Pro SQL Server 2008 XML

by Michael Coles

Published 1 January 2008

Knowledge and ability to apply XML are de rigueur in today's world, and SQL Server developers and administrators are no exception to that rule. Pro SQL Server 2008 XML is your key to unlocking the powerful XML feature set first introduced in SQL Server 2005 and since refined in SQL Server 2008. Author Michael Coles shows how to store XML using SQL Server's built-in XML data type. Learn to query and manipulate XML data using standard technologies such as XQuery and XSLT. No SQL Server database professional can afford to be without knowledge of the XML feature set. Pro SQL Server 2008 XML delivers on the knowledge that you need to remain competitive in your career.

Shows how to store, query, and manipulate XML documents in SQL Server Provides step-by-step examples showing best practices and advanced features Accurately discusses how SQL Server's XML feature set stacks up against the ISO XML standards

T-SQL is the fundamental language for database programming in SQL Server 2005. All professional SQL Server users need a convenient single source of information and advice. This book provides that, clearly and comprehensively. Both database administrators and developers will find this highly readable, detailed description of T-SQL an eye-opening and invaluable reference for as long as they work with SQL Server 2005.


Businesses today want actionable insights into their data-they want their data to reveal itself to them in a natural and user-friendly form. What could be more natural than human language? Natural-language search is at the center of a storm of ever-increasing web-driven demand for human-computer communication and information access. SQL Server 2008 provides the tools to take advantage of the features of its built-in enterprise-level natural-language search engine in the form of integrated full-text search (iFTS). iFTS uses text-aware relational queries to provide your users with fast access to content. Whether you want to set up an enterprise-wide Internet or intranet search engine or create less ambitious natural-language search applications, this book will teach you how to get the most out of SQL Server 2008 iFTS:

Introducing powerful iFTS features in SQL Server, such as the FREETEXT and CONTAINS predicates, custom thesauruses, and stop lists Showing you how to optimize full-text query performance through features like full-text indexes and iFilters Providing examples that help you understand and apply the power of iFTS in your daily projects

Accelerated SQL Server 2008 is a fast introduction to SQL Server 2008 for experienced database professionals. The book will appeal to readers who are smart, who learn fast, and who do not want to wade through a large amount of introductory material. The goal is to impart the essentials of using SQL Server 2008 as quickly as possible.


Discussing new and existing features, SQL Server designer and administrator Michael Coles takes you on an expert guided tour of Transact–SQL functionality in SQL Server 2008 in his book, Pro T–SQL 2008 Programmer's Guide. Fully functioning examples and downloadable source code bring Coles' technically accurate and engaging treatment of Transact–SQL into your own hands. Step–by–step explanations ensure clarity, and an advocacy of best–practices will steer you down the road to success.

Pro T–SQL 2008 Programmer's Guide is every developer's key to making full use of SQL Server 2008's powerful, built–in Transact–SQL language. Transact–SQL is the language developers and DBAs use to interact with SQL Server. It's used for everything from querying data, to writing stored procedures, to managing the database. New features in SQL Server 2008 include a spatial data type, SQLCLR integration, the MERGE statement, a dramatically improved and market–leading XML feature set, and support for encryption—all of which are covered in this book