who anyone familiar with SQL Server will immediately recognise.
"Inside SQL Server: T-SQL Programming" is an excellent book, invaluable to both SQL Server DBA or Developer and has something for even the most experienced programmer. This book will help you take full advantage of all the new T-SQL features in SQL 2005.

an excellent technical resource for both features and techniques of Sql Programming, 05 Jul 2006
Not only is this an excellent technical reference, it's also an excellent read - offering plenty of food for thought around subjects such as design and application of User Defined Data Types, and the age old discussions of cursor usage. This is a book I will be coming back to repeatidly and is a very good compliment to the T-Sql Tuning book. Each subject area is covered to a good depth, and generally includes the history surrounding the feature and techniques in which it might be applied, resulting in a resource that is valuable both for experienced and new Sql Programmers.

Great little book, 12 Jun 2008
I bought this book because I am a programmer and need to interact with SQL on a daily basis. However...I do not want to know the fine grain details about database management systems. This is a great little book. It is very easy to read and met my needs perfectly. The samples are all easily achievable in 10 minutes, just like it says on the cover. This makes them very easy to scan over for a refresher when you are trying to work out a solution to a problem. It does not go into great details on the more advanced topics, however it does offer a primer on some of them such as transactions and cursors. Overall I would have no hesitation in recommending this book. It won't make you a SQL pro...but it will definitely make you more comfortable in common situations using this query language.

Perfect for beginners, 19 Apr 2008
This is the best book I have seen for people learning SQL from scratch. It takes you through the basics very quickly without assuming prior knowledge. Recommended for anyone with little or no prior SQL experience. You may want a basic SQL reference book to complement it.

You are better off with online tutorials, 27 Jan 2008
I recently wrote a simple database application for a hobby use. I have previous experience with SQL, but I wanted a handy reference to remind me of the basics. Time and time again I found this book useless, and resorted to an online search. I found the organisation of the book odd. If you want to create a simple application to learn with, you have to start from the back, as he tells you how to create a database and tables at the end.

Good Basic Introduction, 10 Dec 2007
This book is a great place to start for SQL. It tells you pretty much everything you are going to need to know for basic database usage. The later chapters on more advanced features such as triggers and stored procedures aren't massively useful as they don't go into enough depth but the author does say that they are only really intended to give you an idea of what you can do, not how to do it.

This book isn't going to teach you everything you need to know about SQL but it will give you the basics quickly and painlessly.


A great (if not simplistic) reference, 19 Jun 2007
This is a great reference for those starting out with SQL, or those just looking for a quick reference book to keep on their desks.

Don't be mistaken tho, it's by no means a complete reference, and doesn't cover any of the advanced SQL, but it's explanation of triggers, stored procedures, and transactions is a great reference to get around those mental syntax blocks

Very good book regarding SQL, 06 Sep 2008
This is a fair thick volume containing a wealth of knowledge regarding SQL server. Much of the work and example are specific to MS SQL Server 2005, but where this is the case it is clearly pointed out, often with examples to achieve the same effect in previous version given. That said much of the theory (specifically in the initial chapters of the book) are more general and can be applied across all major relational database implementing SQL.

The author is clearly an expert in the field.

The book does contain a chapter on Optimising SQL queries, however it is fairly sparse and should not be used as much more than an introduction and "a few pointers" on what to look for when one begins optimisation.
I look forward to reading "Inside Microsoft® SQL Server(tm) 2005: Query Tuning and Optimization" (another book in the series) but have not done so yet.

The book continues to fairly indepth and advance search techniques, covering subjects such as pivot queries, along with commands like ROLLUP and CUBE.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who has some previous experience in database development and is looking to improve their skills in the field.

An excellent well written book, 04 Mar 2008
I looked through the reviews of the books with SQL in the title and opted for this one as is had the highest number of 5 star reviews.

Having read 5 chapters in the last day my conclusion is that this is one of the best technical computer books I have ever read, and I have quite a few. The progress through the book is well paced with good thought provoking examples. An acceptable number of times I have had to re-read sections to fully understand the concepts and this has noticably improved by understanding of the SQL language.

I would recommend this book to anyone with equivalent experience, which is a few months of SQL table design/querying such that you have the basics already in hand. This moves you on from the basics.

Get this book if you are looking to improve SQL querying. Do not get this book if you are looking to program data access in .Net or something else, get a C# book then.

Thorough explanation of SQL language & much more, 21 Sep 2007
This book is mainly aimed at programmers, but I purchased it along with a number of other books to better understand what SQL is, and how it can help me to write better queries in an ACCESS database, rather than to write programes. This book is authored by some of the worlds experts on the S.Q.L language and of coarse on the dialect T-SQL. I can't say how useful it will be to programmers, but anyone who is in a scientific or technology design job, will find the subject fascinating and will very quickly begin to understand how a server application works. If you don't understand mathematical logic, then I would strongly recommend your finding a book on it first before attempting to read this book, but any design engineer or scientist should be competent enough not to need to read up on the subject. If all you want to do is write better queries for ACCESS databases though you will be better purchasing "Microsoft Access 2003 Forms, Reports, and Queries", which I purchased from Amazon a while ago. If you want to understand the SQL language behind Access purchase this book also.

