I’d like to recommend an older, Microsoft-created video series called SQL Server 2005 Express for Beginners. Before you skip over this post, because you’re using SQL Server 2008, be aware that most of the material in these videos applies to SQL Server 2008 as well. Each video is 20 to 40 minutes long, so they go into quite a bit of detail. At the same time, they go slowly from describing databases to more advanced topics, such as stored procedures and reporting. Here is a list of direct links to the videos in the series:
If you’re following this blog, you’ll notice that we’re also creating videos to help you more easily learn SQL Server concepts. Why do this if there are other video series like this one? Here is our reasoning:
- First, when you’re learning it helps to
hear the same material in different ways. So the more resources that are out there for the new user, the better. - The videos we’re creating are aiming for 5 to 10 minutes, which is a lot shorter than this 2005 series. Different people have different amounts of time and interest for watching videos.
- Different videos, even ones on the same subject, can convey unique information, advice, or tricks to make them each useful.
- Finally it can help to use the latest SQL Server product (2008 R2 at the time of this writing) for those times where there is a difference in UI or features. Also, people may never find the older video series like this that still apply if they are searching for videos on the latest release.
As we find other resources, we’ll try to share them on this blog. If you have discovered other useful learning resources, please let us know.
This would have been a great learning tool for me being that I am attending a SQL for business class and am totally new to the SQL and all BUT nothing worked. I tried the links, error page not found, and I clicked on the video, error. If you cannot supply what your page promises, then perhaps removing the page until the errors are fixed would be a good idea.
I am now going onwards hoping I can find some help.
Tina, I apologize that the links and videos aren’t working for you. I just tried to click on a few of the videos on this page, and they bring up the series for me. I also randomly clicked a few links on the blog and they worked too. Could you try from another machine, or could you tell me the specific links that don’t work for you. I don’t want to have material up here that doesn’t help. Thanks!
Hello Mr. Roth,
Is it really necessary to learn visual basic before you watching those video series? Can you recommend me a good source for learning about visualbasic ?
P.S. Sorry for my crappy english, i am from the netherlands.
You do not need to learn Visual Basic to learn SQL Server. Some videos might show you how to write applications with a language like Visual Basic, but you can create a database, run queries, and enter data all from SQL Server Management Studio. It’s just that, with SQL Server, you’ll probably want some front-end application at some point to use the data. But that could be Excel or some other product that just uses the data potentially.
These videos are very good. Thank you for help.
I’m glad they helped!
Thank you for this blog it’s really useful. However, I’m having problem viewing the above videos and I don’t konw if I need to install a specific utility to watch them. The link provided opens fine with no errors and I can see the titile of each video but not the videos. any help will be appreciated.
These are embedded videos from youtube. Possibly try the youtube channel to see them? There is a link from the main page to the youtube channel. Let me know if that helps. Thanks!
Thanks for your help and your quick reply…howrver, I could’nt find the link to the youtube channel
Thanks Jason, it’s working!
One tip is to right-click a video holder in a web-page to see which ‘engine’ it’s using.
Typically it’s an Adobe Flash-related pop-up (and that’s what you need for YouTube) however in the case for the MS-hosted versions, as the videos linked above are, you’ll need Microsoft Silverlight ( is that a play on “flash”?
) to be viewed.
(Running Win 7 Pro 64-bit, Firefox 11.0 browser, Silverlight Version: 4.1.10111.0)
Thank you very much!! it’s working now