Introduction 1 Who Is This Book For?. 2 Companion Website. 2 Conventions Used in This Book. 3 1 Understanding SQL 5 Database Basics. 5 What Is SQL?. 11 Try It Yourself. 12 Summary. 12 2 Introducing SQL Server 13 What Is SQL Server?.
13 SQL Server Tools. 16 Summary. 18 3 Working with SQL Server 19 Making the Connection. 19 Selecting a Database. 20 Learning About Databases and Tables. 21 Summary. 25 4 Retrieving Data 27 The SELECT Statement. 27 Retrieving Individual Columns.
27 Retrieving Multiple Columns. 29 Retrieving All Columns. 31 Retrieving Distinct Rows. 32 Limiting Results. 33 Using Fully Qualified Table Names. 36 Summary. 36 5 Sorting Retrieved Data 37 Sorting Data. 37 Sorting by Multiple Columns.
39 Specifying Sort Direction. 40 Summary. 43 6 Filtering Data 45 Using the WHERE Clause. 45 The WHERE Clause Operators. 46 Summary. 52 7 Advanced Data Filtering 53 Combining WHERE Clauses. 53 Using the IN Operator. 57 Using the NOT Operator.
59 Summary. 60 8 Using Wildcard Filtering 61 Using the LIKE Operator. 61 Tips for Using Wildcards. 67 Summary. 67 9 Creating Calculated Fields 69 Understanding Calculated Fields. 69 Concatenating Fields. 70 Performing Mathematical Calculations. 75 Summary.
77 10 Using Data Manipulation Functions 79 Understanding Functions. 79 Using Functions. 80 Summary. 89 11 Summarizing Data 91 Using Aggregate Functions. 91 Aggregates on Distinct Values. 98 Combining Aggregate Functions. 100 Summary. 100 12 Grouping Data 101 Understanding Data Grouping.
101 Creating Groups. 102 Filtering Groups. 103 Grouping and Sorting. 106 SELECT Clause Ordering. 108 Summary. 109 13 Working with Subqueries 111 Understanding Subqueries. 111 Filtering by Subquery. 111 Using Subqueries as Calculated Fields.
116 Checking for Existence with Subqueries. 119 Summary. 121 14 Joining Tables 123 Understanding Joins. 123 Creating a Join. 126 Summary. 135 15 Creating Advanced Joins 137 Using Table Aliases. 137 Using Different Join Types. 138 Using Joins with Aggregate Functions.
145 Using Joins and Join Conditions. 147 Summary. 147 16 Combining Queries 149 Understanding Combined Queries. 149 Creating Combined Queries. 150 Summary. 155 17 Full-Text Searching 157 Understanding Full-Text Searching. 157 Setting Up Full-Text Searching. 158.