Fantastic stuff, 14 Feb 2007
I have used SQL for about 20 years and TSQL for about 10 and, although I did not finish the book yet, I am delighted with what I have read so far.
Superb and very clearly explained.
A "must by".

Everyone can learn from this book!, 28 Nov 2006
Itzik is an internationally renown lecturer, trainer and writer who anyone familiar with SQL Server will immediately recognise.
The two books that he has authored in the "Inside SQL Server" series "T-SQL Querying" and "T-SQL Programming" are probably going to be the two defining books on T-SQL written for SQL 2005. They are very well written books, which even the most experienced SQL Server DBA or Developer, will learn from.


Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Administratorýs Pocket Consultant, 28 Jan 2006
Administering SQL 2005 is quite different to previous versions of SQL Server this books provides a very useful overview of the new graphical administration programs. A great resource for anyone that is new to SQL 2005 or wishes to migrate from previous versions.

The book very readable and I especially like the side notes, which come in Note, Tip, Caution, Real World and Best Practice forms. These give very useful practical information, which will help you avoid some the common problems that get posted to newsgroups.

A must have book for T-SQL programmers, 28 Nov 2006
Itzik is an internationally renown lecturer, trainer and writer who anyone familiar with SQL Server will immediately recognise.
"Inside SQL Server: T-SQL Programming" is an excellent book, invaluable to both SQL Server DBA or Developer and has something for even the most experienced programmer. This book will help you take full advantage of all the new T-SQL features in SQL 2005.

an excellent technical resource for both features and techniques of Sql Programming, 05 Jul 2006
Not only is this an excellent technical reference, it's also an excellent read - offering plenty of food for thought around subjects such as design and application of User Defined Data Types, and the age old discussions of cursor usage. This is a book I will be coming back to repeatidly and is a very good compliment to the T-Sql Tuning book. Each subject area is covered to a good depth, and generally includes the history surrounding the feature and techniques in which it might be applied, resulting in a resource that is valuable both for experienced and new Sql Programmers.

The best sql book I've seen., 29 Jun 2008
The book claims its audience ranges from novices to sql experts (who need to use a different sql platform), and I have to agree. Since it explains a lot about set theory, and how sql works, I doubt it will be out-of-date any time soon. The author describes it as a collection of common SQL problems and their solutions, which is true. What really makes this book special is that I find myself working through examples on my home database for fun. I've used SQL since the early 90s (on Oracle) and have not come across such a useful yet enjoyable book before. The only small errata I found was on page 336 (where the mysql subquery needed an alias), so I suspect there may be a few others - there are examples given for the main platforms - Postgre, Oracle, DB2, Sql Server etc.

Great little book, 12 Jun 2008
I bought this book because I am a programmer and need to interact with SQL on a daily basis. However...I do not want to know the fine grain details about database management systems. This is a great little book. It is very easy to read and met my needs perfectly. The samples are all easily achievable in 10 minutes, just like it says on the cover. This makes them very easy to scan over for a refresher when you are trying to work out a solution to a problem. It does not go into great details on the more advanced topics, however it does offer a primer on some of them such as transactions and cursors. Overall I would have no hesitation in recommending this book. It won't make you a SQL pro...but it will definitely make you more comfortable in common situations using this query language.

Perfect for beginners, 19 Apr 2008
This is the best book I have seen for people learning SQL from scratch. It takes you through the basics very quickly without assuming prior knowledge. Recommended for anyone with little or no prior SQL experience. You may want a basic SQL reference book to complement it.

You are better off with online tutorials, 27 Jan 2008
I recently wrote a simple database application for a hobby use. I have previous experience with SQL, but I wanted a handy reference to remind me of the basics. Time and time again I found this book useless, and resorted to an online search. I found the organisation of the book odd. If you want to create a simple application to learn with, you have to start from the back, as he tells you how to create a database and tables at the end.

Good Basic Introduction, 10 Dec 2007
This book is a great place to start for SQL. It tells you pretty much everything you are going to need to know for basic database usage. The later chapters on more advanced features such as triggers and stored procedures aren't massively useful as they don't go into enough depth but the author does say that they are only really intended to give you an idea of what you can do, not how to do it.

This book isn't going to teach you everything you need to know about SQL but it will give you the basics quickly and painlessly.


A great (if not simplistic) reference, 19 Jun 2007
This is a great reference for those starting out with SQL, or those just looking for a quick reference book to keep on their desks.

Don't be mistaken tho, it's by no means a complete reference, and doesn't cover any of the advanced SQL, but it's explanation of triggers, stored procedures, and transactions is a great reference to get around those mental syntax blocks

Very good book regarding SQL, 06 Sep 2008
This is a fair thick volume containing a wealth of knowledge regarding SQL server. Much of the work and example are specific to MS SQL Server 2005, but where this is the case it is clearly pointed out, often with examples to achieve the same effect in previous version given. That said much of the theory (specifically in the initial chapters of the book) are more general and can be applied across all major relational database implementing SQL.

The author is clearly an expert in the field.

The book does contain a chapter on Optimising SQL queries, however it is fairly sparse and should not be used as much more than an introduction and "a few pointers" on what to look for when one begins optimisation.
I look forward to reading "Inside Microsoft® SQL Server(tm) 2005: Query Tuning and Optimization" (another book in the series) but have not done so yet.

