I do software support for software that works with both Oracle and SQL
Server, so I mostly just write queries to look at the data related to
the software. When I first started, I bought a couple of books to learn
the basics, intentionally going with generic books that would help with
both types of databases. I've got the basics down, and now I'm looking
for a really detailed reference book that goes really indepth into
querying for SQL Server specifically. Currently, we only work with the
2000 version, but we'll be going to 2005 soon, so I think I'd rather go
with a book on 2005, although if you know one that covers the
differences between them, that would be great. Any recommendations ?
Besides just writing queries, I'd also like to learn more about SQL
Server in general. DBA software support, so I'd like to head my
career in that direction. I was looking at Microsoft's new
certification path for SQL 2005. Given that my company won't pay to
send me for training, and I really don't want to have to put down
$2200+ to pay for a class, I was thinking that I might be able to learn
enough on my own to pass the first test and get the MCTS title. I
ordered the Training Kit from Microsoft Press for that, which comes
with a 180 day trial of SQL Server 2005 to play with, along with a huge
book. Does anyone have any other recommendations for resources to help
learn this stuff?
--Richard