Murach college books and courseware since 1974
Customer Service 1-800-221-5528
Murach’s SQL Server 2019 for Developers
List price: $59.50
There is a new edition of this SQL book
As its title implies, this book presents all of the SQL Server skills that application developers need on the job. As such, it’s a great book for a SQL course. It can also add real-world perspective when it’s used as a supplementary text in any database course.
Buy This Book
You are currently on the Murach site for instructors. To buy this book, please visit our retail site.
I was concerned about changing texts, but the student feedback on your SQL Server text has been amazing. I have had students buy this text who had previously not bought a text since first year."
Professor/Program Coordinator, Ontario
- About this Book
- Table of Contents
- Courseware
- FAQs
- Corrections
What this book does
Section 1: An introduction to SQL
This section presents the concepts and terms for working with any database. Then, it shows how to use Microsoft SQL Server 2019 and the Management Studio to run SQL statements.
Section 2: The essential SQL skills
This section presents all the skills for retrieving data from a database and for adding, updating, and deleting that data. These skills move from the simple to the complex, and they include skills like using outer joins, summary queries, and subqueries.
Section 3: Database design and implementation
This section shows how to design a database and how to implement that design by using either SQL statements or the Management Studio. When your students are done, they’ll be able to design and implement their own databases.
Section 4: Advanced SQL skills
This section presents database features like views, scripts, stored procedures, functions, triggers, cursors, and transactions. It also shows how to manage database security and how to use the features for working with XML and BLOB data. These features illustrate the power of a database management system.
These chapters are designed as independent modules, so you can present whichever features you want as time allows. But don’t worry that you can’t cover them all! With the foundation you’ve provided in the course, your students will continue to use the book to expand their skills as they move into the workplace.
Book features
Like all our books, this one has all of the Murach features that help your students learn faster and better. But here are a couple of features that set this book apart.
It shows how to use a database before how to create one
Unlike most SQL books, this one starts by showing how to query an existing database rather than showing how to create a new database. Why?
For one thing, it’s motivating to see results right away, and querying provides that for your students; database design requires more study and background before you see results. But querying also helps to provide that background, giving your students insight into the kind of decisions that have to be made in the design phase and the effects they have down the road.
As a result, doing querying first makes it easier for students to learn how to design and implement a database in section 3. And it also prepares them for using database features like views and stored procedures in section 4.
Real-world examples range from the simple to the complex
This book presents hundreds of examples of SQL statements that range from the simple to the complex. Your students can quickly get the idea of how a SQL feature works from the simple examples, but they’ll also see examples that illustrate real-world complexity...a feature that’s often missing in other SQL books.
What courses this book can be used for
- This book and its instructional materials are widely used for SQL courses.
- This book is also an excellent supplementary text for a more traditional database course.
Presentation options
Because sections 3 and 4 are written as independent modules, you don’t have to teach all four sections of this book in sequence. For example, you can teach some or all of the advanced SQL skills of section 4 before you teach section 3 on database design and implementation.
Similarly, because the chapters in section 4 are modular, you don’t have to teach them in sequence and you don’t have to teach them all. When in doubt, of course, we think the book sequence is a good one. But if you’re short on time, you can skip some of these chapters.
What software your students need
Operating system
- Windows 10 or later
SQL Server 2019 won’t install on Windows 8 or earlier. So your students need to have a later operating system to practice with the book examples or to do the chapter exercises on their personal systems.
For all chapters
To work with SQL Server as shown in this book, your students can download all the software they need from Microsoft’s website for free. That includes:
- SQL Server 2019 Express
- SQL Server Management Studio
In appendix A in the book, your students will find complete instructions for installing these items on their computers. And in chapter 2, they’ll learn how to use them.
For chapter 19
To use C# or Visual Basic to work with BLOBs as shown in chapter 19, your students can use:
- Visual Studio Community
This is available from Microsoft’s website for free, and appendix A shows how to install it.
What people say about this book
"Gave your SQL Server text a strong recommendation at Microsoft. I required their MTA certification as the final exam in the SQL course in the Fall. 15 of 17 passed."
- Keith E. Kelly, Northwestern Michigan College
"I was concerned about changing texts, but the student feedback on your SQL Server text has been amazing. I have had students buy this text who had previously not bought a text since first year."
- Professor/Program Coordinator, Ontario
"By far the best introductory text I have come across for SQL Server, and I have reviewed and used many."
- Daniel A. Joseph, MIS Professor & Consultant, Rochester Institute of Technology
“Originally bought this book for my online database programming class, now I am definitely keeping it for future use.”