The book continues to fairly indepth and advance search techniques, covering subjects such as pivot queries, along with commands like ROLLUP and CUBE.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who has some previous experience in database development and is looking to improve their skills in the field.

An excellent well written book, 04 Mar 2008
I looked through the reviews of the books with SQL in the title and opted for this one as is had the highest number of 5 star reviews.

Having read 5 chapters in the last day my conclusion is that this is one of the best technical computer books I have ever read, and I have quite a few. The progress through the book is well paced with good thought provoking examples. An acceptable number of times I have had to re-read sections to fully understand the concepts and this has noticably improved by understanding of the SQL language.

I would recommend this book to anyone with equivalent experience, which is a few months of SQL table design/querying such that you have the basics already in hand. This moves you on from the basics.

Get this book if you are looking to improve SQL querying. Do not get this book if you are looking to program data access in .Net or something else, get a C# book then.

Thorough explanation of SQL language & much more, 21 Sep 2007
This book is mainly aimed at programmers, but I purchased it along with a number of other books to better understand what SQL is, and how it can help me to write better queries in an ACCESS database, rather than to write programes. This book is authored by some of the worlds experts on the S.Q.L language and of coarse on the dialect T-SQL. I can't say how useful it will be to programmers, but anyone who is in a scientific or technology design job, will find the subject fascinating and will very quickly begin to understand how a server application works. If you don't understand mathematical logic, then I would strongly recommend your finding a book on it first before attempting to read this book, but any design engineer or scientist should be competent enough not to need to read up on the subject. If all you want to do is write better queries for ACCESS databases though you will be better purchasing "Microsoft Access 2003 Forms, Reports, and Queries", which I purchased from Amazon a while ago. If you want to understand the SQL language behind Access purchase this book also.

Fantastic stuff, 14 Feb 2007
I have used SQL for about 20 years and TSQL for about 10 and, although I did not finish the book yet, I am delighted with what I have read so far.
Superb and very clearly explained.
A "must by".

Everyone can learn from this book!, 28 Nov 2006
Itzik is an internationally renown lecturer, trainer and writer who anyone familiar with SQL Server will immediately recognise.
The two books that he has authored in the "Inside SQL Server" series "T-SQL Querying" and "T-SQL Programming" are probably going to be the two defining books on T-SQL written for SQL 2005. They are very well written books, which even the most experienced SQL Server DBA or Developer, will learn from.


Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Administratorýs Pocket Consultant, 28 Jan 2006
Administering SQL 2005 is quite different to previous versions of SQL Server this books provides a very useful overview of the new graphical administration programs. A great resource for anyone that is new to SQL 2005 or wishes to migrate from previous versions.

The book very readable and I especially like the side notes, which come in Note, Tip, Caution, Real World and Best Practice forms. These give very useful practical information, which will help you avoid some the common problems that get posted to newsgroups.

A must have book for T-SQL programmers, 28 Nov 2006
Itzik is an internationally renown lecturer, trainer and writer who anyone familiar with SQL Server will immediately recognise.
"Inside SQL Server: T-SQL Programming" is an excellent book, invaluable to both SQL Server DBA or Developer and has something for even the most experienced programmer. This book will help you take full advantage of all the new T-SQL features in SQL 2005.

an excellent technical resource for both features and techniques of Sql Programming, 05 Jul 2006
Not only is this an excellent technical reference, it's also an excellent read - offering plenty of food for thought around subjects such as design and application of User Defined Data Types, and the age old discussions of cursor usage. This is a book I will be coming back to repeatidly and is a very good compliment to the T-Sql Tuning book. Each subject area is covered to a good depth, and generally includes the history surrounding the feature and techniques in which it might be applied, resulting in a resource that is valuable both for experienced and new Sql Programmers.

The best sql book I've seen., 29 Jun 2008
The book claims its audience ranges from novices to sql experts (who need to use a different sql platform), and I have to agree. Since it explains a lot about set theory, and how sql works, I doubt it will be out-of-date any time soon. The author describes it as a collection of common SQL problems and their solutions, which is true. What really makes this book special is that I find myself working through examples on my home database for fun. I've used SQL since the early 90s (on Oracle) and have not come across such a useful yet enjoyable book before. The only small errata I found was on page 336 (where the mysql subquery needed an alias), so I suspect there may be a few others - there are examples given for the main platforms - Postgre, Oracle, DB2, Sql Server etc.

Fantastic book for begginers, 05 Nov 2008
I'm not a programmer and I bought this book having no idea of SQL, and I can say I learned a lot from it. It's easy to understand and it's well structured. Maybe it doesn't cover every aspect of SQL, but it's the place to start to write your first queries. Give it a try, you won't regret!

An Excellent Book, 15 Apr 2008
After wanting to get a better grasp on SQL and its Syntax I bought this book along with it other companion "SQL Cookbook".

It has a nicely written and easy to understand flow with exercises at the end of each chapter. I find this a great help as when you have read the chapter, you can try and solve the exercises and hopefully it will have sunk in more.
The hardest section is on subqueries as it seem that you can put them everywhere(ugggh).

It also explains the nuances with SQL Server and Oracle, as the syntax changes for little things like altering tables and transaction.
So in all a very good book that will prove a useful reference and tool for improving ones knowledge of SQL.

