Beginning SQL Server 2008 Express for Developers: From Novice to Professional takes a developer, and even a DBA, from knowing nothing about SQL Server 2008 Express Edition to being ready to design and build a fully functioning system that is secure, reliable, maintainable, and robust. The Express Edition of SQL Server is a free resource commonly used by students, developers of small systems, and those transferring skills from other databases. This book focuses on the features within the Express Edition and therefore will not confuse readers with coverage of features found only in the Development Edition. By the end of the book, readers will be ready to move on to Accelerated SQL Server 2008 as well as other books within the Apress SQL Server lineup such as Pro SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services.

• Covers using the free Express Edition of SQL Server
• Describes creating a database from scratch and builds on this
• Provides an understanding of SQL Server Express 2008, allowing you to build future solutions for you and your business

What you’ll learn

• Learn what features exist within SQL Server 2008 Express Edition and how to install and upgrade the product and set up security.
• Design and create a database.
• Build database objects, such as tables and stored produres, graphically as well as programmatically.
• Work with data—inserting, updating, deleting, and retrieving—using simple and complex queries, programs, and data views.
• Generate reports from data.
• Implement a solid database maintenance strategy that includes backing up and restoring your data when necessary.
• Take advantage of advanced Transact–SQL techniques to get the most out of your data.
• Ensure good performance by building the right indexes, defining the right relationships between tables, and joining tables in the most optimal manner.

Who is this book for?

Anyone interested in working with SQL Server as a database, and particularly those who wish for a no–cost database platform that plays well in the .NET environment. Ideal for those starting out in IT or who have to prior database experience.

About the Apress Beginning Series

The Beginning series from Apress is the right choice to get the information you need to land that crucial entry–level job. These books will teach you a standard and important technology from the ground up because they are explicitly designed to take you from “novice to professional.” You’ll start your journey by seeing what you need to know—but without needless theory and filler. You’ll build your skill set by learning how to put together real–world projects step by step. So whether your goal is your next career challenge or a new learning opportunity, the Beginning series from Apress will take you there—it is your trusted guide through unfamiliar territory!

Assuming neither database nor programming background, Beginning SQL Server 2005 Express for Developers introduces all the fundamental database administration and SQL programming features of SQL Server 2005 Express Edition, the free relational database management system from Microsoft that provides a major subset of full SQL Server 2005 functionality.

This book is a comprehensive guide that covers installing and configuring SQL Server 2005 Express; creating, backing up, and restoring databases; creating tables, then querying and manipulating them with T-SQL; coding stored procedures and triggers, and using Reporting Services to deliver information to end users. Detailed, clear, and highly readable, this book will make you a competent and confident database administrator and programmer.

• This is the clearest and most comprehensive introduction to SQL Server 2005 Express.
• The book assumes no prior experience with databases, SQL, or programming.
• Youll learn about both database administration and T-SQL programming.
• The book covers SQL Server Management Studio and Reporting Services.

SQL Server 2008 is a first–rate database management system. It offers more capability than any previous release of SQL Server. More than just a classic relational database management system, SQL Server 2008 includes exciting and powerful features that make it useful for everything from large corporate data warehouses to ad hoc departmental databases. You’ll find enhanced support for XML, new support for spatial data, transparent data encryption, a policy–based management system, and more.

Author and developer Robin Dewson will show you the way from beginner to SQL Server 2008 professional. Learn to install SQL Server 2008 and navigate around Management Studio before getting right to the heart of mastering fundamental SQL Server 2008 tasks: creating tables, storing data, securing data, and retrieving it again. Dewson ensures you’ll be fully prepared to use all the basics and create a solid foundation for your own projects.

Don’t forget about backups! Your database will house important data, so backing up is essential to protect yourself from inevitable hardware failure. Dewson walks you through SQL Server 2008’s easy–to–use backup and recovery feature set, giving you the grounding that you need in order to set up a reliable plan for recovery in your own environment.

Learn to use Transact–SQL, a full–blown procedural language that is built right into the database system. Transact–SQL is the key to unlocking everything that SQL Server 2008 has to offer. Using Transact–SQL, you can write centrally encapsulated business logic through the use of stored procedures, automatically trigger processing through the use of triggers, and manipulate data within the server without having to move data back and forth across the network.

Finally, you’ll learn a bit about SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services, a powerful tool that allows enterprise reporting. Reporting Services enables you to develop and serve reports across your organization and even to business partners outside your company. Reporting Services also gives end users the ability to create their own reports, helping them transform business data into valuable, usable information to guide their day–to–day decisions.

What you’ll learn

• Install and manage SQL Server on your system.
• Create and secure tables.
• Store and query data; use indexes to improve query performance.
• “Sleep when the wind blows,” because you have a solid backup and recovery process.
• Run procedural code inside your database in the form of Transact–SQL procedures and triggers.
• Serve up business reports to in–house users and outside business partners via SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services.

Who is this book for?

Developers new to SQL Server 2008. If you are just beginning to develop software using SQL Server 2008, or if you are planning to do so in the near future, this book will set you on the road to success.

About the Apress Beginning Series

The Beginning series from Apress is the right choice to get the information you need to land that crucial entry–level job. These books will teach you a standard and important technology from the ground up because they are explicitly designed to take you from “novice to professional.” You’ll start your journey by seeing what you need to knowbut without needless theory and filler. You’ll build your skill set by learning how to put together real–world projects step by step. So whether your goal is your next career challenge or a new learning opportunity, the Beginning series from Apress will take you there—it is your trusted guide through unfamiliar territory!