Database Reference
In-Depth Information
How it works...
The procedure provided is a simplified approach to gain a baseline of what may seem
rather complicated if you are new to or have limited experiences with SQL databases. The
view for each respective component is a consistent representation of the data that you can
retrieve by writing reports. Each view is created from one or more tables in the database.
The recommended practice is to target report construction at the views, as Microsoft en-
sures that these views remain consistent even when the underlying tables change.
An example of how to understand the schema is as follows. Imagine the task of preparing a
meal for dinner. The meal will require ingredients and a process to prepare it. Then, you
will need to present the output on a plate. The following table provides a comparison of
this scenario to the respective schema:
Attributes of the meal
Attributes of the schema
Raw ingredients
Database tables
Packed single or combined ingredients available from a supermarket
shelf
SQL Server views that retrieve data from one or a combination of tables
Writing SQL queries using the views; use one or a combination (join)
views
Preparing the meal
Presenting the meal on a plate
The report(s) in various formats
In addition to using MSSMS, as described earlier, Microsoft supplies schema information
for the components in the online documentation. This information is specific for each
product and varies in the depth of the content. The
See also
section of this recipe provides
useful links to the available information published for the schemas.