Great little book, 12 Jun 2008
I bought this book because I am a programmer and need to interact with SQL on a daily basis. However...I do not want to know the fine grain details about database management systems. This is a great little book. It is very easy to read and met my needs perfectly. The samples are all easily achievable in 10 minutes, just like it says on the cover. This makes them very easy to scan over for a refresher when you are trying to work out a solution to a problem. It does not go into great details on the more advanced topics, however it does offer a primer on some of them such as transactions and cursors. Overall I would have no hesitation in recommending this book. It won't make you a SQL pro...but it will definitely make you more comfortable in common situations using this query language.

Perfect for beginners, 19 Apr 2008
This is the best book I have seen for people learning SQL from scratch. It takes you through the basics very quickly without assuming prior knowledge. Recommended for anyone with little or no prior SQL experience. You may want a basic SQL reference book to complement it.

You are better off with online tutorials, 27 Jan 2008
I recently wrote a simple database application for a hobby use. I have previous experience with SQL, but I wanted a handy reference to remind me of the basics. Time and time again I found this book useless, and resorted to an online search. I found the organisation of the book odd. If you want to create a simple application to learn with, you have to start from the back, as he tells you how to create a database and tables at the end.

Good Basic Introduction, 10 Dec 2007
This book is a great place to start for SQL. It tells you pretty much everything you are going to need to know for basic database usage. The later chapters on more advanced features such as triggers and stored procedures aren't massively useful as they don't go into enough depth but the author does say that they are only really intended to give you an idea of what you can do, not how to do it.

This book isn't going to teach you everything you need to know about SQL but it will give you the basics quickly and painlessly.


A great (if not simplistic) reference, 19 Jun 2007
This is a great reference for those starting out with SQL, or those just looking for a quick reference book to keep on their desks.

Don't be mistaken tho, it's by no means a complete reference, and doesn't cover any of the advanced SQL, but it's explanation of triggers, stored procedures, and transactions is a great reference to get around those mental syntax blocks

Very good book regarding SQL, 06 Sep 2008
This is a fair thick volume containing a wealth of knowledge regarding SQL server. Much of the work and example are specific to MS SQL Server 2005, but where this is the case it is clearly pointed out, often with examples to achieve the same effect in previous version given. That said much of the theory (specifically in the initial chapters of the book) are more general and can be applied across all major relational database implementing SQL.

The author is clearly an expert in the field.

The book does contain a chapter on Optimising SQL queries, however it is fairly sparse and should not be used as much more than an introduction and "a few pointers" on what to look for when one begins optimisation.
I look forward to reading "Inside Microsoft® SQL Server(tm) 2005: Query Tuning and Optimization" (another book in the series) but have not done so yet.

The book continues to fairly indepth and advance search techniques, covering subjects such as pivot queries, along with commands like ROLLUP and CUBE.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who has some previous experience in database development and is looking to improve their skills in the field.

An excellent well written book, 04 Mar 2008
I looked through the reviews of the books with SQL in the title and opted for this one as is had the highest number of 5 star reviews.

Having read 5 chapters in the last day my conclusion is that this is one of the best technical computer books I have ever read, and I have quite a few. The progress through the book is well paced with good thought provoking examples. An acceptable number of times I have had to re-read sections to fully understand the concepts and this has noticably improved by understanding of the SQL language.

I would recommend this book to anyone with equivalent experience, which is a few months of SQL table design/querying such that you have the basics already in hand. This moves you on from the basics.

Get this book if you are looking to improve SQL querying. Do not get this book if you are looking to program data access in .Net or something else, get a C# book then.

Thorough explanation of SQL language & much more, 21 Sep 2007
This book is mainly aimed at programmers, but I purchased it along with a number of other books to better understand what SQL is, and how it can help me to write better queries in an ACCESS database, rather than to write programes. This book is authored by some of the worlds experts on the S.Q.L language and of coarse on the dialect T-SQL. I can't say how useful it will be to programmers, but anyone who is in a scientific or technology design job, will find the subject fascinating and will very quickly begin to understand how a server application works. If you don't understand mathematical logic, then I would strongly recommend your finding a book on it first before attempting to read this book, but any design engineer or scientist should be competent enough not to need to read up on the subject. If all you want to do is write better queries for ACCESS databases though you will be better purchasing "Microsoft Access 2003 Forms, Reports, and Queries", which I purchased from Amazon a while ago. If you want to understand the SQL language behind Access purchase this book also.

Fantastic stuff, 14 Feb 2007
I have used SQL for about 20 years and TSQL for about 10 and, although I did not finish the book yet, I am delighted with what I have read so far.
Superb and very clearly explained.
A "must by".

Everyone can learn from this book!, 28 Nov 2006
Itzik is an internationally renown lecturer, trainer and writer who anyone familiar with SQL Server will immediately recognise.
The two books that he has authored in the "Inside SQL Server" series "T-SQL Querying" and "T-SQL Programming" are probably going to be the two defining books on T-SQL written for SQL 2005. They are very well written books, which even the most experienced SQL Server DBA or Developer, will learn from.


Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Administratorýs Pocket Consultant, 28 Jan 2006
Administering SQL 2005 is quite different to previous versions of SQL Server this books provides a very useful overview of the new graphical administration programs. A great resource for anyone that is new to SQL 2005 or wishes to migrate from previous versions.

