Reviews for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 T-SQL Fundamentals (PRO-Developer)

1. Great book

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, February 12th, 2010

   This book is great! Easy to understand as it starts with very basic stuff but then it gets harder and harder. So even if you have some experience with sql, you'll still find this book helpful. The only draw back is that the author recommends you install a trial version for 120 days - when you can get a limited version of the server for free....

2. Basic - very

   Rated 3 out of 5 stars, July 12th, 2009

   This is OK - but it is a very basic book. Large writing and not enough depth for my liking. Good for beginners but that's it. I don't think it pretends to be anything else though. Perhaps 3 stars is harsh but I cant see why it deserves more.

3. I second Peter Lee

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, June 12th, 2009

   I purchased T-SQL Fundamentals after reading Peter Lee's review and I was not misled; it is an excellent book. But I believe some additional information may be helpful.
   
   If your interest is data extraction and manipulation then, whatever your existing knowledge, I do not see how you can go wrong with this book. It starts at a very basic level but by the end you will be tackling extremely difficult exercises with confidence. If you are a developer, this book will be a useful addition to your library but it only covers enough on create database, table etc. to enable you to understand data extraction and manipulation. It mentions filegroups and partitions, for example, but not the T-SQL to create and manage them.
   
   I have only one significant criticism: Appendix A should be Chapter 1. Appendix A tells those who have no access to Sequel Server at work how to install it on their home computer so they can try out the exercises. I did not notice Appendix A until after I had messed up my first installation.
   
   A lesser criticism is that the book recommends installing Sequel Server Enterprise Edition on a 120 day free trial. What do you do at the end of the free trial? Enterprise Edition is the fullest and most expensive edition. Developer Edition is a lot cheaper, is also available on free trial and the only minus is its functionality is limited by license to a development environment. However, I chose Express Edition which is free forever. OK, it is limited but it is more than adequate for a training environment. Once you have built up your knowledge, you can upgrade to the appropriate fuller edition.
   
   Tony Dallimore

4. Brilliant reference

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, February 12th, 2009

   I teach SQL Server for a living, and even though I've been talking about the subject for ten years and working with the product for longer, there are things I've picked up from this book. Please don't be deterred by the use of the word "fundamentals" in the title: this is not just a book about the "select" statement - far from it!
   
   Inside you'll find the essentials, like select, insert, update, delete, join and so on, but you'll also find coverage of aggregate functions, subqueries, XML functionality, and a lot of hugely useful information on the new code in SQL 2008. If you're an end user, this book isn't really aimed at you, but if you need to write Transact-SQL and want to leverage the new features of SQL 2008, this should be on your shelf.
   
   Highly recommended!
   
   Peter Lee (MCT, MCITP)