- Posted by a student at an online bookseller
“Love this book. It has lots of examples and it explains things very well. I use this in addition to my textbook for class.”
- Posted at an online bookseller
“This is the best book on SQL Server I have seen….A word about the format (I love it): Even numbered pages contain theoretical/descriptive expositions of various topics. On the facing odd-number pages, the book has well designed examples illustrating the material on the even pages.”
- Dr. Andrew Katz, Programmer & Instructor, New York
“This is my go-to book for teaching SQL Server to our developers who do not use SQL every single day.”
- Posted at an online bookseller
View the table of contents for this book in a PDF: Table of Contents (PDF)
Click on any chapter title to display or hide its content.
Section 1 An introduction to SQL
Chapter 1 An introduction to relational databases and SQL
An introduction to client/server systems
The hardware components of a client/server system
The software components of a client/server system
Other client/server system architectures
An introduction to the relational database model
How a database table is organized
How the tables in a relational database are related
How the columns in a table are defined
How relational databases compare to other data models
An introduction to SQL and SQL-based systems
A brief history of SQL
A comparison of Oracle, DB2, MySQL, and SQL Server
The Transact-SQL statements
An introduction to the SQL statements
Typical statements for working with database objects
How to query a single table
How to join data from two or more tables
How to add, update, and delete data in a table
SQL coding guidelines
How to work with other database objects
How to work with views
How to work with stored procedures, triggers, and user-defined functions
How to use SQL from an application program
Common data access models
How to use ADO.NET from a .NET application
Visual Basic code that retrieves data from a SQL Server database
C# code that retrieves data from a SQL Server database
Chapter 2 How to use the Management Studio
An introduction to SQL Server 2019
A summary of the SQL Server 2019 tools
How to start and stop the database engine
How to enable remote connections
An introduction to the Management Studio
How to connect to a database server
How to navigate through the database objects
How to manage the database files
How to attach a database
How to detach a database
How to back up a database
How to restore a database
How to set the compatibility level for a database
How to view and modify the database
How to create database diagrams
How to view the column definitions of a table
How to modify the column definitions
How to view the data of a table
How to modify the data of a table
How to work with queries
How to enter and execute a query
How to handle syntax errors
How to open and save queries
An introduction to the Query Designer
How to view the documentation for SQL Server
How to display SQL Server documentation
How to look up information in the documentation
Section 2 The essential SQL skills
Chapter 3 How to retrieve data from a single table
An introduction to the SELECT statement
The basic syntax of the SELECT statement
SELECT statement examples
How to code the SELECT clause
How to code column specifications
How to name the columns in a result set
How to code string expressions
How to code arithmetic expressions
How to use functions
How to use the DISTINCT keyword to eliminate duplicate rows
How to use the TOP clause to return a subset of selected rows
How to code the WHERE clause
How to use comparison operators
How to use the AND, OR, and NOT logical operators
How to use the IN operator
How to use the BETWEEN operator
How to use the LIKE operator
How to use the IS NULL clause
How to code the ORDER BY clause
How to sort a result set by a column name
How to sort a result set by an alias, an expression, or a column number
How to retrieve a range of selected rows
Chapter 4 How to retrieve data from two or more tables
How to work with inner joins
How to code an inner join
When and how to use correlation names
How to work with tables from different databases
How to use compound join conditions
How to use a self-join
Inner joins that join more than two tables
How to use the implicit inner join syntax
How to work with outer joins
How to code an outer join
Outer join examples
Outer joins that join more than two tables
Other skills for working with joins
How to combine inner and outer joins
How to use cross joins
How to work with unions
The syntax of a union
Unions that combine data from different tables
Unions that combine data from the same table
How to use the EXCEPT and INTERSECT operators
Chapter 5 How to code summary queries
How to work with aggregate functions
How to code aggregate functions
Queries that use aggregate functions
How to group and summarize data
How to code the GROUP BY and HAVING clauses
Queries that use the GROUP BY and HAVING clauses
How the HAVING clause compares to the WHERE clause
How to code complex search conditions
How to summarize data using SQL Server extensions
How to use the ROLLUP operator
How to use the CUBE operator
How to use the GROUPING SETS operator
How to use the OVER clause
Chapter 6 How to code subqueries
An introduction to subqueries
How to use subqueries
How subqueries compare to joins
How to code subqueries in search conditions
How to use subqueries with the IN operator
How to compare the result of a subquery with an expression
How to use the ALL keyword
How to use the ANY and SOME keywords
How to code correlated subqueries
How to use the EXISTS operator
Other ways to use subqueries
How to code subqueries in the FROM clause
How to code subqueries in the SELECT clause
Guidelines for working with complex queries
A complex query that uses subqueries