The book very readable and I especially like the side notes, which come in Note, Tip, Caution, Real World and Best Practice forms. These give very useful practical information, which will help you avoid some the common problems that get posted to newsgroups.

A must have book for T-SQL programmers, 28 Nov 2006
Itzik is an internationally renown lecturer, trainer and writer who anyone familiar with SQL Server will immediately recognise.
"Inside SQL Server: T-SQL Programming" is an excellent book, invaluable to both SQL Server DBA or Developer and has something for even the most experienced programmer. This book will help you take full advantage of all the new T-SQL features in SQL 2005.

an excellent technical resource for both features and techniques of Sql Programming, 05 Jul 2006
Not only is this an excellent technical reference, it's also an excellent read - offering plenty of food for thought around subjects such as design and application of User Defined Data Types, and the age old discussions of cursor usage. This is a book I will be coming back to repeatidly and is a very good compliment to the T-Sql Tuning book. Each subject area is covered to a good depth, and generally includes the history surrounding the feature and techniques in which it might be applied, resulting in a resource that is valuable both for experienced and new Sql Programmers.

The best sql book I've seen., 29 Jun 2008
The book claims its audience ranges from novices to sql experts (who need to use a different sql platform), and I have to agree. Since it explains a lot about set theory, and how sql works, I doubt it will be out-of-date any time soon. The author describes it as a collection of common SQL problems and their solutions, which is true. What really makes this book special is that I find myself working through examples on my home database for fun. I've used SQL since the early 90s (on Oracle) and have not come across such a useful yet enjoyable book before. The only small errata I found was on page 336 (where the mysql subquery needed an alias), so I suspect there may be a few others - there are examples given for the main platforms - Postgre, Oracle, DB2, Sql Server etc.

Fantastic book for begginers, 05 Nov 2008
I'm not a programmer and I bought this book having no idea of SQL, and I can say I learned a lot from it. It's easy to understand and it's well structured. Maybe it doesn't cover every aspect of SQL, but it's the place to start to write your first queries. Give it a try, you won't regret!

An Excellent Book, 15 Apr 2008
After wanting to get a better grasp on SQL and its Syntax I bought this book along with it other companion "SQL Cookbook".

It has a nicely written and easy to understand flow with exercises at the end of each chapter. I find this a great help as when you have read the chapter, you can try and solve the exercises and hopefully it will have sunk in more.
The hardest section is on subqueries as it seem that you can put them everywhere(ugggh).

It also explains the nuances with SQL Server and Oracle, as the syntax changes for little things like altering tables and transaction.
So in all a very good book that will prove a useful reference and tool for improving ones knowledge of SQL.

Kalen Delaney triumphs again, 14 May 2007
Kalen Delaney triumphs again with another great book in the Inside SQL Server series (a series that no DBA or developer should be without) however this time the book has been spilt into 4 volumes in which she writes 2 of them. The other 2 are written by Itzik Ben-Gan.


"The Storage Engine" covers the Architecture, Configuration, Databases (and Databases files), Logging and Recovery, Tables, index internals (and management), locking and concurrency.


Just like her other books, it is clearly written, with good use of diagrams and code (and results, so you don't have to run all the code in the book to see what Kalen is talking about).


Room or no room, make space for this one on your shelf. A book not to be missed.



"Another great book by Kalen Delaney", 22 Jan 2007
This is another great book by Kalen Delaney, and a worthy addition to the Inside Microsoft SQL Server Series.
The only reason this book doesn't get 5 stars is down to price. Whereas 2000 was crammed into a single Inside SQL Server volume, 2005 is now spread across four.. ..yes there is both extra detail and more content to cover, but having purchased this book and flicked through a friends copy of the other two currently published books, I can't help thinking two books would have been enough.. ..to purchase all four volumes of the 2005 installment of the series really does seem a bit too pricey..

Inside SQL Server: The Storage Engine, 08 Nov 2006
The only other book I have ever pre-ordered was Harry Potter! Although this may have limited appeal to 8 year olds, it has certainly reached and surpassed the level of anticipation I had.

Like it's predecessor this book is a must buy for any SQL Server DBA or Developer who requires more than a basic knowledge of the way things work (unfortunately there are no mammoths!).

A very well written book that is very readable, whether you delve into it for reference or read it from cover to cover. It contains information of the highest level that can only be garnered by Kalen's unique relationship with the developers who designed and wrote the code.

Great little book, 12 Jun 2008
I bought this book because I am a programmer and need to interact with SQL on a daily basis. However...I do not want to know the fine grain details about database management systems. This is a great little book. It is very easy to read and met my needs perfectly. The samples are all easily achievable in 10 minutes, just like it says on the cover. This makes them very easy to scan over for a refresher when you are trying to work out a solution to a problem. It does not go into great details on the more advanced topics, however it does offer a primer on some of them such as transactions and cursors. Overall I would have no hesitation in recommending this book. It won't make you a SQL pro...but it will definitely make you more comfortable in common situations using this query language.

Perfect for beginners, 19 Apr 2008
This is the best book I have seen for people learning SQL from scratch. It takes you through the basics very quickly without assuming prior knowledge. Recommended for anyone with little or no prior SQL experience. You may want a basic SQL reference book to complement it.

