A client/server database system comprises two components: programs that provide an interface for client-based users to access data, and the database structure that manages and stores the data on the server. For example, if you use Microsoft® SQL Server™ to create a checking account application, you must set up a database structure to manage the account transaction data and an application that acts as the user interface to the database, allowing users to access checking account information.
Creating a database to serve your business needs requires an understanding of how to design, create, and maintain each of these components to ensure that your database performs optimally.
| Topic | Description |
|---|---|
| Databases | Describes how databases are used to represent, manage, and access data. |
| Tables | Describes how tables are used to store rows of data and define the relationships between multiple tables. |
| Database Diagrams | Describes how database diagrams represent database objects graphically and enable you to interact with the database without using Transact-SQL. |
| Indexes | Describes how indexes are used to increase the speed of accessing the data in the table. |
| Views | Describes views and their usefulness in providing an alternative way of looking at the data in one or more tables. |
| Stored Procedures | Describes how these Transact-SQL programs centralize business rules, tasks, and processes within the server. |
| Enforcing Business Rules with Triggers | Describes the function of triggers as special types of stored procedures that are executed only when data in a table is modified. |
| Full-text Indexes | Describes how full-text indexes facilitate the querying of data stored in character-based columns, such as varchar and text. |