The goal of Defensive Programming is to produce resilient code that responds gracefully to the unexpected. To the SQL Server programmer, this means T-SQL code that behaves consistently and predictably in cases of unexpected usage, doesn't break under concurrent loads, and survives predictable changes to database schemas and settings. Inside this book, you will find dozens of practical, defensive programming techniques that will improve the quality of your T-SQL code and increase its resilience and robustness.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a very good book that is based on practical experience. Reading it would save you trying days of coding and testing. I am very pleased to have read it and advise any sql coder to go through it.
It is very specific to sql server, rather than generic theory that may or may not apply to your installation.
Covers so many good ideas that will take years to understand and learn. some of which I am generally aware of but have not understood in details. Such as the behaviour of set and select.
Attempt to solve the problem with code reuse which is an almost impossible problem. SQL code is routinely duplicated to maintain a good performance (e.g. scalar functions aren't used - i've coded them in then out when things slowed down), so here there are some practical suggestions that should help the disillusioned.
I don't think i can fault it in any of the examples apart from a couple of typos it is very well written, at times there seem to be pages and pages of code with slightly different versions, but I guess that gives a very clear and step by step examples to prove solid points.
OK, I am not sure about de-normalising for sake of enforcing business logic in constraints, I am not sure if i can get this passed the architecture team (they will want to keep business rules in the application layer - despite the arguments in the book to the contrary), still I am really impressed with the creative approach (don't know if anyone else thought of doing this before), and will try to apply - but only if I can see the benefits outweigh the data duplication and the additional code complexity and its a big ask...
Although I have 10 years of sql but most of which spend on sql 2000, so in some way this was a useful read to see 2008 features put to use.
Also having part of the book as a free download is very generous, I hope (but doubt) redgate is paying some good money towards it.
Lastly, I wanted to get the last two chapters but its seems that I have to wait and can't find the guy's email to moan about it...
It is very specific to sql server, rather than generic theory that may or may not apply to your installation.
Covers so many good ideas that will take years to understand and learn. some of which I am generally aware of but have not understood in details. Such as the behaviour of set and select.
Attempt to solve the problem with code reuse which is an almost impossible problem. SQL code is routinely duplicated to maintain a good performance (e.g. scalar functions aren't used - i've coded them in then out when things slowed down), so here there are some practical suggestions that should help the disillusioned.
I don't think i can fault it in any of the examples apart from a couple of typos it is very well written, at times there seem to be pages and pages of code with slightly different versions, but I guess that gives a very clear and step by step examples to prove solid points.
OK, I am not sure about de-normalising for sake of enforcing business logic in constraints, I am not sure if i can get this passed the architecture team (they will want to keep business rules in the application layer - despite the arguments in the book to the contrary), still I am really impressed with the creative approach (don't know if anyone else thought of doing this before), and will try to apply - but only if I can see the benefits outweigh the data duplication and the additional code complexity and its a big ask...
Although I have 10 years of sql but most of which spend on sql 2000, so in some way this was a useful read to see 2008 features put to use.
Also having part of the book as a free download is very generous, I hope (but doubt) redgate is paying some good money towards it.
Lastly, I wanted to get the last two chapters but its seems that I have to wait and can't find the guy's email to moan about it...
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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5.0 out of 5 stars
5 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Useful and Informative....
16 Jun 2010
By H. Treftz
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
I have worked with SQL Server as a developer and a programmer for over 15 years so I have read a lot of books about the product and T-SQL. This is one of the most informative books I have read on SQL in a long time because it made me think a little differently when looking at code. It presented me with situations I haven't seen before (for example a connection setting it's own rowcount explicitly) and the implications that could have.
It really makes you think about the what-if, what happens if your caller does something unexpected and what you might do to mitigate this risk. There are not a whole lot of SQL Server programming books that I learn something from anymore, this was one of them.
It really makes you think about the what-if, what happens if your caller does something unexpected and what you might do to mitigate this risk. There are not a whole lot of SQL Server programming books that I learn something from anymore, this was one of them.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great reading for database practitioners
28 Jan 2011
By Plamen Ratchev
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This is excellent work on a very important topic. Defensive programming is very often misunderstood, especially in the database world.
Alex deals with this "inconvenient" topic using very practical approach. Instead of filling pages with theory and reasons why defensive programming is good, he dives right into simple examples from the daily work of every database professional. We have all seen (and ignored) many of these issues, but demonstrating how this affects our code and how simple it is to avoid these problems makes this book shine. It is not a complete catalog of defensive techniques, rather a good collection of examples to illustrate the need for defensive coding and applicable methods. It builds the mindset to think proactively and create robust solutions.
The book includes coverage of the following topics: basic defensive technique, code vulnerabilities, changes to database objects, upgrades, reusing code, data integrity and constraints, error handling, concurrency.
"Defensive Database Programming with SQL Server" should be required reading for all SQL practitioners.
Alex deals with this "inconvenient" topic using very practical approach. Instead of filling pages with theory and reasons why defensive programming is good, he dives right into simple examples from the daily work of every database professional. We have all seen (and ignored) many of these issues, but demonstrating how this affects our code and how simple it is to avoid these problems makes this book shine. It is not a complete catalog of defensive techniques, rather a good collection of examples to illustrate the need for defensive coding and applicable methods. It builds the mindset to think proactively and create robust solutions.
The book includes coverage of the following topics: basic defensive technique, code vulnerabilities, changes to database objects, upgrades, reusing code, data integrity and constraints, error handling, concurrency.
"Defensive Database Programming with SQL Server" should be required reading for all SQL practitioners.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book
13 April 2011
By Rand E. Gerald
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was at a presentation by the author about this subject last year (March 2010) even before the book was published. Unfortunately, the book was not published until several months later. If I recall correctly, I ordered it on a pre-release basis. I have not been disappointed.
If you go through the book you will very likely find reference to oversights that you may have made in the past and how to avoid them in the future.
The only negative I can say about the book is that I wish that it had more of the author's helpful hints. A good subject, perhaps, for a Volume 2.
By the way - where did the author get that beautiful cover photo? Where was it taken?
If you go through the book you will very likely find reference to oversights that you may have made in the past and how to avoid them in the future.
The only negative I can say about the book is that I wish that it had more of the author's helpful hints. A good subject, perhaps, for a Volume 2.
By the way - where did the author get that beautiful cover photo? Where was it taken?
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