A procedure for building complex queries
How to work with common table expressions
How to code a CTE
How to code a recursive CTE
Chapter 7 How to insert, update, and delete data
How to create test tables
How to use the SELECT INTO statement
How to use a copy of the database
How to insert new rows
How to insert a single row
How to insert multiple rows
How to insert default values and null values
How to insert rows selected from another table
How to modify existing rows
How to perform a basic update operation
How to use subqueries in an update operation
How to use joins in an update operation
How to delete existing rows
How to perform a basic delete operation
How to use subqueries and joins in a delete operation
How to merge rows
How to perform a basic merge operation
How to code more complex merge operations
Chapter 8 How to work with data types
A review of the SQL data types
Data type overview
The numeric data types
The string data types
The date/time data types
The large value data types
How to convert data
How data conversion works
How to convert data using the CAST function
How to convert data using the CONVERT function
How to use the TRY_CONVERT function
How to use other data conversion functions
Chapter 9 How to use functions
How to work with string data
A summary of the string functions
How to solve common problems that occur with string data
How to work with numeric data
A summary of the numeric functions
How to solve common problems that occur with numeric data
How to work with date/time data
A summary of the date/time functions
How to parse dates and times
How to perform operations on dates and times
How to perform a date search
How to perform a time search
Other functions you should know about
How to use the CASE function
How to use the IIF and CHOOSE functions
How to use the COALESCE and ISNULL functions
How to use the GROUPING function
How to use the ranking functions
How to use the analytic functions
Section 3 Database design and implementation
Chapter 10 How to design a database
How to design a data structure
The basic steps for designing a data structure
How to identify the data elements
How to subdivide the data elements
How to identify the tables and assign columns
How to identify the primary and foreign keys
How to enforce the relationships between tables
How normalization works
How to identify the columns to be indexed
How to normalize a data structure
The seven normal forms
How to apply the first normal form
How to apply the second normal form
How to apply the third normal form
When and how to denormalize a data structure
Chapter 11 How to create a database and its tables with SQL Statements
An introduction to DDL
The SQL statements for data definition
Rules for coding object names
How to create databases, tables, and indexes
How to create a database
How to create a table
How to create an index
How to use snippets to create database objects
How to use constraints
An introduction to constraints
How to use check constraints
How to use foreign key constraints
How to change databases and tables
How to delete an index, table, or database
How to alter a table
How to work with sequences
How to create a sequence
How to use a sequence
How to delete a sequence
How to alter a sequence
How to work with collations
An introduction to encodings
An introduction to collations
How to view collations
How to specify a collation
The script used to create the AP database
How the script works
How the DDL statements work
Chapter 12 How to create a database and its tables with the Management Studio
How to work with a database
How to create a database
How to delete a database
How to work with tables
How to create, modify, or delete a table
How to work with foreign key relationships
How to work with indexes and keys
How to work with check constraints
How to examine table dependencies
How to generate scripts
How to generate scripts for databases and tables
How to generate a change script when you modify a table
Section 4 Advanced SQL skills
Chapter 13 How to work with views
An introduction to views
How views work
Benefits of using views
How to create and manage views
How to create a view
Examples that create views
How to create an updatable view
How to delete or modify a view
How to use views
How to update rows through a view
How to insert rows through a view
How to delete rows through a view
How to use the catalog views
How to use the View Designer
How to create or modify a view
How to delete a view
Chapter 14 How to code scripts
An introduction to scripts
How to work with scripts
The Transact-SQL statements for script processing
How to work with variables and temporary tables
How to work with scalar variables
How to work with table variables
How to work with temporary tables
A comparison of the five types of Transact-SQL table objects
How to control the execution of a script
How to perform conditional processing
How to test for the existence of a database object
How to perform repetitive processing
How to use a cursor
How to handle errors
How to use surround-with snippets
Advanced scripting techniques
How to use the system functions
How to change the session settings
How to use dynamic SQL
A script that summarizes the structure of a database
How to use the SQLCMD utility
Chapter 15 How to code stored procedures, functions, and triggers
Procedural programming options in Transact-SQL
Scripts
Stored procedures, user-defined functions, and triggers
How to code stored procedures
An introduction to stored procedures
How to create a stored procedure
How to declare and work with parameters
How to call procedures with parameters
How to work with return values
How to validate data and raise errors
A stored procedure that manages insert operations
How to pass a table as a parameter
How to delete or change a stored procedure
