This guide is not intended to be a complete Microsoft Transact-SQL reference manual; instead, it teaches how to write good code and rewrite bad code, and how to understand microscale and macroscale performance issues. Part I, on basic programming topics, covers topics such as SQL basics, tables, views, triggers, and common table expressions. Part II focuses on performance, with material on graphical query plans, indexes, and subquery optimization. Part III covers advanced SQL techniques, such as set-oriented programming versus procedural code, grouping data, and refactoring. Exercises, solutions, and three case studies are included. Garbus is a computer consultant. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)