Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005: T-SQL Querying

by Itzik Ben-Gan, Lubor Kollar, Dejan Sarka

This thorough, hands-on reference for database developers and administrators delivers expert guidance on sophisticated uses of Transact-SQL (T-SQL)—one of the most familiar and powerful programming languages for SQL Server. Written by a T-SQL guru, this guide focuses on advanced querying techniques and how queries are interpreted and processed by the SQL Server execution engine. You’ll get in-depth coverage of the sophisticated uses of T-SQL, including the differences between logical and physical processing, nesting of queries, and much more. The book explains and compares solutions to database-development problems in both SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005, discussing the new T-SQL programming features added to SQL Server 2005 in detail. Includes extensive code samples, table examples, and logic puzzles to help database developers and administrators understand the intricacies and help promote mastery of T-SQL

Professional SQL Server 2005 Integration Services

by group of authors

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

SQL Server 2005 T-SQL Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach

by Joseph Sack

TNeed to brush up on specific SQL Server tasks, procedures, or Transact-SQL commands? Not finding what you need from SQL Server books online? Or perhaps you just want to familiarize yourself with the practical application of new T-SQL--related features. SQL Server 2005 T-SQL Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach is an ideal book, whatever your level as a DBA or developer.

This "no-fluff" desk reference offers direct access to the information you need to get the job done. It covers basic T-SQL data manipulation, the use of stored procedures, triggers and UDFs, and advanced T-SQL techniques for database security and maintenance. It also provides hundreds of practical recipes that describe the utilities of features and functions, with a minimim of background theory.

Additionally, this book provides "how-to" answers to common SQL Server T-SQL questions, conceptual overviews, and highlights of new features introduced in SQL Server 2005. It also features concise T-SQL syntax examples, and you can use the book to prepare for a SQL Server-related job interview or certification test.

Inside SQL Server 2000

by Kalen Delaney

This is the book for SQL Server professionals. It covers the internal workings of SQL Server, its core architecture, optimization techniques, etc. 

It is not recommended for junior, intermediate, or casual developers and DBAs. It does not cover topics such as administration, XML, and client access (and it shouldn't).

The Data Warehouse ETL Toolkit : Practical Techniques for Extracting, Cleaning, Conforming, and Delivering Data

by Ralph Kimball and Joe Caserta

Written by the father of modern data warehouse systems, the book presents the best practices for developing procedures for Extraction, Transformation and Loading (ETL) of  data warehouses using a number of industry examples.

The Data Warehouse Lifecycle Toolkit : Expert Methods for Designing, Developing, and Deploying Data Warehouses 

by Ralph Kimball

Required reading material for anybody designing and maintaining data warehouses, OLAP or decision support systems.

Written by the father of modern data warehouse systems, the book covers topics such as planning, information gathering, dimensional modeling, and architecture.

Data Warehousing Toolkit 

by Ralph Kimball

The original Kimball's book dedicated to presenting dimensional modeling. The author defines and clearly explains on real world example concepts such as dimensions, facts, measures, star-schema, and slowly changing dimensions.

Practical SQL Handbook

by Judith S. Bowman, 
Sandra L. Emerson and Marcy Darnovsky

This is the fourth edition of an excellent book for learning Structured Query Language and the fundamentals of database design. It is not tied to any proprietary database implementation. Readers should be able to use examples found here in any ANSI SQL-92 compliant RDBMS. The CD contains a copy of Sybase SQL Anywhere.

SQL Server 2000: 
A Beginner's Guide

by Dusan Petkovic

Very good material for learning the architecture of SQL Server and the fundamentals of development in Transact-SQL. It is written for SQL Server 2000, but it is applicable to other versions as well. Contains exercises (with solutions) you can use to improve and test your skills.

Data Modeling Handbook

by Michael Reingruber

The book to read if you want to learn to design high-quality, enterprise-level database models.

Topics in this book range from standards such as normalization forms and supertypes to practical design rules for entity and attribute design and evaluation.

ADO Examples and Best Practices

by William R. Vaughn

Bill Vaughn is the famous author of the Hitchhiker's Guide to Visual Basic and SQL Server and a former product manager of the Enterprise Edition of Visual Basic. His latest book focuses exclusively on ADO. You will improve your ability to optimize database access by at least an order of magnitude.

Code Complete

by Steve McConnell

The classic software construction book that does not  focus on the details of a specific language, but presents advice on how to write maintainable, elegant, self-documenting code. It contains many code examples showcasing good and bad practices in different languages, methods for size and time estimation, basic rules for procedure, module, or object design, checklists that you can use to evaluate your own work, and much more. The meticulous application of the methods described in this book is what differentiates the software engineer from the Gonzo programmer.