Reading recommendations for: Microsoft SQL Server

Question

Post your favorite book about Microsoft SQL Server (single book per comment please) or vote it up if someone has already listed it. Edit: Please include a small review or overview of subject matter and the reason for its applicability.

Answer 1

I would say The Guru's Guide to Transact-SQL and Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005: The Storage Engine very close behind

Answer 2

Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005: T-SQL Querying by Itzik Ben-Gan

This book takes you through Query Tuning, out the other side to exactly why this way is faster than that. He also helps you build up a set of tools and techniques to get to information at a lower, more accurate level than what is available using the GUI Profiler. This is not a book to teach you how to write better SQL. This is a book that helps you understand why some SQL is better than others. If your current SQL is like bass fishing with a plastic worm, a rod, and a reel; this book will help you move your SQL game up to the Bass-Masters tournament level, with the Ranger boat and 15 different color worms in 7 different shapes with 5 different hooking patterns.

Answer 3

The Guru’s Guide to SQL Server Architecture and Internals by Ken Henderson

This does for Microsoft SQL Server what the Windows Internals book does for Windows. This book explains how the envrionment that MSSQL is running in changes how you optimize the database environment to meet your performance goals. It is sort of like saying that you need to know if you are going to be sailing on fresh or salt water before you design the boat that you will be sailing on. For 99.5% of the people dealing with databases, the information in this book will be severe overkill. But, if you are the type of person who needs to know why something behaves the way it does, this is the book for you.

Answer 4

If you're looking for some books, with real in dept knowlege about SQL Server I can only recomend:

Inside Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2005: The Storage Engine (Solid Quality Learning) by Kalen Delaney (the best SQL Server book I've read, ever)

Inside Microsoft® SQL Server(TM) 2005: Query Tuning and Optimization (great book, to really understand how queries should be really optimized)

Inside Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 (originally was the best I've read until 2005 version came out, now it's second place)

There are more in the series if you're interested in a particular topic

Answer 5

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Pro ADO.Net 2.0 By:Sahil Malik

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Gets you up and running with plenty of examples and in depth knowledge.