Print Book $44.99
Print Book £31.99
By Stéphane Faroult, Peter Robson
First Edition
March 2006
Pages: 367
Series: Theory In Practice
ISBN 10: 0-596-00894-5 |
ISBN 13: 9780596008949
(Average of 1 Customer Reviews)
Enterprises throughout the world are confronted with exploding volumes of data, and many IT departments are looking for quick solutions. This insightful book demonstrates that since SQL code may run for 5 to 10 years, and run on different hardware, it must be fast and sound from the start. Expert authors Stephane Faroult and Peter Robson offer SQL best practices and relational theory that force you to focus on strategy rather than specifics.
Full Description
In The Art of SQL, author and SQL expert Stephane Faroult argues that this "safe approach" only leads to disaster. His insightful book, named after Art of War by Sun Tzu, contends that writing quick inefficient code is sweeping the dirt under the rug. SQL code may run for 5 to 10 years, surviving several major releases of the database management system and on several generations of hardware. The code must be fast and sound from the start, and that requires a firm understanding of SQL and relational theory.
The Art of SQL offers best practices that teach experienced SQL users to focus on strategy rather than specifics. Faroult's approach takes a page from Sun Tzu's classic treatise by viewing database design as a military campaign. You need knowledge, skills, and talent. Talent can't be taught, but every strategist from Sun Tzu to modern-day generals believed that it can be nurtured through the experience of others. They passed on their experience acquired in the field through basic principles that served as guiding stars amid the sound and fury of battle. This is what Faroult does with SQL.
Like a successful battle plan, good architectural choices are based on contingencies. What if the volume of this or that table increases unexpectedly? What if, following a merger, the number of users doubles? What if you want to keep several years of data online? Faroult's way of looking at SQL performance may be unconventional and unique, but he's deadly serious about writing good SQL and using SQL well. The Art of SQL is not a cookbook, listing problems and giving recipes. The aim is to get you-and your manager-to raise good questions.
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Book details
First Edition: March 2006
Series:
ISBN: 0-596-00894-5
Pages: 367
Average Customer Reviews: (Based on 1 Reviews)
Featured customer reviews
This is the book to have if you want to discover better practices for your SQL, September 04 2006
This book review was submitted by a Roanoke Valley SQL Server Users Group member as part of the Book Review Program.
Reviewed by Jerry Ellis
The Art of SQL does not fall into the trap of becoming “just another reference” for SQL users. It tackles real world problems with the point of view that you know how to write SQL code, but may need help in the proper tactics to most effectively handle them. What is refreshing is that it does not say here is a piece of code that will do this…it says, that may work, but here is a better way and why.
This is the book to have if you want to discover better practices for your SQL.
Jerry Ellis
Media reviews
"Faroult’s presentation of the subject matter is excellent and refreshing, with plenty of powerful coding examples that, he admits, are a little daunting at first glance. His detailed points are presented in such a way that any confusion the reader may have is soon clarified. Although the layman might seem a bit overwhelmed when reading this book, he would do well to add it to his arsenal for future reference as his skill set develops. Stephane Faroult sets his sights and fires from the hip with The Art of SQL, a dramatic attack on poorly designed SQL code/databases. Faroult challenges you to become a better SQL administrator/user by taking you through the twists and turns of bad code examples and scenarios--all the while lending you his many years of experience as an SQL master."
-- Gerry Archer, StickyMinds.com
"The Art of SQL is the opposite of a cookbook--or rather it's about cooking rather than recipes. It's not a reference manual, although there's plenty to refer back to. It's an intermediate level book which assumes you know how to read and write SQL, and analyzes what SQL does and how it does it...an excellent way to improve the way you attack problems in database and query design. "
-- Graeme Williams, Slashdot.org
"There are a lot of SQL books on the market--some of them very good. So why would there need to be a new book written about the subject? You know, when I first picked up this book I thought the very same thing. But then, after reading through it, I'm convinced that we needed Stephane Faroult's new book, The Art of SQL...The Art of SQL skillfully manages to explain how to properly attack the job of coding SQL to effectively and efficiently access your data. The book offers best practices that teach experienced SQL users to focus on strategy rather than specifics."
-- Craig Mullins, DBAzine.com
"By looking at database design as a preparation for a military campaign, program design as strategy, and database access as tactile engagement of the enemy, an unusual hands-on scenario is created and nurtured to help users think beyond SQL statements and issues. A wonderful guide designers will most appreciate."
-- Diane Donovan, The California Bookwatch
"This insightful book demonstrates that since SQL code may run for 5 to 10 years, and run on different hardware, it must be fast and sound from the start. Expert authors Stephane Faroult and Peter Robson offer SQL best practices and relational theory that force you to focus on strategy rather than specifics."
-- Gordon Haverland, The Edmonton Linux User Group (E.L.U.G.)
"The Art of SQL is a truly unique book. In sharp contrast to many other database books on the market, this one does not endeavor to provide an exhaustive SQL reference guide, a low-level vendor-specific DBMS implementation description, or a cookbook-style collection of FAQs. Instead it explains, in incredibly straightforward and clear language, how to think about SQL, schema design, and DBMS operation in general and apply that knowledge to real-world situations. It provides simple mental models for the inner workings of most modern database systems along with concrete examples of how these mental models can be used to speed up queries and design better-performing schemas."
-- Eric Wuehler, Amazon.com
"The authors cleverly and effectively compare the application of SQL to the waging of war, providing examples of SQL "in the trenches," or, in other words, in the real world. They follow the outline of Sun Tzu, emphasizing strategy over specifics, and lay out a battle plan that unfolds from Chapter 1, Laying Plans, to Chapter 12, Employment of Spies."
-- Michael Kleper, The Kleper Report on Digital Publishing
"The SQL enthusiast will learn a lot from this book - perhaps a baffling amount. I absolutely cannot recommend it highly enough. It has been some time coming, the sort of thing that is an obvious boon when one considers that our 'art' has only been around for a few decades. We'll get it right eventually, inspired by those like Faroult and Robson."
-- John Senner, And Or
