Amazon Review
Useful for any developer who works with Microsoft SQL Server databases, Beginning
Visual Basic SQL Server 7.0 delivers the goods on several key technologies,
as well as a thorough introduction to working with SQL Server and its related
tools. It's an essential resource for anyone who wants to take advantage of
the performance and reusability of server-side stored procedures on the Microsoft
platform.
This book covers a number of absolutely essential APIs that will be needed
by any programmer who works with Microsoft databases. First, the author presents
a good introduction to ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), the recommended standard
for programming with databases.
The text's principle strength has to be its comprehensive tour of Microsoft
Transact-SQL (T-SQL), starting with simple SELECT and action queries, to different
types of joins between relational tables. What's best here is the author's step-by-step
tutorial for each SQL statement, along with an example written using client-side
SQL (where the SQL is written in ADO on the client), as well as the same code
executed as a stored procedure on the server. (Here ADO is used to invoke server-side
T-SQL.) This approach not only provides an excellent introduction to SQL itself,
it also furnishes what you need to use stored procedures effectively. Server-side
database programming used to be the stuff of experts only, but this book shows
how anyone can do it using today's Visual Basic.
The title closes with several case studies that show off database front ends
for a hypothetical auto dealership. In all, Beginning Visual Basic SQL Server
7.0 provides vital material on database programming that can let beginning
or intermediate VB developers take their skills to the next level and get the
most out of Microsoft database tools and technologies. --Richard Dragan
Topics covered: History of Microsoft SQL Server, SQL Server database
files and tables, normalization, Visual Basic DB APIs (OLE DB, ODBC, and ADO),
installation hints, using the SQL Server Enterprise Manager, Query Analyzer,
Profiler, creating database objects, SQL Server security, roles and object security,
ADO objects, DSN and DSN-less database connections, using the Visual Basic Data
Environment Designer, stored procedures and Transact SQL (T-SQL) basics, select,
insert, update and delete procedures, joins, server-side vs. client-side database
programming with SQL, creating database user interfaces, building business components
with VB, using binary data, performance issues, backups, and sample case studies.
Customer Reviews...
IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO LEARN SQL SERVER 7 -BUY THIS BOOK!
Reviewer: Jaja Harris from Phoenix, Arizona
I bought this book about a week ago and have only made it through chapter 7
-(Intro. To Stored Procedures) and I am loving every minute of the book. The
author has a great deal of knowledge and can convey that knowledge in a very
simplistic way to those of us who are new to this.
I have been developing in DAO for about 3 1/2 years and have always wanted
to learn SQL Server especially with visual basic. This book gives some great
short-but-detailed-enough examples to give you a full understanding of the topic
in question.
The author does an especially good job in explaining how to write stored procedures
and execute them from within your VB code. I always knew what stored procedures
were but didn't know how to make them work from within my code. Also, gives
a great walk through intro on the different ways to connect to SQL server (using
NT authentication or SQL Server authentication-with a great explanation of each.)
Also, other books always assumed you knew the exact details in installing SQL
server and in setting up DSN connections. Mr. Willis goes over these steps thoroughly
with a great explanation of whats going on as well as bits of advice as to the
advantage of using them in your applications. Also explained what DSN-less connections
are and how they are used. I could go on and on...trust me - BUY THE BOOK! I
would suggest that Wrox follow this writing style with all of their books. Mr.
Willis doesn't try to entertain me with any jokes and doesn't sound as if he
is lecturing Einstein either. Just a doggone good book! Buy it -you won't regret
it!
38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
Beginning Visual Basic SQL Server 7.0, March 14, 2000
Reviewer: john blue from Chicago
First of all, this book definitely is not an introduction book for Visual Basic.
I'd like to give this book 5+ stars if I could. It is not only an EXCELLENT
introduction book for MS SQL 7.0 and ADO, but also an EXCELLENT introduction
book for how to write the stored procedures and how to use or call a stored
procedure in your VB code. I have been looking for a good introduction book
for how to write and use the stored procedures with VB for a long time. Finally,
I got this one. I really like the Chapter 8: Stored Procedures vs T-SQL Statements.
It shows you for a same task in two different ways to do it. One is Stored Procedures,
the other one is T-SQL Statements. The side-by-side comparisons of stored procedure
and SQL statement is a wonderful idea, especially good for beginner. Mr. Thearon
Willis really understands the definition of BEGINNING.