Foundations of SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence

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Author :
Publisher : Apress
ISBN 13 : 1430202483
Total Pages : 405 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (32 download)

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Book Synopsis Foundations of SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence by : Lynn Langit

Download or read book Foundations of SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence written by Lynn Langit and published by Apress. This book was released on 2007-09-08 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the most concise yet comprehensive introduction to SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence. The book is the quickest path to seeing the Business Intelligence (BI) forest as a whole as well as understanding the trees within it. It is essential reading for all who work with SQL Server 2005. Foundations of SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence is written by a noted expert from a practical perspective. It is designed for all users of any of the tools in SQL Server 2005’s extraordinarily rich BI product suite. Developers, end-users, and even managers will find this an enlightening guide to the power and promise of SQL Server 2005 BI.

Foundations of SQL Server 2008 R2 Business Intelligence

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Publisher : Apress
ISBN 13 : 1430233257
Total Pages : 436 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (32 download)

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Book Synopsis Foundations of SQL Server 2008 R2 Business Intelligence by : Guy Fouche

Download or read book Foundations of SQL Server 2008 R2 Business Intelligence written by Guy Fouche and published by Apress. This book was released on 2011-08-12 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Foundations of SQL Server 2008 R2 Business Intelligence introduces the entire exciting gamut of business intelligence tools included with SQL Server 2008. Microsoft has designed SQL Server 2008 to be more than just a database. It’s a complete business intelligence (BI) platform. The database is at its core, and surrounding the core are tools for data mining, modeling, reporting, analyzing, charting, and integration with other enterprise-level software packages. SQL Server 2008 puts an incredible amount of BI functionality at your disposal. But how do you take advantage of it? That’s what this book is all about. Authors Guy Fouché and Lynn Langit show how to implement end-to-end BI solutions using SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS), SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), and other tools in the Microsoft business intelligence toolkit. You’ll learn about all-features such as PowerPivot and Report Builder 3.0. Also provided are clear examples of predictive analysis made possible through powerful data mining features in SQL Server. If you’re an analyst or developer working with SQL Server 2008 who is charged with delivering results that drive business success, you can’t afford to be without this book; you can’t afford to ignore the powerful business intelligence suite that Microsoft has placed at your disposal. Provides the "big picture" of Microsoft’s BI tool suite Covers PowerPivot and other game-changing technologies introduced alongside SQL Server 2008 Release 2 Gives a practical analysis of features based on real-world practices

Practical Business Intelligence with SQL Server 2005

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Author :
Publisher : Pearson Education
ISBN 13 : 0321614879
Total Pages : 495 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (216 download)

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Book Synopsis Practical Business Intelligence with SQL Server 2005 by : John C. Hancock

Download or read book Practical Business Intelligence with SQL Server 2005 written by John C. Hancock and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2006-08-28 with total page 495 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Design, Build, and Manage High-Value BI Solutions with SQL Server 2005 In this book, two of Microsoft’s leading consultants illustrate how to use SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence (BI) technologies to solve real-world problems in markets ranging from retail and finance to healthcare. Drawing on extensive personal experience with Microsoft’s strategic customers, John C. Hancock and Roger Toren offer unprecedented insight into BI systems design and step-by-step best practices for implementation, deployment, and management. Hancock and Toren introduce practical BI concepts and terminology and provide a concise primer on the Microsoft BI platform. Next, they turn to the heart of the book–constructing solutions. Each chapter-length case study begins with the customer’s business goals, and then guides you through detailed data modeling. The case studies show how to avoid the pitfalls that derail many BI projects. You’ll translate each model into a working system and learn how to deploy it into production, maintenance, and efficient operation. Whether you’re a decision-maker, architect, developer, or DBA, this book brings together all the knowledge you’ll need to derive maximum business value from any BI project. • Leverage SQL Server 2005 databases, Integration Services, Analysis Services, and Reporting Services • Build data warehouses and extend them to support very large databases • Design effective Analysis Services databases • Ensure the superior data quality your BI system needs • Construct advanced enterprise scorecard applications • Use data mining to segment customers, cross-sell, and increase the value of each transaction • Design real-time BI applications • Get hands-on practice with SQL Server 2005’s BI toolset