You are better off with online tutorials, 27 Jan 2008
I recently wrote a simple database application for a hobby use. I have previous experience with SQL, but I wanted a handy reference to remind me of the basics. Time and time again I found this book useless, and resorted to an online search. I found the organisation of the book odd. If you want to create a simple application to learn with, you have to start from the back, as he tells you how to create a database and tables at the end.

Good Basic Introduction, 10 Dec 2007
This book is a great place to start for SQL. It tells you pretty much everything you are going to need to know for basic database usage. The later chapters on more advanced features such as triggers and stored procedures aren't massively useful as they don't go into enough depth but the author does say that they are only really intended to give you an idea of what you can do, not how to do it.

This book isn't going to teach you everything you need to know about SQL but it will give you the basics quickly and painlessly.


A great (if not simplistic) reference, 19 Jun 2007
This is a great reference for those starting out with SQL, or those just looking for a quick reference book to keep on their desks.

Don't be mistaken tho, it's by no means a complete reference, and doesn't cover any of the advanced SQL, but it's explanation of triggers, stored procedures, and transactions is a great reference to get around those mental syntax blocks

Very good book regarding SQL, 06 Sep 2008
This is a fair thick volume containing a wealth of knowledge regarding SQL server. Much of the work and example are specific to MS SQL Server 2005, but where this is the case it is clearly pointed out, often with examples to achieve the same effect in previous version given. That said much of the theory (specifically in the initial chapters of the book) are more general and can be applied across all major relational database implementing SQL.

The author is clearly an expert in the field.

The book does contain a chapter on Optimising SQL queries, however it is fairly sparse and should not be used as much more than an introduction and "a few pointers" on what to look for when one begins optimisation.
I look forward to reading "Inside Microsoft® SQL Server(tm) 2005: Query Tuning and Optimization" (another book in the series) but have not done so yet.

The book continues to fairly indepth and advance search techniques, covering subjects such as pivot queries, along with commands like ROLLUP and CUBE.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who has some previous experience in database development and is looking to improve their skills in the field.

An excellent well written book, 04 Mar 2008
I looked through the reviews of the books with SQL in the title and opted for this one as is had the highest number of 5 star reviews.

Having read 5 chapters in the last day my conclusion is that this is one of the best technical computer books I have ever read, and I have quite a few. The progress through the book is well paced with good thought provoking examples. An acceptable number of times I have had to re-read sections to fully understand the concepts and this has noticably improved by understanding of the SQL language.

I would recommend this book to anyone with equivalent experience, which is a few months of SQL table design/querying such that you have the basics already in hand. This moves you on from the basics.

Get this book if you are looking to improve SQL querying. Do not get this book if you are looking to program data access in .Net or something else, get a C# book then.

Thorough explanation of SQL language & much more, 21 Sep 2007
This book is mainly aimed at programmers, but I purchased it along with a number of other books to better understand what SQL is, and how it can help me to write better queries in an ACCESS database, rather than to write programes. This book is authored by some of the worlds experts on the S.Q.L language and of coarse on the dialect T-SQL. I can't say how useful it will be to programmers, but anyone who is in a scientific or technology design job, will find the subject fascinating and will very quickly begin to understand how a server application works. If you don't understand mathematical logic, then I would strongly recommend your finding a book on it first before attempting to read this book, but any design engineer or scientist should be competent enough not to need to read up on the subject. If all you want to do is write better queries for ACCESS databases though you will be better purchasing "Microsoft Access 2003 Forms, Reports, and Queries", which I purchased from Amazon a while ago. If you want to understand the SQL language behind Access purchase this book also.

Fantastic stuff, 14 Feb 2007
I have used SQL for about 20 years and TSQL for about 10 and, although I did not finish the book yet, I am delighted with what I have read so far.
Superb and very clearly explained.
A "must by".

Everyone can learn from this book!, 28 Nov 2006
Itzik is an internationally renown lecturer, trainer and writer who anyone familiar with SQL Server will immediately recognise.
The two books that he has authored in the "Inside SQL Server" series "T-SQL Querying" and "T-SQL Programming" are probably going to be the two defining books on T-SQL written for SQL 2005. They are very well written books, which even the most experienced SQL Server DBA or Developer, will learn from.


Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Administratorýs Pocket Consultant, 28 Jan 2006
Administering SQL 2005 is quite different to previous versions of SQL Server this books provides a very useful overview of the new graphical administration programs. A great resource for anyone that is new to SQL 2005 or wishes to migrate from previous versions.

The book very readable and I especially like the side notes, which come in Note, Tip, Caution, Real World and Best Practice forms. These give very useful practical information, which will help you avoid some the common problems that get posted to newsgroups.

A must have book for T-SQL programmers, 28 Nov 2006
Itzik is an internationally renown lecturer, trainer and writer who anyone familiar with SQL Server will immediately recognise.
"Inside SQL Server: T-SQL Programming" is an excellent book, invaluable to both SQL Server DBA or Developer and has something for even the most experienced programmer. This book will help you take full advantage of all the new T-SQL features in SQL 2005.

an excellent technical resource for both features and techniques of Sql Programming, 05 Jul 2006
Not only is this an excellent technical reference, it's also an excellent read - offering plenty of food for thought around subjects such as design and application of User Defined Data Types, and the age old discussions of cursor usage. This is a book I will be coming back to repeatidly and is a very good compliment to the T-Sql Tuning book. Each subject area is covered to a good depth, and generally includes the history surrounding the feature and techniques in which it might be applied, resulting in a resource that is valuable both for experienced and new Sql Programmers.

