When you need a SQL database fast, the cloud is the best way to go. Azure provides a SQL database as a Platform as a Service (PaaS) that eliminates the need to get an entire SQL Server up and running.

As you will see in this chapter, companies use SQL Server for many types of applications and on most tiers now. Gone are the days when you would second guess yourself choosing to use SQL Server over a ...

Don't be afraid of using your chosen database's command-line client. I might as well say this up front: I don't like using GUI (aka non-command-line or graphical) tools with my databases. This is ...

Designing an appropriate set of indexes can be one of the more troubling aspects of developing efficient relational database applications. Perhaps, the most important thing you can do to assure ...