Professional Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Integration Services

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Author :
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1118059565
Total Pages : 1184 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (18 download)

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Book Synopsis Professional Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Integration Services by : Brian Knight

Download or read book Professional Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Integration Services written by Brian Knight and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-01-31 with total page 1184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The new edition of the successful previous version is 25 percent revised and packed with more than 200 pages of new material on the 2008 release of SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) Renowned author Brian Knight and his expert coauthors show developers how to master the 2008 release of SSIS, which is both more powerful and more complex than ever Case studies and tutorial examples acquired over the three years since the previous edition will contribute to helping illustrate advanced concepts and techniques New chapters include coverage of data warehousing using SSIS, new methods for managing the SSIS platform, and improved techniques for ETL operations

Delivering Business Intelligence with Microsoft SQL Server 2005

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Author :
Publisher : McGraw Hill Professional
ISBN 13 : 0071486887
Total Pages : 794 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (714 download)

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Book Synopsis Delivering Business Intelligence with Microsoft SQL Server 2005 by : Brian Larson

Download or read book Delivering Business Intelligence with Microsoft SQL Server 2005 written by Brian Larson and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2006-02-14 with total page 794 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Transform disparate enterprise data into actionable business intelligence Put timely, mission-critical information in the hands of employees across your organization using Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and the comprehensive information in this unique resource. Delivering Business Intelligence with Microsoft SQL Server 2005 shows you, step-by-step, how to author, customize, and distribute information that will give your company the competitive edge. It's all right here--from data mining, warehousing, and scripting techniques to MDX queries, KPI analysis, and the all-new Unified Dimensional Model. Real-world examples, start-to-finish exercises, and downloadable code throughout illustrate all of the integration, analysis, and reporting capabilities of SQL Server 2005.

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services

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Author :
Publisher : Sams Publishing
ISBN 13 : 0768689996
Total Pages : 865 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (686 download)

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Book Synopsis Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services by : Edward Melomed

Download or read book Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services written by Edward Melomed and published by Sams Publishing. This book was released on 2006-12-15 with total page 865 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services provides fast access to data by means of multidimensional data structures and the multidimensional query languag MDX. Analysis Services provides the capability to design, create, and manage multidimensional cubes based on data warehouse tables, and it serves as the foundation for the Microsoft Business Intelligence strategy. Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services gives the reader insight into the way Analysis Services functions. It not only explains ways to design and create multidimensional objects, databases, dimensions, and cubes, but also provides invaluable information about the reasons behind design decisions made by the development team. Here's what you will find inside: Understand the key concepts of multidimensional modeling Explore the multidimensional object model and its definition language Learn the main concepts of the MDX language and gain an in-depth understanding of advanced MDX concepts Understand the mechanisms of integrating multidimensional and relational databases Learn how to build client applications to access data in Analysis Services Examine server architecture, including main data structures, data processing, and query resolution algorithms Gain a deep understanding of the internal and external protocols for data transfer, including the XML/A protocol Explore how Analysis Services manages memory Explore the security model, including role-based security, code-access security, and data security Discover how to monitor and manage Analysis Services All the code for the sample database used in the book can be found at www.informit.com/title/0672327821.

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Integration Services Step by Step

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Author :
Publisher : Pearson Education
ISBN 13 : 0735646309
Total Pages : 480 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (356 download)

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Book Synopsis Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Integration Services Step by Step by : Paul Turley

Download or read book Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Integration Services Step by Step written by Paul Turley and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2007-06-20 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Teach yourself the fundamentals of SQL Server Integration Services—one step at a time. This practical, learn-by-doing tutorial delivers the guidance you need to transform and consolidate data—and build solutions that support your business intelligence needs. Discover how to: Design and execute packages that transform data between files and relational databases Configure connection managers to access other data sources Create data flows that alter, split, match, and merge data Develop event-handlers and monitor package performance Encrypt sensitive information and control access to packages Customize script code to automate Control Flow and Data Flow tasks Debug, troubleshoot, and optimize packages CD features: All practice exercises Sample databases Fully searchable eBook For customers who purchase an ebook version of this title, instructions for downloading the CD files can be found in the ebook.