The best sql book I've seen., 29 Jun 2008
The book claims its audience ranges from novices to sql experts (who need to use a different sql platform), and I have to agree. Since it explains a lot about set theory, and how sql works, I doubt it will be out-of-date any time soon. The author describes it as a collection of common SQL problems and their solutions, which is true. What really makes this book special is that I find myself working through examples on my home database for fun. I've used SQL since the early 90s (on Oracle) and have not come across such a useful yet enjoyable book before. The only small errata I found was on page 336 (where the mysql subquery needed an alias), so I suspect there may be a few others - there are examples given for the main platforms - Postgre, Oracle, DB2, Sql Server etc.

Fantastic book for begginers, 05 Nov 2008
I'm not a programmer and I bought this book having no idea of SQL, and I can say I learned a lot from it. It's easy to understand and it's well structured. Maybe it doesn't cover every aspect of SQL, but it's the place to start to write your first queries. Give it a try, you won't regret!

An Excellent Book, 15 Apr 2008
After wanting to get a better grasp on SQL and its Syntax I bought this book along with it other companion "SQL Cookbook".

It has a nicely written and easy to understand flow with exercises at the end of each chapter. I find this a great help as when you have read the chapter, you can try and solve the exercises and hopefully it will have sunk in more.
The hardest section is on subqueries as it seem that you can put them everywhere(ugggh).

It also explains the nuances with SQL Server and Oracle, as the syntax changes for little things like altering tables and transaction.
So in all a very good book that will prove a useful reference and tool for improving ones knowledge of SQL.

Kalen Delaney triumphs again, 14 May 2007
Kalen Delaney triumphs again with another great book in the Inside SQL Server series (a series that no DBA or developer should be without) however this time the book has been spilt into 4 volumes in which she writes 2 of them. The other 2 are written by Itzik Ben-Gan.


"The Storage Engine" covers the Architecture, Configuration, Databases (and Databases files), Logging and Recovery, Tables, index internals (and management), locking and concurrency.


Just like her other books, it is clearly written, with good use of diagrams and code (and results, so you don't have to run all the code in the book to see what Kalen is talking about).


Room or no room, make space for this one on your shelf. A book not to be missed.



"Another great book by Kalen Delaney", 22 Jan 2007
This is another great book by Kalen Delaney, and a worthy addition to the Inside Microsoft SQL Server Series.
The only reason this book doesn't get 5 stars is down to price. Whereas 2000 was crammed into a single Inside SQL Server volume, 2005 is now spread across four.. ..yes there is both extra detail and more content to cover, but having purchased this book and flicked through a friends copy of the other two currently published books, I can't help thinking two books would have been enough.. ..to purchase all four volumes of the 2005 installment of the series really does seem a bit too pricey..

Inside SQL Server: The Storage Engine, 08 Nov 2006
The only other book I have ever pre-ordered was Harry Potter! Although this may have limited appeal to 8 year olds, it has certainly reached and surpassed the level of anticipation I had.

Like it's predecessor this book is a must buy for any SQL Server DBA or Developer who requires more than a basic knowledge of the way things work (unfortunately there are no mammoths!).

A very well written book that is very readable, whether you delve into it for reference or read it from cover to cover. It contains information of the highest level that can only be garnered by Kalen's unique relationship with the developers who designed and wrote the code.


quite good, 11 Apr 2008
I read this book after "Inside SQL Server 2005: TSQL Querying" and I was not as impressed.
"TSQL Querying" uses some (invaluable) techniques that could run on SQL 2000 as well as 2005 specific stuff.
This book, on the other hand, is pretty much 2005 only BUT I did not think it had so much "impact".
I learned some very interesting stuff regarding DMVs (Dynamic Management Views) but I did not feel it deserved an entire book.
After that long wait (the book was delayed many times), it was a bit of an anticlimax.
It is a useful read but TSQL Querying seems much better to me

Get your mission-critical databases up and running quickly with this essential, single-volume guide. This comprehensive administrator's reference details features and capabilities of SQL Server 2005, including how to implement business intelligence applic

Great little book, 12 Jun 2008
I bought this book because I am a programmer and need to interact with SQL on a daily basis. However...I do not want to know the fine grain details about database management systems. This is a great little book. It is very easy to read and met my needs perfectly. The samples are all easily achievable in 10 minutes, just like it says on the cover. This makes them very easy to scan over for a refresher when you are trying to work out a solution to a problem. It does not go into great details on the more advanced topics, however it does offer a primer on some of them such as transactions and cursors. Overall I would have no hesitation in recommending this book. It won't make you a SQL pro...but it will definitely make you more comfortable in common situations using this query language.

Perfect for beginners, 19 Apr 2008
This is the best book I have seen for people learning SQL from scratch. It takes you through the basics very quickly without assuming prior knowledge. Recommended for anyone with little or no prior SQL experience. You may want a basic SQL reference book to complement it.

You are better off with online tutorials, 27 Jan 2008
I recently wrote a simple database application for a hobby use. I have previous experience with SQL, but I wanted a handy reference to remind me of the basics. Time and time again I found this book useless, and resorted to an online search. I found the organisation of the book odd. If you want to create a simple application to learn with, you have to start from the back, as he tells you how to create a database and tables at the end.

