SQL Server 2016 Developer's Guide

This book is for database developers and solution architects who plan to use the new SQL Server 2016 features for developing efficient database applications. It is also ideal for experienced SQL Server developers who want to switch to SQL Server 2016 for its rich development capabilities. Some understanding of the basic database concepts and Transact-SQL language is assumed.

What You Will Learn:

- Explore the new development features introduced in SQL Server 2016
- Identify opportunities for In-Memory OLTP technology, significantly enhanced in SQL Server 2016
- Use columnstore indexes to get significant storage and performance improvements
- Extend database design solutions using temporal tables
- Exchange JSON data between applications and SQL Server in a more efficient way
- Migrate historical data transparently and securely to Microsoft Azure by using Stretch Database
- Use the new security features to encrypt or to have more granular control over access to rows in a table
- Simplify performance troubleshooting with Query Store
- Discover the potential of R's integration with SQL Server

Microsoft SQL Server 2016 is considered the biggest leap in the data platform history of the Microsoft, in the ongoing era of Big Data and data science. Compared to its predecessors, SQL Server 2016 offers developers a unique opportunity to leverage the advanced features and build applications that are robust, scalable, and easy to administer.

This book introduces you to new features of SQL Server 2016 which will open a completely new set of possibilities for you as a developer. It prepares you for the more advanced topics by starting with a quick introduction to SQL Server 2016's new features and a recapitulation of the possibilities you may have already explored with previous versions of SQL Server. The next part introduces you to small delights in the Transact-SQL language and then switches to a completely new technology inside SQL Server - JSON support. We also take a look at the Stretch database, security enhancements, and temporal tables.

The last chapters concentrate on implementing advanced topics, including Query Store, columnstore indexes, and In-Memory OLTP. You will finally be introduced to R and how to use the R language with Transact-SQL for data exploration and analysis.

By the end of this book, you will have the required information to design efficient, high-performance database applications without any hassle.