Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft SQL Server T-SQL in 10 Minutes

Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft SQL Server T-SQL in 10 Minutes offers straightforward, practical answers when you need fast results. By working through 10-minute lessons, you’ll learn everything you need to know to take advantage of Microsoft SQL Server’s T-SQL language.   This handy pocket guide starts with simple data retrieval and moves on to more complex topics, including the use of joins, subqueries, full text-based searches, functions and stored procedures, cursors, triggers, table constraints, XML, and much more.   You’ll learn what you need to know methodically, systematically, and simply–in highly focused lessons designed to make you immediately and effortlessly productive.   Tips point out shortcuts and solutions   Cautions help you avoid common pitfalls   Notes explain additional concepts, and provide additional information   10 minutes is all you need to learn how to… Use T-SQL in the Microsoft SQL Server environment Construct complex T-SQL statements using multiple clauses and operators Filter data so you get the information you need quickly Retrieve, sort, and format database contents Join two or more related tables Make SQL Server work for you with globalization and localization Create subqueries to pinpoint your data Automate your workload with triggers Create and alter database tables Work with views, stored procedures, and more  Register your book at www.samspublishing.com/register to download examples and source code from this book.

Table of Contents:
 Introduction                                                                                                  1         Who Is This Book For?..................................................................................................... 2         Companion Website............................................................................................................. 2         Conventions Used in This Book................................................................................. 3     1    Understanding SQL                                                                               5         Database Basics....................................................................................................................... 5         What Is SQL?......................................................................................................................... 11         Try It Yourself...................................................................................................................... 12         Summary.................................................................................................................................... 12     2    Introducing SQL Server                                                                       13         What Is SQL Server?......................................................................................................... 13         SQL Server Tools................................................................................................................ 16         Summary.................................................................................................................................... 18     3    Working with SQL Server                                                                   19         Making the Connection................................................................................................... 19         Selecting a Database........................................................................................................... 20         Learning About Databases and Tables................................................................ 21         Summary.................................................................................................................................... 25     4    Retrieving Data                                                                                     27         The SELECT Statement................................................................................................. 27         Retrieving Individual Columns.................................................................................. 27         Retrieving Multiple Columns..................................................................................... 29         Retrieving All Columns................................................................................................... 31         Retrieving Distinct Rows.............................................................................................. 32         Limiting Results.................................................................................................................... 33         Using Fully Qualified Table Names...................................................................... 36         Summary.................................................................................................................................... 36     5    Sorting Retrieved Data                                                                        37         Sorting Data............................................................................................................................. 37         Sorting by Multiple Columns.................................................................................... 39         Specifying Sort Direction.............................................................................................. 40         Summary.................................................................................................................................... 43     6    Filtering Data                                                                                         45         Using the WHERE Clause............................................................................................ 45         The WHERE Clause Operators................................................................................ 46         Summary.................................................................................................................................... 52     7    Advanced Data Filtering                                                                     53         Combining WHERE Clauses....................................................................................... 53         Using the IN Operator..................................................................................................... 57         Using the NOT Operator.............................................................................................. 59         Summary.................................................................................................................................... 60     8    Using Wildcard Filtering                                                                     61         Using the LIKE Operator.............................................................................................. 61         Tips for Using Wildcards.............................................................................................. 67         Summary.................................................................................................................................... 67     9    Creating Calculated Fields                                                                  69         Understanding Calculated Fields.............................................................................. 69         Concatenating Fields......................................................................................................... 70         Performing Mathematical Calculations............................................................... 75         Summary.................................................................................................................................... 77     10    Using Data Manipulation Functions                                               79         Understanding Functions............................................................................................... 79         Using Functions.................................................................................................................... 80         Summary.................................................................................................................................... 89     11    Summarizing Data                                                                               91         Using Aggregate Functions........................................................................................... 91         Aggregates on Distinct Values................................................................................... 98         Combining Aggregate Functions............................................................................ 100         Summary................................................................................................................................. 100     12    Grouping Data                                                                                   101         Understanding Data Grouping................................................................................ 101         Creating Groups................................................................................................................ 102         Filtering Groups................................................................................................................ 103         Grouping and Sorting..................................................................................................... 106         SELECT Clause Ordering........................................................................................... 108         Summary................................................................................................................................. 109     13    Working with Subqueries                                                               111         Understanding Subqueries.......................................................................................... 111         Filtering by Subquery.................................................................................................... 111         Using Subqueries as Calculated Fields.............................................................. 116         Checking for Existence with Subqueries.......................................................... 119         Summary................................................................................................................................. 121     14    Joining Tables                                                                                   123         Understanding Joins....................................................................................................... 