The Microsoft Data Warehouse Toolkit

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Author :
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 0470342919
Total Pages : 794 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (73 download)

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Book Synopsis The Microsoft Data Warehouse Toolkit by : Joy Mundy

Download or read book The Microsoft Data Warehouse Toolkit written by Joy Mundy and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2007-12-10 with total page 794 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This groundbreaking book is the first in the Kimball Toolkit series to be product-specific. Microsoft’s BI toolset has undergone significant changes in the SQL Server 2005 development cycle. SQL Server 2005 is the first viable, full-functioned data warehouse and business intelligence platform to be offered at a price that will make data warehousing and business intelligence available to a broad set of organizations. This book is meant to offer practical techniques to guide those organizations through the myriad of challenges to true success as measured by contribution to business value. Building a data warehousing and business intelligence system is a complex business and engineering effort. While there are significant technical challenges to overcome in successfully deploying a data warehouse, the authors find that the most common reason for data warehouse project failure is insufficient focus on the business users and business problems. In an effort to help people gain success, this book takes the proven Business Dimensional Lifecycle approach first described in best selling The Data Warehouse Lifecycle Toolkit and applies it to the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 tool set. Beginning with a thorough description of how to gather business requirements, the book then works through the details of creating the target dimensional model, setting up the data warehouse infrastructure, creating the relational atomic database, creating the analysis services databases, designing and building the standard report set, implementing security, dealing with metadata, managing ongoing maintenance and growing the DW/BI system. All of these steps tie back to the business requirements. Each chapter describes the practical steps in the context of the SQL Server 2005 platform. Intended Audience The target audience for this book is the IT department or service provider (consultant) who is: Planning a small to mid-range data warehouse project; Evaluating or planning to use Microsoft technologies as the primary or exclusive data warehouse server technology; Familiar with the general concepts of data warehousing and business intelligence. The book will be directed primarily at the project leader and the warehouse developers, although everyone involved with a data warehouse project will find the book useful. Some of the book’s content will be more technical than the typical project leader will need; other chapters and sections will focus on business issues that are interesting to a database administrator or programmer as guiding information. The book is focused on the mass market, where the volume of data in a single application or data mart is less than 500 GB of raw data. While the book does discuss issues around handling larger warehouses in the Microsoft environment, it is not exclusively, or even primarily, concerned with the unusual challenges of extremely large datasets. About the Authors JOY MUNDY has focused on data warehousing and business intelligence since the early 1990s, specializing in business requirements analysis, dimensional modeling, and business intelligence systems architecture. Joy co-founded InfoDynamics LLC, a data warehouse consulting firm, then joined Microsoft WebTV to develop closed-loop analytic applications and a packaged data warehouse. Before returning to consulting with the Kimball Group in 2004, Joy worked in Microsoft SQL Server product development, managing a team that developed the best practices for building business intelligence systems on the Microsoft platform. Joy began her career as a business analyst in banking and finance. She graduated from Tufts University with a BA in Economics, and from Stanford with an MS in Engineering Economic Systems. WARREN THORNTHWAITE has been building data warehousing and business intelligence systems since 1980. Warren worked at Metaphor for eight years, where he managed the consulting organization and implemented many major data warehouse systems. After Metaphor, Warren managed the enterprise-wide data warehouse development at Stanford University. He then co-founded InfoDynamics LLC, a data warehouse consulting firm, with his co-author, Joy Mundy. Warren joined up with WebTV to help build a world class, multi-terabyte customer focused data warehouse before returning to consulting with the Kimball Group. In addition to designing data warehouses for a range of industries, Warren speaks at major industry conferences and for leading vendors, and is a long-time instructor for Kimball University. Warren holds an MBA in Decision Sciences from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, and a BA in Communications Studies from the University of Michigan. RALPH KIMBALL, PH.D., has been a leading visionary in the data warehouse industry since 1982 and is one of today's most internationally well-known authors, speakers, consultants, and teachers on data warehousing. He writes the "Data Warehouse Architect" column for Intelligent Enterprise (formerly DBMS) magazine.

