Dive Deep into SQL Server Development: A Few SQL Server Tutorials Worth Checking Out

SQL Server can be a complex beast to tame. Thankfully, there are numerous tutorials covering all aspects of managing and developing for SQL Server. So if you need to brush up on any aspect of SQL Server development, there’s a wealth of how-to on any of these tutorial sites.

Microsoft Virtual Academy

The Microsoft Virtual Academy serves up a whole menu of developer courses; including many SQL Server tutorials. From the main MVA page, you can choose courses by topic, then by product. When you get to the list of SQL Server tutorials, you’ll find plenty of specific topics broken into beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. The MVA course videos also come with transcripts, content lists and other resources. The advanced courses include topics like:

Designing Solutions for SQL Server: This course will help you prepare for the Exam 70-465: Designing Database Solutions for Microsoft SQL Server. The tutorial covers managing SQL Server environments, database security, backup and recovery solutions, high availability, troubleshooting, and maintenance.

Implementing Data Models and Reports: This course is geared for those developing business intelligence (BI) solutions. Some of the BI specific topics covered include multidimensional data models, implementing OLAP cubes, and creating information displays for better BI.

Breakthrough Insights using Microsoft SQL Server 2012 - SQL Server Analysis Services: This course is focused on Microsoft SQL Server 2012, as the name implies. Some of the concepts covered here include:

• Developing and Managing a Business Intelligent Semantic Model
• Enriching your BI Semantic Models with Data Analysis Expressions (DAX)
• Leveraging Master Data Services (MDS) in your Data Warehouse

The course also gives you plenty of tips for using Data Quality Services, and how to use Microsoft SQL Server 2012 to create reliable Business Intelligence Semantic Models using SQL Server Analysis Services.

MSSQLTips.com

MSSQLTips.com has a deep and rich collection of SQL Server tutorials, as well as tutorials on being a DBA, development, and working with BI. Some of the current tutorials include:

SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) Administration Tutorial: This tutorial covers managing a SSAS instance or database, and points out how it can be similar to managing SQL Server Database Engine. It also covers some of the unique SSAS aspects like processing dimensions, facts and cubes.

SQL Server Data Mining Tutorial: This tutorial explains using the data mining capabilities of SQL server for things like prediction and forecasting.

SQL Server Master Data Services Tutorial: This one covers Master Data Services (MDS) —the master data management solution from the Microsoft Business Intelligence technology stack. This tutorial helps point out how the SQL Server MDS architecture facilitates master data management, installing and configuring MDS, and some fundamental MDS concepts and terminology.

Each of the MSSQLTips.com tutorials includes a full menu (describing all the sections included), a comprehensive outline, and an overview. You can skip ahead or back to whichever section is of immediate interest. Here’s an example of what the menus look like and the sections they include:

• Overview
• Considerations
• Architecture
• Installation
• Terminology
• MDS Models
• Importing Data
• Hierarchies
• Business Rules
• Publishing Data
• Best Practices
• Get Free SQL Tips

BlackWasp

From across the pond (as I am currently in the Boston area as I write this—the seat of the colonies), BlackWasp brings you a nice list of SQL Server tutorials, many that are part of an longer series (that often extend into the 20s). These seem slightly more basic than some of the other tutorials from MVA and MSSQLTips.com described here, but they are clear and comprehensive. The current tutorial list includes:

Relational Database Concepts for SQL Server: This tutorial (first of a series) describes general use of Microsoft's SQL Server database management system (DBMS), reviewing database concepts and terminology.

Modifying SQL Server Tables: This tutorial (ninth of a series) describes how you can use T-SQL to change database tables. It shows you how to add, remove and modify columns, and explains the impact these this has on existing data.

SQL Server Primary Keys: This tutorial (tenth of a series) explains using and creating primary keys—a column or group of columns within a database table that provides a unique reference for each row added to that table.

Posted by Lafe Low on 05/12/2017