Beginner Help
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Hi All,
I am just starting out trying to learn SQL Server 2012,
i have paid for a online course ( it wasn't that expensive) which is to help me learn for the below exams
70-461
70-462
70-463
70-464
70-465
i'm just wondering is this the best way for me to start learning SQL Server 2012 or should i be going down a different root.
i no everyone here has properly been asked this question so many times but i just need a little advice.
Thank you everyone for taking time to read this.
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The first step is to get your copy of SQL Server Developer Edition (includes all the features but shouldn't have production data) and install it. If you want to try some functionalities, you might need to set some VMs in the future.
If you have no experience at all, start with the course about installing the server and then go for the querying and using T-SQL. Be sure to understand the basic concepts about databases (tables, keys, columns, rows, referential integrity, etc.) and some knowledge on administering Windows machines (if possible, servers).
I would suggest that you try with 2014 instead of 2012. Most features from 2012 are still available in 2014 and you could check new features as well. There are 2 reason for this recommendation: The first is that 2014 Dev Edition is now free and the second is that the 2016 version is less than a month apart.
Don't try to memorize questions and answers. Instead, try to understand what's going on. For in depth knowledge, you could go to Books On Line, which is the help for SQL Server.
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also SQLServercentral is an awesome resource, besides the Stairways Series , and free ebooks,
read these forums.
a lot of us go to a bit of trouble to make sure there is copy pasteable code and solutions to the questions here; i'm sometimes astounded by the level of detail some folks will make an effort for a quesiton here, it makes this community head and shoulders above otehrs.
so my suggestion is copy, paste, understand and adapt those examples you see here in the forums.
the most important thing for you to do is PRACTICE! reading only is 20% of the comprehension, i would say. 80% comes from trying and experiencing the things you are learning.
Lowell
--help us help you! If you post a question, make sure you include a CREATE TABLE... statement and INSERT INTO... statement into that table to give the volunteers here representative data. with your description of the problem, we can provide a tested, verifiable solution to your question! asking the question the right way gets you a tested answer the fastest way possible! -
thank you for the advise,
i have been practicing on SQL server 2012 express, management studio with the adventureworks DB which was provided.
this might sound dumb but what is the difference between SQL Server Developer Edition and express
i have watched a load of videos but i need to put in more practice so i digest it better.
but in regards to this -- administering Windows machines (if possible, servers). what do you mean.
Sorry to be a noob.
Thanks for you time.
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scott_carl_turner (5/5/2016)
thank you for the advise,i have been practicing on SQL server 2012 express, management studio with the adventureworks DB which was provided.
this might sound dumb but what is the difference between SQL Server Developer Edition and express
Express edition is a basic option with minimal features. It will help you to start, but you'll be missing advanced features. Developer edition is a full featured edition. It's the sames as the Enterprise edition, but you can't use production data on it. For specific differences, check this: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645993(v=sql.110).aspx
i have watched a load of videos but i need to put in more practice so i digest it better.
but in regards to this -- administering Windows machines (if possible, servers). what do you mean.
It means that you need to know about windows services, user and system accounts, security, file systems. You don't need to be an expert, but you should know the basics.
Sorry to be a noob.
Thanks for you time.
Don't apologize for being a noob. We all were at some point. As long as you want to learn, there isn't a problem with that.
Don't hesitate on asking more questions.
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Luis Cazares (5/5/2016)
scott_carl_turner (5/5/2016)
thank you for the advise,i have been practicing on SQL server 2012 express, management studio with the adventureworks DB which was provided.
this might sound dumb but what is the difference between SQL Server Developer Edition and express
Express edition is a basic option with minimal features. It will help you to start, but you'll be missing advanced features. Developer edition is a full featured edition. It's the sames as the Enterprise edition, but you can't use production data on it. For specific differences, check this: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645993(v=sql.110).aspx
i have watched a load of videos but i need to put in more practice so i digest it better.
but in regards to this -- administering Windows machines (if possible, servers). what do you mean.
It means that you need to know about windows services, user and system accounts, security, file systems. You don't need to be an expert, but you should know the basics.
Sorry to be a noob.
Thanks for you time.
Don't apologize for being a noob. We all were at some point. As long as you want to learn, there isn't a problem with that.
Don't hesitate on asking more questions.
Thank you for the information i am going to download developer edition as soon as i get home and in regards to the windows services i feel im ok in windows but is there any searches i should do to make sure i know the information required.
and thank you again
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Remember, do everything you can to break your system. Even if it means having to rebuild it.