Pro Visual Studio 2005 Team System

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Author :
Publisher : Apress
ISBN 13 : 1430201711
Total Pages : 524 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (32 download)

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Book Synopsis Pro Visual Studio 2005 Team System by : Jeff Levinson

Download or read book Pro Visual Studio 2005 Team System written by Jeff Levinson and published by Apress. This book was released on 2006-11-22 with total page 524 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Will significantly increase developer and manager effectiveness using this complex technology *Authors convey proven track record with the technology *This is among the first (if not the first) VSTS book on the market

Pro Visual Studio Team System with Team Edition for Database Professionals

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Author :
Publisher : Apress
ISBN 13 : 1430205725
Total Pages : 648 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (32 download)

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Book Synopsis Pro Visual Studio Team System with Team Edition for Database Professionals by : David Nelson

Download or read book Pro Visual Studio Team System with Team Edition for Database Professionals written by David Nelson and published by Apress. This book was released on 2007-12-01 with total page 648 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Updated to include coverage of the latest ‘DBPro’ extension for database professionals this book is the only reference needed to get started with Visual Studio 2005 Team System. It will guide you through the entire breadth of VSTS. If you are a stakeholder, you have a portal that gives you instant access to project documents, status, and performance indicators. If you are a project manager, you will learn how create, manage, and assess team performance. If you are a developer, you will learn how to write higher-quality code, and ensure that the code works and performs well.

Microsoft SQL Server 2005

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Publisher : Pearson Education
ISBN 13 : 0132715317
Total Pages : 631 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (327 download)

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Book Synopsis Microsoft SQL Server 2005 by : Scalability Experts, Inc.

Download or read book Microsoft SQL Server 2005 written by Scalability Experts, Inc. and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2005-08-30 with total page 631 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Microsoft SQL Server 2005: Changing the Paradigm (SQL Server 2005 Public Beta Edition) will prepare database administrators for upcoming changes in SQL Server 2005. Obtain the skills necessary to run SQL Server 2005 from the experts at Microsoft Gold Partner. Get a head-start to understanding the new concepts and features of SQL Server 2005 from the database administrator's perspective, including: SQL Server 2005 Architecture Tool Sets Scalability, Reliability and High Availability Chapter Performance Tuning Replication .NET CLR Integration DTS and Business Intelligence Minimize the surprises in SQL Server 2005 with the help of Microsoft SQL Server 2005: Changing the Paradigm (SQL Server 2005 Public Beta Edition).

SQL Server 2005 Bible

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Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 0470086378
Total Pages : 1341 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (7 download)

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Book Synopsis SQL Server 2005 Bible by : Paul Nielsen

Download or read book SQL Server 2005 Bible written by Paul Nielsen and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2007-05-23 with total page 1341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Use this comprehensive tutorial and reference to increase productivity and write stored procedures using the language with which you're most familiar. The revised content covers new features such as XML integration, Web services, the .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR), and security updates, making this book a must for any developer or database administrator transitioning to the new version of SQL Server. You'll learn to develop SQL Server database and data connections, administer SQL Server, and keep databases performing at their peak. In addition, you'll find dozens of specific examples in both a graphical format and as SQL code as well as numerous best practices describing the most effective way to accomplish a given task. A companion Web site provides all of the code examples found in the book.

SQL Server Integration Services Design Patterns

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Publisher : Apress
ISBN 13 : 1484200829
Total Pages : 451 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (842 download)

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Book Synopsis SQL Server Integration Services Design Patterns by : Tim Mitchell

Download or read book SQL Server Integration Services Design Patterns written by Tim Mitchell and published by Apress. This book was released on 2014-12-24 with total page 451 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: SQL Server Integration Services Design Patterns is newly-revised for SQL Server 2014, and is a book of recipes for SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS). Design patterns in the book help to solve common problems encountered when developing data integration solutions. The patterns and solution examples in the book increase your efficiency as an SSIS developer, because you do not have to design and code from scratch with each new problem you face. The book's team of expert authors take you through numerous design patterns that you'll soon be using every day, providing the thought process and technical details needed to support their solutions. SQL Server Integration Services Design Patterns goes beyond the surface of the immediate problems to be solved, delving into why particular problems should be solved in certain ways. You'll learn more about SSIS as a result, and you'll learn by practical example. Where appropriate, the book provides examples of alternative patterns and discusses when and where they should be used. Highlights of the book include sections on ETL Instrumentation, SSIS Frameworks, Business Intelligence Markup Language, and Dependency Services. Takes you through solutions to common data integration challenges Provides examples involving Business Intelligence Markup Language Teaches SSIS using practical examples