Good Basic Introduction, 10 Dec 2007
This book is a great place to start for SQL. It tells you pretty much everything you are going to need to know for basic database usage. The later chapters on more advanced features such as triggers and stored procedures aren't massively useful as they don't go into enough depth but the author does say that they are only really intended to give you an idea of what you can do, not how to do it.

This book isn't going to teach you everything you need to know about SQL but it will give you the basics quickly and painlessly.


A great (if not simplistic) reference, 19 Jun 2007
This is a great reference for those starting out with SQL, or those just looking for a quick reference book to keep on their desks.

Don't be mistaken tho, it's by no means a complete reference, and doesn't cover any of the advanced SQL, but it's explanation of triggers, stored procedures, and transactions is a great reference to get around those mental syntax blocks

Very good book regarding SQL, 06 Sep 2008
This is a fair thick volume containing a wealth of knowledge regarding SQL server. Much of the work and example are specific to MS SQL Server 2005, but where this is the case it is clearly pointed out, often with examples to achieve the same effect in previous version given. That said much of the theory (specifically in the initial chapters of the book) are more general and can be applied across all major relational database implementing SQL.

The author is clearly an expert in the field.

The book does contain a chapter on Optimising SQL queries, however it is fairly sparse and should not be used as much more than an introduction and "a few pointers" on what to look for when one begins optimisation.
I look forward to reading "Inside Microsoft® SQL Server(tm) 2005: Query Tuning and Optimization" (another book in the series) but have not done so yet.

The book continues to fairly indepth and advance search techniques, covering subjects such as pivot queries, along with commands like ROLLUP and CUBE.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who has some previous experience in database development and is looking to improve their skills in the field.

An excellent well written book, 04 Mar 2008
I looked through the reviews of the books with SQL in the title and opted for this one as is had the highest number of 5 star reviews.

Having read 5 chapters in the last day my conclusion is that this is one of the best technical computer books I have ever read, and I have quite a few. The progress through the book is well paced with good thought provoking examples. An acceptable number of times I have had to re-read sections to fully understand the concepts and this has noticably improved by understanding of the SQL language.

I would recommend this book to anyone with equivalent experience, which is a few months of SQL table design/querying such that you have the basics already in hand. This moves you on from the basics.

Get this book if you are looking to improve SQL querying. Do not get this book if you are looking to program data access in .Net or something else, get a C# book then.

Thorough explanation of SQL language & much more, 21 Sep 2007
This book is mainly aimed at programmers, but I purchased it along with a number of other books to better understand what SQL is, and how it can help me to write better queries in an ACCESS database, rather than to write programes. This book is authored by some of the worlds experts on the S.Q.L language and of coarse on the dialect T-SQL. I can't say how useful it will be to programmers, but anyone who is in a scientific or technology design job, will find the subject fascinating and will very quickly begin to understand how a server application works. If you don't understand mathematical logic, then I would strongly recommend your finding a book on it first before attempting to read this book, but any design engineer or scientist should be competent enough not to need to read up on the subject. If all you want to do is write better queries for ACCESS databases though you will be better purchasing "Microsoft Access 2003 Forms, Reports, and Queries", which I purchased from Amazon a while ago. If you want to understand the SQL language behind Access purchase this book also.

Fantastic stuff, 14 Feb 2007
I have used SQL for about 20 years and TSQL for about 10 and, although I did not finish the book yet, I am delighted with what I have read so far.
Superb and very clearly explained.
A "must by".

Everyone can learn from this book!, 28 Nov 2006
Itzik is an internationally renown lecturer, trainer and writer who anyone familiar with SQL Server will immediately recognise.
The two books that he has authored in the "Inside SQL Server" series "T-SQL Querying" and "T-SQL Programming" are probably going to be the two defining books on T-SQL written for SQL 2005. They are very well written books, which even the most experienced SQL Server DBA or Developer, will learn from.


Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Administratorýs Pocket Consultant, 28 Jan 2006
Administering SQL 2005 is quite different to previous versions of SQL Server this books provides a very useful overview of the new graphical administration programs. A great resource for anyone that is new to SQL 2005 or wishes to migrate from previous versions.

The book very readable and I especially like the side notes, which come in Note, Tip, Caution, Real World and Best Practice forms. These give very useful practical information, which will help you avoid some the common problems that get posted to newsgroups.

A must have book for T-SQL programmers, 28 Nov 2006
Itzik is an internationally renown lecturer, trainer and writer who anyone familiar with SQL Server will immediately recognise.
"Inside SQL Server: T-SQL Programming" is an excellent book, invaluable to both SQL Server DBA or Developer and has something for even the most experienced programmer. This book will help you take full advantage of all the new T-SQL features in SQL 2005.

an excellent technical resource for both features and techniques of Sql Programming, 05 Jul 2006
Not only is this an excellent technical reference, it's also an excellent read - offering plenty of food for thought around subjects such as design and application of User Defined Data Types, and the age old discussions of cursor usage. This is a book I will be coming back to repeatidly and is a very good compliment to the T-Sql Tuning book. Each subject area is covered to a good depth, and generally includes the history surrounding the feature and techniques in which it might be applied, resulting in a resource that is valuable both for experienced and new Sql Programmers.

The best sql book I've seen., 29 Jun 2