Yes, I'm serious. Doing the stuff I wasn't supposed to do taught me how to recover from bad SQL problems. Also, by the time you get to your fifth or sixth install of Windows and SQL Server, you start recognizing what the installs are doing.
So, get yourself a cheap machine you don't mind breaking and do everything the right way AND the wrong way. Don't be afraid to break your sandbox because you're not costing anyone money and you're gaining a lot of experience you won't have to gain on the job.
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In Addition to all that great advice. Itzik Ben Gan's T-SQL fundamentals. It is a fantastic book. It helped me understand SQL beyond the syntax. When I would execute code and get a result back that I intended or did not intend I felt like after reading that book I understood more of why the result came back as it did.
Like what is 3 predicate logic and why does it matter?
What does it mean to be sargable?
What does data normalization mean?
What is the difference between deterministic and non-deterministic ?
Highly recommend reading this book. Trust me it will help alot.
http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Server-Fundamentals-Developer-Reference/dp/0735658145
***SQL born on date Spring 2013:-)
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Brandie,
Just wondering... how did you build your machine that you tore apart all the time? A Virtual Machine? I might have to start doing that...
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pietlinden (5/5/2016)
Brandie,Just wondering... how did you build your machine that you tore apart all the time? A Virtual Machine? I might have to start doing that...
Back in the day, they used to have a lot of computer shows in my area. Basically a bunch of people selling refurbished desktops and laptops and other incidentals. I bought a couple of cheap PCs (at about $100 or $150 a pop) installed an eval copy of the Windows Server OS (which came with one of the cert books I'd bought) and then installed SQL Server Developer on it. Then I created a domain for my boxes and a domain master on one of them. It taught me networking skills as well as SQL skills.
Then I followed the exercises in the cert study books, only sometimes I deliberate miswrote code or installed features to see how they worked, then clicked around various places to see how I could break them. I didn't deliberate corrupt any databases because I didn't know how, but I broke replication a few times (not really on purpose) and sometimes I even broke Windows. Basically it was my clicking around, changing settings, rebooting the boxes, etc. that ended up breaking things. Also setting up replication wrong or cancelling a SQL install in the middle and having to learn how to wipe files that didn't get entirely wiped so I could do a new install. Sometimes I just had to bite the bullet and reinstall the entire system (OS and all).
EDIT: Oh, I almost forgot to mention. With an MSDN (or maybe TechNet) subscription, you can get copies of all sorts of Microsoft software. I think they still offer this anyway. And that will give you the Server OS and such that you can play with. But it might be beyond your budget (or might not be).
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for a sandbox, My labs exist in either VirtualBox or VMWare; i have both installed on my beefy laptop. VirtualBox even has a portable edition, so you can keep them on an external SSD, and plug them into a usb port at home/work/etc.
so for example, you start with installing Virtual Box portable[/url], and then
you can get the evaluation edition of Windows 2012 operating system or a desktop version like Windows 10 and the free copy of SQL2014 developer edition[/url].,
you create a new "Machine" in Virtualbox with the windows settings that match your operating system,install the operating system, and then install SQL.
with that done, you can take several snapshots over the next weeks and months to create save points that you can roll back to if you mess up your sandbox to the point you feel you need to step back and start over.
even better, you can copy an entire machine as a new sandbox over and over again.
I'd call it about two to four hours of prep for a first timer who never used virtual box, including downloads of big files from microsoft, and the time to install the OS and SQL.
Now, with some decent experienced using Virtualbox or VMware, i can create a new from scratch in the time it takes to press "next" buttons ten times, or clone a machine i built in seconds.
Lowell
--help us help you! If you post a question, make sure you include a CREATE TABLE... statement and INSERT INTO... statement into that table to give the volunteers here representative data. with your description of the problem, we can provide a tested, verifiable solution to your question! asking the question the right way gets you a tested answer the fastest way possible! -
VMs, as Lowell said, are an excellent tool for learning like this. Make one, patch it, install SQL, patch it, then copy the VM so you have a master in case you break it in a way that you can't fix it.
My favorite book is Microsoft Press 'SQL Server 2008 Database Development Training Kit. It's an excellent chapter-by-chapter walk-thru. You're also going to need databases, so look on Microsoft's web site and get, at least, Adventureworks. You can also download Pub and Northwind, which were sample databases from earlier editions. And if you want something BIG to sink your teeth in to, you can download the Stack Overflow database: 95 GIG, 29.5 million posts, 46 million comments, all in a 7Zip file of probably 9-10 gig. Brent Ozar described the process for building the zip[/url] and has a link for torrents that you can download it from.
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[font="Arial"]Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves or we know where we can find information upon it. --Samuel Johnson[/font]
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