Professional SQL Server 2005 Integration Services

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Author :
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 0471789690
Total Pages : 722 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (717 download)

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Book Synopsis Professional SQL Server 2005 Integration Services by : Brian Knight

Download or read book Professional SQL Server 2005 Integration Services written by Brian Knight and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2007-05-22 with total page 722 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book will help you get past the initial learning curve quickly so that you can get started using SSIS to transform data, create a workflow, or maintain your SQL Server. Offering you hands-on guidance, you'll learn a new world of integration possibilities and be able to move away from scripting complex logic to programming tasks using a full-featured language. What you will learn from this book Ways to quickly move and transform data How to configure every aspect of SSIS How to interface SSIS with web services and XML Techniques to scale the SSIS and make it more reliable How to migrate DTS packages to SSIS How to create your own custom tasks and user interfaces How to create an application that interfaces with SSIS to manage the environment A detailed usable case study for a complete ETL solution Who this book is for This book is for developers, DBAs, and users who are looking to program custom code in all of the .NET languages. It is expected that you know the basics of how to query the SQL Server and have some fundamental programming skills. Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

Delivering Business Intelligence With Microsoft Sql Server" 2008

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Author :
Publisher : Tata McGraw-Hill Education
ISBN 13 : 9780070142596
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (425 download)

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Book Synopsis Delivering Business Intelligence With Microsoft Sql Server" 2008 by : Brian Larson

Download or read book Delivering Business Intelligence With Microsoft Sql Server" 2008 written by Brian Larson and published by Tata McGraw-Hill Education. This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With help from this fully updated bestselling book, database professionals will be able to transform disparate enterprise data into actionable Business Intelligence. Covering all the new and improved BI features available in SQL Server 2008, the book shows you how to put timely, mission-critical information in the hands of employees across the organization.Delivering Business Intelligence with Microsoft SQL Server 2008 begins with a discussion of BI, defining what it is and why it is important in today's business environment. After laying this foundation, the book works through the entire BI lifecycle: defining the analysis database; analyzing the data; mining the data; and delivering BI. Several analysis databases will be built and used for examples throughout the book.

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 For Dummies

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Author :
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 0470007419
Total Pages : 435 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (7 download)

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Book Synopsis Microsoft SQL Server 2005 For Dummies by : Andrew Watt

Download or read book Microsoft SQL Server 2005 For Dummies written by Andrew Watt and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2006-01-13 with total page 435 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now updated to reflect the much-anticipated "Yukon" release of SQL Server, this friendly guide shows database developers and administrators as well as those who use database application how to get up to speed fast Offers a gentle introduction to relational database design and shows how to build databases, create database applications, and maintain and optimize database performance Covers the major new features of the "Yukon" release-including analysis services, reporting services, and notification services

Beginning T-SQL with Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and 2008

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Author :
Publisher : LibreDigital
ISBN 13 : 9780470440483
Total Pages : 750 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (44 download)

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Book Synopsis Beginning T-SQL with Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and 2008 by : Paul Turley

