Absolute Beginner's Guide to Databases

Absolute Beginner's Guide to Databases brings the elements of a database together using easy to understand language, perfect for the true beginner. It not only gives specific hands on practice, but also provides an overview of designing, maintaining and using a database. This book covers what databases are used for, why databases are important, why the design of the database is important, database normalization, keys to solid database design, differences in types of databases, and indexes--what they are, how we use them, and why they are important.

John V. Petersen is president and founder of Main Line Software, Inc., a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based software application and database design firm. MLSI development platforms include Visual FoxPro, Visual Basic, Access, SQL Server, and Microsoft's newest development platform Visual Studio .NET.

John earned an MBA from the Haub School of Business at St. Joseph's University in 1993. John is currently a 2L at the Rutgers University School of Law. John has presented at many industry events including Microsoft Developer Days and Microsoft Tech-Ed. John's writing projects have included Visual FoxPro 6 Enterprise Development and Hands-On Visual Basic 6 Web Development from Prima Publishing, ADO Jumpstart MSDN Whitepaper, and numerous feature articles on application development and database design issues. John has been an annual recipient of Microsoft's Most Valuable Professional award since 1996.