123         Creating a Join..................................................................................................................... 126         Summary................................................................................................................................. 135     15    Creating Advanced Joins                                                                137         Using Table Aliases........................................................................................................ 137         Using Different Join Types...................................................................................... 138         Using Joins with Aggregate Functions............................................................. 145         Using Joins and Join Conditions........................................................................... 147         Summary................................................................................................................................. 147     16    Combining Queries                                                                           149         Understanding Combined Queries....................................................................... 149         Creating Combined Queries...................................................................................... 150         Summary................................................................................................................................. 155     17    Full-Text Searching                                                                          157         Understanding Full-Text Searching..................................................................... 157         Setting Up Full-Text Searching.............................................................................. 158         Performing Full-Text Searches................................................................................ 162         Summary................................................................................................................................. 170     18    Inserting Data                                                                                   171         Understanding Data Insertion................................................................................. 171         Inserting Complete Rows........................................................................................... 172         Inserting Multiple Rows............................................................................................. 176         Inserting Retrieved Data.............................................................................................. 177         Summary................................................................................................................................. 179     19    Updating and Deleting Data                                                           181         Updating Data..................................................................................................................... 181         Deleting Data....................................................................................................................... 183         Guidelines for Updating and Deleting Data.................................................. 184         Summary................................................................................................................................. 185     20    Creating and Manipulating Tables                                                187         Creating Tables................................................................................................................... 187         Updating Tables................................................................................................................ 195         Deleting Tables................................................................................................................... 197         Renaming Tables............................................................................................................... 198         Summary................................................................................................................................. 198     21    Using Views                                                                                      199         Understanding Views..................................................................................................... 199         Using Views.......................................................................................................................... 201         Summary................................................................................................................................. 208     22    Programming with T-SQL                                                                209         Understanding T-SQL Programming.................................................................. 209         Using Variables................................................................................................................... 210         Using Conditional Processing.................................................................................. 217         Grouping Statements..................................................................................................... 219         Using Looping..................................................................................................................... 221         Summary................................................................................................................................. 222     23    Working with Stored Procedures                                                   223         Understanding Stored Procedures........................................................................ 223         Why Use Stored Procedures.................................................................................... 224         Using Stored Procedures............................................................................................. 225         Summary................................................................................................................................. 234     24    Using Cursors                                                                                   235         Understanding Cursors................................................................................................. 235         Working with Cursors................................................................................................... 235         Summary................................................................................................................................. 242     25    Using Triggers                                                                                  243         Understanding Triggers................................................................................................ 243         Using Triggers..................................................................................................................... 247         Summary................................................................................................................................. 250     26    Managing Transaction Processing                                               251         Understanding Transaction Processing............................................................ 251         Controlling Transactions............................................................................................. 253         Summary................................................................................................................................. 258     27    Working with XML                                                                          259         Understanding SQL Server XML Support................................................... 259         Retrieving Data as XML............................................................................................. 260         Storing XML Data........................................................................................................... 264         Searching for XML Data............................................................................................. 267         Summary................................................................................................................................. 268     28    Globalization and Localization                                                        269         Understanding Character Sets and Collation Sequences...................... 269         Working with Collation Sequences...................................................................... 270         Managing Case Sensitivity........................................................................................ 273         Working with Unicode.................................................................................................. 275         Summary................................................................................................................................. 277     29    Managing Security                                                                           279         Understanding Access Control............................................................................... 279         Managing Users................................................................................................................. 281         Managing Access Rights............................................................................................. 283         Summary................................................................................................................................. 285     30    Improving Performance                                                                   287         Improving Performance................................................................................................ 287         Summary................................................................................................................................. 289 Appendixes     A Getting Started with SQL Server and T-SQL                                     291     B The Example Tables                                                                               295     C T-SQL Statement Syntax                                                                       303     D T-SQL Datatypes                                                                                   309     E T-SQL Reserved Words                                                                        315