Download or read book Beginning T-SQL with Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and 2008 written by Paul Turley and published by LibreDigital. This book was released on 2008-12-05 with total page 750 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Transact-SQL, or T-SQL, is Microsoft Corporation’s powerful implementation of the ANSI standard SQL database query language, which was designed to retrieve, manipulate, and add data to relational database management systems (RDBMS). You may already have a basic idea of what SQL is used for, but you may not have a good understanding of the concepts behind relational databases and the purpose of SQL. This book will help you build a solid foundation of understanding, beginning with core relational database concepts and continuing to reinforce those concepts with real-world T-SQL query applications. If you are familiar with relational database concepts but are new to Microsoft SQL Server or the T-SQL language, this book will teach you the basics from the ground up. If you’re familiar with earlier versions of SQL Server, it will get you up-to-speed on the newest features. And if you know SQL Server 2005, you’ll learn about some exciting new capabilities in SQL Server 2008. Information Technology professionals in many different roles use T-SQL. Our goal is to provide a guide and a reference for IT pros across the spectrum of operational database solution design, database application development, and reporting and business intelligence solutions. Database solution designers will find this book to be a thorough introduction and comprehensive reference for all aspects of database modeling, design, object management, query design, and advanced query concepts. Application developers who write code to manage and consume SQL Server data will benefit from our thorough coverage of basic data management and simple and advanced query design. Several examples of ready-to-use code are provided to get you started and to continue to support applications with embedded T-SQL queries. Report designers will find this book to be a go-to reference for report query design. You will build on a thorough introduction to basic query concepts and learn to write efficient queries to support business reports and advanced analytics. Finally, database administrators who are new to SQL Server will find this book to be an all-inclusive introduction and reference of mainstream topics. This can assist you as you support the efforts of other team members. Beyond the basics of database object management and security concepts, we recommend Beginning SQL Server 2005 Administration and Beginning SQL Server 2008 Administration from Wrox, co-authored in part by the same authors. This book introduces the T-SQL language and its many uses, and serves as a comprehensive guide at a beginner through intermediate level. Our goal in writing this book was to cover all the basics thoroughly and to cover the most common applications of T-SQL at a deeper level. Depending on your role and skill level, this book will serve as a companion to the other Wrox books in the Microsoft SQL Server Beginning and Professional series.. This book will help you to learn: How T-SQL provides you with the means to create tools for managing databases of different size, scope, and purpose Various programming techniques that use views, user-defined functions, and stored procedures Ways to optimize query performance How to create databases that will be an essential foundation to applications you develop later Each section of this book organizes topics into logical groups so the book can be read cover-to-cover or can be used as a reference guide for specific topics. We start with an introduction to the T-SQL language and data management systems, and then continue with the SQL Server product fundamentals. This first section teaches the essentials of the SQL Server product architecture and relational database design principles. This section (Chapters 1–3) concludes with an introduction to the SQL Server administrator and developer tools. The next section, encompassing Chapters 4 through 9, introduces the T-SQL language and teaches the core components of data retrieval, SQL functions, aggregation and grouping, and multi-table queries. We start with the basics and build on the core structure of the SQL SELECT statement, progressing to advanced forms of SELECT queries. Chapter 10 introduces transactions and data manipulation. You will learn how the INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements interact with the relational database engine and transaction log to lock and modify data rows with guaranteed consistency. You will not only learn to use correct SQL syntax but will understand how this process works in simple terms. More advanced topics in the concluding section will teach you to create and manage T-SQL programming objects, including views, functions, and stored procedures. You learn to optimize query performance and use T-SQL in application design, applying the query design basics to real-world business solutions. Chapter 15 contains a complete tutorial on using SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services to visualize data from the T-SQL queries you create. The book concludes with a comprehensive set of reference appendixes for command syntax, system stored procedures, information schema views, file system commands, and system management commands. The material in this book applies to all editions of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and 2008. To use all the features discussed, we recommend that you install the Developer Edition, although you can also use the Enterprise, Standard, or Workgroup editions. SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition or SQL Server 2008 Developer Edition can be installed on a desktop computer running Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Vista. You can also use Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003, or Windows Server 2008 with the Enterprise or Standard edition. The SQL Server client tools must be installed on your desktop computer and the SQL Server relational database server must be installed on either your desktop computer or on a remote server with network connectivity and permission to access. Consult www.microsoft.com/sql for information about the latest service packs, specific compatibilities, and minimum recommend system requirements. The examples throughout this book use the following sample databases, which are available to download from Microsoft: the sample database for SQL Server 2005 is called AdventureWorks, and the sample database for SQL Server 2008 is called AdventureWorks2008. Because the structure of these databases differs significantly, separate code samples are provided throughout the book for these two version-specific databases. An example using the AdventureWorks2008DW database for SQL Server 2008 is also used in Chapter 15.