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Essential SQL Server Development Tips for SQL Developers
Rating: 4.6 out of 5(36 ratings)
230 students

Essential SQL Server Development Tips for SQL Developers

Expand your T-SQL skills with practical SQL Server techniques, modern features, data handling, and development tips.
Last updated 10/2026
English
English [Auto],

What you'll learn

  • Use the date, time, and string techniques demonstrated in T-SQL.
  • Explore JSON data and temporal-table examples in SQL Server.
  • Follow examples using table-valued parameters and selected programmable objects.
  • Compare demonstrated approaches to unstructured data, including VARBINARY, FILESTREAM, and FileTable.
  • Work through useful scripts involving computed columns, NULL handling, and data operations.
  • Recognize common SQL development pitfalls and explain the purpose of the demonstrated alternatives.

Course content

8 sections • 63 lectures • 5h 27m total length
  • Welcome to the Course! What Will You Learn?3:01

    This is the introduction to the course. We will talk about how this course is structured and what will you learn after completing this course.

  • About SQL Server2:28

    In this lecture, we will go through a list of things you can do, when using SQL Server.

  • SQL vs T-SQL2:47

    In this lecture, we will compare the SQL vs the T-SQL scripting languages.

  • How will this Course Help You?0:52

    In this lecture, we will talk about how this course can help you improve your SQL Server development skills.

  • This Course’s Demo Environment19:24

    In this lecture, we will talk about this course’s demo environment.

  • Section Recap1:31

    This lecture, is a recap of what you have learned in this introductory section.

  • Introduction

Requirements

  • Basic SQL Server fundamentals and familiarity with SQL Server Management Studio are required.
  • You should be comfortable reading basic T-SQL statements.
  • Hands-on practice requires a test database with the permissions and features used by the selected example.

Description

Expand your SQL Server development skills with practical T-SQL techniques, useful features, and focused examples you can apply to real database-development scenarios.

This course is designed for SQL developers who already understand the fundamentals and want to move beyond basic SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements.

You will explore a wide range of SQL Server development topics, including date and time handling, strings, JSON, temporal tables, table-valued parameters, computed columns, NULL handling, unstructured data, and more.


Move Beyond Basic T-SQL

Effective SQL Server development requires more than knowing basic syntax.

As applications and databases become more complex, developers need to understand the different SQL Server features available and when each approach may be useful.

This course introduces practical development techniques through focused examples covering topics such as:

  • Date and time handling.

  • String manipulation.

  • JSON in SQL Server.

  • Temporal tables.

  • Table-valued parameters.

  • Computed columns.

  • NULL handling.

  • Useful T-SQL patterns.

  • Common development pitfalls.

  • Additional SQL Server development techniques.

The goal is to help you expand your SQL Server toolkit and become more comfortable choosing the right technique for a particular development task.


Work with Modern SQL Server Features

SQL Server provides many capabilities beyond traditional relational queries.

You will explore features such as JSON support, temporal tables, and table-valued parameters, helping you understand how SQL Server can support more advanced application and data-management scenarios.

Rather than simply memorizing syntax, you will see how these features can fit into practical database-development tasks.


Explore Different Ways of Handling Data

Not every application works exclusively with conventional relational data.

A dedicated part of the course explores approaches for working with unstructured and file-related data using technologies such as:

  • VARBINARY.

  • FILESTREAM.

  • FileTable.

These examples help you understand some of the options available when SQL Server applications need to store or manage file-based content alongside relational data.


Write More Effective T-SQL

The course also includes practical T-SQL techniques that can help you write clearer and more reliable database code.

You will explore topics involving:

  • Data transformations.

  • Date calculations.

  • String operations.

  • Handling NULL values.

  • Reusable query techniques.

  • Useful SQL Server scripts.

  • Development considerations that can affect application behavior.

The objective is not only to show you how a feature works, but also to help you understand when and why you might use it.


Learn from Common SQL Development Pitfalls

SQL code can return unexpected results even when it is syntactically correct.

The course highlights selected SQL Server development pitfalls and considerations that can help you think more carefully about query behavior, data types, NULL values, and other implementation details.

Developing this awareness can help you write more predictable and maintainable database code.


Use the Course as a Practical SQL Developer Reference

Because the course is organized around focused development topics, you can use it in different ways.

You can:

  • Follow the course from beginning to end.

  • Study the topics most relevant to your current work.

  • Return to individual lectures when you need a refresher.

  • Use the examples as starting points for further experimentation.

  • Expand your SQL Server knowledge one technique at a time.

This makes the course useful both as structured training and as an ongoing SQL Server development reference.


Who Is This Course For?

This course is suitable for:

  • SQL Server developers.

  • Database developers.

  • T-SQL developers.

  • Application developers working with SQL Server.

  • Database administrators who also write T-SQL.

  • Data professionals who want to strengthen their SQL Server development skills.

You should already understand the fundamentals of SQL Server and basic T-SQL and be familiar with SQL Server Management Studio.

This course builds on that foundation rather than teaching SQL from the beginning.

If you want to follow the examples yourself, use a SQL Server development or test environment and make sure the features demonstrated are supported by your SQL Server version.


Expand Your SQL Server Development Toolkit

By the end of the course, you will have explored a broader range of T-SQL techniques, SQL Server features, and data-handling approaches.

More importantly, you will have a collection of practical development patterns and examples that you can revisit when working with real SQL Server applications and databases.


If you already know the SQL Server fundamentals and want to become a more capable and versatile SQL developer, this course provides a practical way to expand your skills.

Who this course is for:

  • SQL developers who want to move beyond basic statements.
  • Database administrators who write T-SQL and want additional development techniques.
  • Application developers and architects seeking practical SQL Server development context.