Beginning Microsoft SQL Server 2008 ... - S3 Tech Training

Chapter 2: Tools of the Trade
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My general philosophy about books or any other reference materials related to programming is that I
can’t have enough of them. I first began programming in 1980 or so, and back then it was possible to
remember most things (but not everything). Today it’s simply impossible. If you have any diversification
at all (something that is, in itself, rather difficult these days), there are just too many things to
remember, and the things you don’t use every day get lost in dying brain cells.
Here’s a simple piece of advice: Don’t even try to remember it all. Remember what you’ve seen is possible.
Remember what is an integral foundation to what you’re doing. Remember what you work with every
day. Then remember to build a good reference library (starting with this book) and keep a healthy list of
good SQL Server sites in your favorites list to fill in information on subjects you don’t work with every
day and may not remember the details of.
As you see in Figure 2-1, Books Online in SQL Server uses the updated .NET online help interface, which
is replacing the older standard online help interface used among the Microsoft technical product line
(Back Office, MSDN, Visual Studio).
Figure 2-1