How to work with system stored procedures
How to code user-defined functions
An introduction to user-defined functions
How to create a scalar-valued function
How to create a simple table-valued function
How to create a multi-statement table-valued function
How to delete or change a function
How to code triggers
How to create a trigger
How to use AFTER triggers
How to use INSTEAD OF triggers
How to use triggers to enforce data consistency
How to use triggers to work with DDL statements
How to delete or change a trigger
Chapter 16 How to manage transactions and locking
How to work with transactions
How transactions maintain data integrity
SQL statements for handling transactions
How to work with nested transactions
How to work with save points
An introduction to concurrency and locking
How concurrency and locking are related
The four concurrency problems that locks can prevent
How to set the transaction isolation level
How SQL Server manages locking
Lockable resources and lock escalation
Lock modes and lock promotion
Lock mode compatibility
How to prevent deadlocks
Two transactions that deadlock
Coding techniques that prevent deadlocks
Chapter 17 How to manage database security
How to work with SQL Server login IDs
An introduction to SQL Server security
How to change the authentication mode
How to create login IDs
How to delete or change login IDs or passwords
How to work with database users
How to work with schemas
How to work with permissions
How to grant or revoke object permissions
The SQL Server object permissions
How to grant or revoke schema permissions
How to grant or revoke database permissions
How to grant or revoke server permissions
How to work with roles
How to work with the fixed server roles
How to work with user-defined server roles
How to display information about server roles and role members
How to work with the fixed database roles
How to work with user-defined database roles
How to display information about database roles and role members
How to deny permissions granted by role membership
How to work with application roles
How to manage security using the Management Studio
How to work with login IDs
How to work with the server roles for a login ID
How to assign database access and roles by login ID
How to assign user permissions to database objects
How to work with database permissions
Chapter 18 How to work with XML
An introduction to XML
An XML document
An XML schema
How to work with the xml data type
How to store data in the xml data type
How to work with the XML Editor
How to use the methods of the xml data type
An example that parses the xml data type
Another example that parses the xml data type
How to work with XML schemas
How to add an XML schema to a database
How to use an XML schema to validate the xml data type
How to view an XML schema
How to drop an XML schema
Two more skills for working with XML
How to use the FOR XML clause of the SELECT statement
How to use the OPENXML statement
Chapter 19 How to work with BLOBs
An introduction to BLOBs
Pros and cons of storing BLOBs in files
Pros and cons of storing BLOBs in a column
When to use FILESTREAM storage for BLOBs
How to use SQL to work with a varbinary(max) column
How to create a table with a varbinary(max) column
How to insert, update, and delete binary data
How to retrieve binary data
A .NET application that uses a varbinary(max) column
The user interface for the application
The event handlers for the form
A data access class that reads and writes binary data
How to use FILESTREAM storage
How to enable FILESTREAM storage on the server
How to create a database with FILESTREAM storage
How to create a table with a FILESTREAM column
How to insert, update, and delete FILESTREAM data
How to retrieve FILESTREAM data
A data access class that uses FILESTREAM storage
Appendix
Appendix A How to set up your computer for this book
Three editions of SQL Server 2019 Express
The tool for working with all editions of SQL Server
How to install SQL Server 2019 Express
How to install SQL Server Management Studio
How to install the files for this book
How to create the databases for this book
How to restore the databases for this book
How to install Visual Studio 2019 Community
If you aren’t already familiar with the supporting courseware that we provide for a book, please go to About our Courseware.
If you are familiar with our courseware, here’s a quick summary of the courseware for this book. For a detailed description, please read the Instructor’s Summary PDF.
End-of-chapter activities in the book
- Term lists
- Practice exercises
Student download at our retail site
- Script files that create the databases used by the examples and exercises in this book
- Scripts for all of the examples in the book
- C# and Visual Basic projects for the application presented in chapter 19
- Solutions to the book exercises
Appendix A in the book gives your students complete instructions for downloading and installing these items on their computers.
Instructor’s materials
- Instructional objectives by chapter
- PowerPoint slides for classroom presentations
- Test banks in multiple formats
- A second full set of chapter-by-chapter exercises that aren’t in the book, plus their solutions
- The files that students can download at our retail site (see above)
On this page, we’ll be posting answers to the questions that come up most often about this book. So if you have any questions that you haven’t found answered here at our site, please email us. Thanks!
To view the corrections for this book in a PDF, just click on this link: View the corrections
Then, if you find any other errors, please email us so we can correct them in the next printing of the book. Thank you!
Contact Murach Books
Buy Murach Books
This is our site for college instructors. To buy Murach books, please visit our retail site.