Wanted to know how SQL Server implemented JSON, and they had just the right amount of documentation and examples. I put together a hybrid relational/document DB schema together with this books help.Beyond JSON, I found the book to be well put together and had a great mix of example code and verbiage to get their points across.Well done!

Good book for the professional....

Gives deep knowledge about the new features of SQL Server 2016. I would skip the R chapters.

Hi,I have written a detailed chapter-by-chapter review of this book on www. DOT i-programmer DOT info, the first and last parts of this review are given here. For my review of all chapters, search i-programmer DOT info for STIRK together with the book's title.This book aims to provide best practices and example architectures for Hadoop technologists, how does it fare?This book aims to introduce you to the salient new and enhanced features in SQL Server 2016, how does it fare?This book is aimed at SQL Server developers and architects that want to understand the latest features in SQL Server 2016. The ideal reader would be an intermediate-level developer with experience of SQL Server 2014, that said, the book does cover some background material from previous versions of SQL Server where appropriate.In many ways, SQL Server 2016 removes many of the limitations found in SQL Server 2014 (especially In-Memory OLTP), as well as implementing other useful developer features.Below is a chapter-by-chapter exploration of the topics covered.Chapter 1 Introduction to SQL Server 2016The book’s opening chapter provides an overview of the new and enhanced SQL Server 2016 features that are subsequently detailed in the rest of the book. There’s a brief overview of the recent history of SQL Server, culminating in Microsoft’s “Mobile First, Cloud First” strategy. Next, security enhancements are highlighted (row level security, dynamic data masking, always encrypted).The chapter continues with an overview of the major SQL Server engine enhancements, namely: -Query Store (troubleshooting sudden performance changes) -Live Query Statistics (real-time analysis of performance) -Stretch Database (offload older data to slower/cheaper storage) -Database scoped configuration (some server-level settings now set at database-level) -Temporal Tables (easier table history/versioning) -Columnstore indexes (now updateable)Programming enhancements are outlined next, including new T-SQL functions, and JSON (a “better” XML). Business Intelligence has been enhanced with the incorporation of the language R into SQL Server. The chapter ends with a look at the increasing frequency of software releases.This chapter provides a useful, if very brief, overview of the major new and enhanced features in SQL Server 2016, it also highlights what to expect from the rest of the book, where these features are examined in greater detail. It is generally easy to read, with useful explanations, tips, example code, and diagrams. These traits apply to the whole of the book....ConclusionThis book aims to introduce you to the salient new and enhanced features in SQL Server 2016, and succeeds. It is generally easy to read, well written, with useful explanations, tips, example code, and diagrams.Whilst the book doesn’t cover all the new features (e.g. PolyBase), it does cover the major ones. I suspect the more you know about SQL Server already, the more useful this book will be. Since the book focuses on new and enhanced features, large subject areas are omitted (e.g. database design).Sometimes, before discussing an extended feature (e.g. In-Memory OLTP), a large amount of background information is given with reference to previous editions of SQL Server. Whilst this may be useful if you don’t know the feature, it could be argued it is unnecessary - if you already know SQL Server 2014.It might have been useful to include a section discussing SQL Server changes in terms of some of the industry’s wider trends (e.g. Big Data, Social Media, the Cloud).Overall, if you want to know more about the new and enhanced features in SQL Server 2016, I can recommend this well-written book.

I like this book as its easy to read have screenshots to understand and easy to finish.