[...]... notion of database systems in general and Database Engine (SQL Server s relational database system) in particular, as well as the installation process It includes the following chapters: c c c Chapter 1, “Relational Database Systems—An Introduction,” discusses databases in general and Database Engine in particular The notion of normal forms and the sample database are presented here The chapter also introduces... applications, and manage system administration tasks Generally, SQL Server isn’t only a database system It is a platform that not only manages structured, semistructured, and unstructured data but also offers comprehensive, integrated operational and analysis software that enables organizations to reliably manage mission-critical information Goals of the Book Microsoft SQL Server 2008: A Beginner’s Guide follows... Environment of Database Engine,” discusses some internal issues concerning Database Engine It provides a detailed description of the Database Engine disk storage elements, system databases, and utilities Chapter 16, “Managing Instances and Maintaining Databases,” describes two important components of Database Engine, Declarative Management Framework and Maintenance Plan Wizard, which are used to manage server. .. system: a database language For all such systems, there is only one language that counts: SQL In this chapter, all components of SQL Server s own database language, called Transact -SQL, are described You can also find the basic language concepts and data types in this chapter Finally, system functions and operators of Transact -SQL are described xxv xxvi M i c r o s o f t S Q L S e r v e r 2 0 0 8 : A B... syntax conventions that are used in the rest of the book Chapter 2, “Planning the Installation and Installing SQL Server, ” describes the first system administration task: the installation of the overall system Although the installation of SQL Server is a straightforward task, there are certain steps that warrant explanation Chapter 3, SQL Server Management Studio,” describes the component called SQL Server. .. “System Catalog,” describes one of the most important parts of a database system The system catalog contains system tables that are used to store the information concerning database objects and their relationships The main characteristic of system tables of Database Engine is that they cannot be accessed directly Database Engine supports several interfaces that you can use to query the system catalog Chapter... Server Management Studio This component is presented early in the book in case you want to create database objects and query data without knowledge of SQL Part II, “Transact -SQL Language,” is intended for end users and application programmers of Database Engine It comprises the following chapters: c Chapter 4, SQL Components,” describes the fundamentals of the most important part of a relational database... legitimate access to the database system) and authentication (which access privileges are valid for a particular user) Three Transact -SQL statements are discussed in this chapter, GRANT, DENY, and REVOKE, which provide the access privileges of database objects against unauthorized access The end of the chapter explains a new feature of SQL Server 2008, tracking data changes Chapter 13, “Concurrency Control,”... warehousing The data store for a data warehousing process can be either a data warehouse or a data mart Both types of data stores are discussed, and their differences are listed, in the second part of the chapter The data warehouse design is explained at the end of the chapter Chapter 23, Microsoft Analysis Services,” discusses the architecture of Analysis Services and the main component of Analysis Services,... databases This chapters also describes how to ensure the availability of database systems and databases xxvii xxviii M i c r o s o f t S Q L S e r v e r 2 0 0 8 : A B e g i n n e r ’s G u i d e c c c c Chapter 18, “Automating System Administration Tasks,” describes the Database Engine component, SQL Server Agent, that enables you to automate certain system administration jobs, such as backing up data . “AS IS.” McGRAW-HILL AND ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES AS TO THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF OR RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED FROM USING. Part I Basic Concepts and Installation Chapter 1 Relational Database Systems—An Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Database Systems: An