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Learn T-SQL Querying
Learn T-SQL Querying

Learn T-SQL Querying: A guide to developing efficient and elegant T-SQL code

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Learn T-SQL Querying

Section 1: Query Processing Fundamentals

To understand how to write solid, performant T-SQL, users should know how SQL Server runs T-SQL syntax to deliver the intended result sets in a scalable fashion. This section introduces the reader to concepts that are used throughout the remaining sections of this book to explain most patterns and anti-patterns, as well as mitigation strategies.

The following chapters are included in this section:

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Key benefits

  • Discover T-SQL functionalities and services that help you interact with relational databases
  • Understand the roles, tasks, and responsibilities of a T-SQL developer
  • Explore solutions for carrying out database querying tasks, database administration, and troubleshooting

Description

Transact-SQL (T-SQL) is Microsoft's proprietary extension to the SQL language used with Microsoft SQL Server and Azure SQL Database. This book will be a usefu to learning the art of writing efficient T-SQL code in modern SQL Server versions as well as the Azure SQL Database. The book will get you started with query processing fundamentals to help you write powerful, performant T-SQL queries. You will then focus on query execution plans and leverage them for troubleshooting. In later chapters, you will explain how to identify various T-SQL patterns and anti-patterns. This will help you analyze execution plans to gain insights into current performance, and determine whether or not a query is scalable. You will also build diagnostic queries using dynamic management views (DMVs) and dynamic management functions (DMFs) to address various challenges in T-SQL execution. Next, you will work with the built-in tools of SQL Server to shorten the time taken to address query performance and scalability issues. In the concluding chapters, this will guide you through implementing various features, such as Extended Events, Query Store, and Query Tuning Assistant, using hands-on examples. By the end of the book, you will have developed the skills to determine query performance bottlenecks, avoid pitfalls, and discover the anti-patterns in use.

Who is this book for?

This book is for database administrators, database developers, data analysts, data scientists, and T-SQL practitioners who want to get started with writing T-SQL code and troubleshooting query performance issues with the help of practical examples. Previous knowledge of T-SQL querying is not required to get started with this book.

What you will learn

  • Use Query Store to understand and easily change query performance
  • Recognize and eliminate bottlenecks that lead to slow performance
  • Deploy quick fixes and long-term solutions to improve query performance
  • Implement best practices to minimize performance risk using T-SQL
  • Achieve optimal performance by ensuring careful query and index design
  • Use the latest performance optimization features in SQL Server 2017 and SQL Server 2019
  • Protect query performance during upgrades to newer versions of SQL Server

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : May 03, 2019
Length: 484 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781789342970
Vendor :
Microsoft
Category :
Languages :

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Product Details

Publication date : May 03, 2019
Length: 484 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781789342970
Vendor :
Microsoft
Category :
Languages :

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Frequently bought together


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SQL Server 2017 Developer???s Guide
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Learn T-SQL Querying
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Table of Contents

