Professional SQL Server 7.0 Programming by Robert Vieira Search Amazon for other books by or about Robert Vieira. Rating: Reviewed by: Douglas Malcolm

Programming and other technical books can be a real crapshoot when it comes to quality. Unfortunately more tend to fall on the "could be better" side of things than not. Luckily for me, I've been on a good streak lately, and have hit several excellent books in a row. Not only is Professional SQL Server 7 Programming among those several excellent books, but it is probably the best of the lot.

Coming from the Wrox "Programmer to Programmer" line, this thick red tome follows their usual branding plan of plastering a big picture of the author(s) on the cover. From a marketing perspective this is rather wily; the authors are normal people, not models, and for some reason this elicits a response of some kind from many people upon catching a glimpse of the cover.

Once you open this one though, it really starts to shine. Vieira's writing style is easily readable and likable. He manages to explain complex processes in a clearly understandable manner. I even caught myself chuckling aloud a couple of times at his asides about the various debates and points where opinions differ among ways of doing things. If that doesn't sound unlikely to you, please reread the title of this book – it's hard to make SQL Programming engaging, yet Vieira pulls it off with just the right touch; Relaxed and somewhat amusing throughout, without ever sounding forced.

Ok, so the style is outstanding, but that's only half of the equation, right? We need to think about the coverage provided to the topic. Again, Professional SQL Server 7 Programming is outstanding.

The book assumes no prior knowledge of SQL Server 7, but moves along at a good clip. You don't need to be coming directly from a database background to get the most out of this, but it is assumed that you understand at least basic programming; variables and such.

In addition to everything you'd expect to be covered, Vieira offers up other goodies, such as OLAP and English Query; add-on components of SQL Server 7 that you might not use everyday, but you'll be glad to have if the need for either ever arises on a project.

Professional SQL Server 7 Programming earns a strong 9 rating. It's the best SQL Server 7 book I've come across. If you can only get one book on the topic, this is it.