Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 Administrator's Pocket Consultant

Getting Started with Tables

In Microsoft SQL Server 2008, the structures of tables and indexes are just as important as the database itself, especially when it comes to performance. Tables are collections of data about a specific entity, such as a customer or an order. To describe the attributes of these entities, you use named columns. For example, to describe the attributes of a customer, you could use these columns: cust_name, cust_address, and cust_phone.

Each instance of data in a table is represented as a single data entry or row. Typically, rows are unique and have unique identifiers called primary keys associated with them. However, a primary key is not mandatory in ANSI SQL, and it is not required in SQL Server. The job of the primary ...