17 Chapters
Section 1: Query Processing Fundamentals Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Anatomy of a Query Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Understanding Query Processing Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Mechanics of the Query Optimizer Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Section 2: Dos and Donts of T-SQL Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Exploring Query Execution Plans Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Writing Elegant T-SQL Queries Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Easily-Identified T-SQL Anti-Patterns Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Discovering T-SQL Anti-Patterns in Depth Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Section 3: Assemble Your Query Troubleshooting Toolbox Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Building Diagnostic Queries Using DMVs and DMFs Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Building XEvent Profiler Traces Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Comparative Analysis of Query Plans Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Tracking Performance History with Query Store Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Troubleshooting Live Queries Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Managing Optimizer Changes with the Query Tuning Assistant Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Other Books You May Enjoy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.2
(9 Ratings)
5 star 55.6%
4 star 33.3%
3 star 0%
2 star 0%
1 star 11.1%
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Brian Kelley Aug 09, 2019
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
First and foremost, this book lives up to its subtitle: developing efficient and elegant T-SQL code. There's a significant amount of information packed into its pages. For instance, great detail is given into reading an execution plan and breaking down all the information provided from the types of operations SQL Server is performing to the resources SQL Server is committing to execute the query. The authors have also provided information explaining how SQL Server's optimization engine has changed over the years and the reasons for that change. Part of that is explaining why some queries which perform well on older versions don't perform as well on the newer versions. That's important to know if you're performing migrations and upgrades.Another aspect of this book I like is the coverage of anti-patterns: typical T-SQL code we see that can tremendously impact performance negatively. However, the authors don't just say, "Stop it!" They also provide execution plans and explanations detailing WHY something performs poorly and should be considered an anti-pattern.Finally, the authors address a significant issue when it comes to query tuning: finding the queries performing badly over time. It's easy to locate poorly performing queries right now. SQL Server provides DMVs for just that purpose. But unless a DBA is monitoring the system 24x7, we need a way of capturing what's executing and how well it's executing. There's a chapter dedicated to just that: capturing the information over a period of time. Subsequent chapters cover how to break that information and compare the performance over time.This is definitely a book I'd recommend to anyone looking to improve their T-SQL writing skills. I've been working with SQL Server and writing queries for over 20 years and I found the authors cover information that I didn't know. As a previous reviewer (Brent Ozar) indicated, this isn't a book to teach you how to write queries. There are beginning SQL and T-SQL books for that. However, if you have at least that basic knowledge, this book will teach you how to write T-SQL queries better.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Brent Ozar May 07, 2019
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
You've been writing queries for at least a year or two, and you're curious about what's happening under the hood when SQL Server runs a query. You want to know what you can do to improve your queries, tune your indexes, and change SQL Server's configuration settings so that your results will return faster.This book is for curious people like you. It is by no means a level 100, here's-how-to-write-a-query book. The first couple dozen pages act as if they're a gentle on-ramp to the parts of a query, but just jump past those to chapter 2, understanding query processing, and the authors start getting into how a query is optimized.Or if you're not quite so curious, and you just want faster queries, jump to chapter 6 and learn about anti-patterns.That is probably my only objection to the book - it seems just a little bit out of order, with some really challenging concepts coming before the easier parts about simple things you can do to make your queries go faster. That's easy to work around, however: just read the Table of Contents, find the parts that interest you, and hit those first. This is the kind of book that rewards repeated reading, and beyond that, rewards using the book's contents as a jumping-off point for additional learning. When I first read the Table of Contents, I wondered how the authors were going to cover so much ground in ~450 pages - and they did a great job striking a balance between giving you enough to get started, versus dragging you into the weeds with obscure internals details.Highly recommended for folks who want to start a curious journey into SQL Server query execution and tuning.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
David Mar 19, 2020
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Fantastic book, written by part of the SQL Server team. This covers more than just writing tSql queries; it provides a real insight into how the product processes your queries and why.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Hilary Cotter Aug 27, 2019
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Lots of tips in this book and the explanations are very clear.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Sergey Ten Feb 22, 2020
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This book stands out of the myriads of books written on the topic. This is not your ordinary T-SQL book that goes over a syntax and teaches you when to use WHERE and when - HAVING. In that aspect, the title is slightly misleading - the book goes much deeper than just "learn T-SQL querying". In fact, the book is on par with the "deep dive" volumes on the topic, and oftentimes goes even deeper - all without losing clarity and overwhelming readers with noisy details.The uniqueness of this volume is in the fact that it not only tells the reader to do "this" and not do "that", but goes on explaining _why_ you should be doing the former and not doing the latter. The authors actually captured respective SQL Server execution plans to illustrate what happens under the hood when you do "this" and when you do "that", so readers can see the _why_ with their own eyes. The number of scenarios covered is also quite plenty.From SQL parsing to query optimizing to actual execution, the authors guide the reader through all the stages of a query life cycle. I was especially impressed with the query optimization phase coverage, as this book provides you with the information no other book does - how the Query Optimizer rules work, and what kinds of "knobs" (query hints, trace flags) you can use to influence their internal workings. Once you build this kind of understanding, it enables you to see patterns in your own queries, "think" like SQL Server if you wish. And that thought process will make you well-rounded and much more versatile in writing queries that are efficient and scale well.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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