Reddit reviews Inside Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008: T-SQL Querying (Developer Reference)

The best series of books is the Inside SQL Server series, and although they are quite advanced, database internals aren't a simple topic. The idea is to find an area that you're interested in, and take a deep dive from there. Maybe I should write a series of articles on the topic, for people with your experience level.

If you are interested in how the storage engine works, then Microsoft SQL Server 2008: Internals is a good choice.

If you're more interested in how queries are processed, then perhaps starting with Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2008: T-SQL Querying would be a better option.

Additionally, I highly recommend a good selection of blogs, particularly the guys and girls over at SQLskills. Also, consider reading the Books Online pages on Planning and Architecture.

Any questions, feel free to ask - I love chatting about SQL Server, particularly on the MSDN SQL Forums, or SQL Server Central.

> Querying T-SQL by Ben-Gan or any of his other books.

So say, this one?

https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Microsoft-Querying-Developer-Reference/dp/0735626030/ref=la_B001IGQENW_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1506320525&sr=1-10

You absolutely MUST read these books:


1 - Microsoft SQL Server 2012 T-SQL Fundamentals


2 - Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2008 T-SQL Querying

Happy learnig!

Hey Chicagoan here as well. You're lucky to find a place that gives reimbursement for your SQL classes. I too looked for a long time around chicago to no avail. I pretty much just taught myself using the books online through amazon and the tutorials there as well. They worked well for me, and as with all things you only get out what you put into it.

http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Microsoft%C2%AE-SQL-Server%C2%AE-2008/dp/0735626030/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1372191271&sr=8-9&keywords=sql+server+2008

EDIT * - go hawks!