Chapter II.4. Constructing New Tables
In a relational database, tables are at the center of the action. Tables store all your data, and serve as the primary interface to any applications or user interactions. In this chapter, you get a good idea about how to create your own set of tables. After you define how you want your tables to be structured, SQL Server offers many settings that you can use to tweak the behavior of these tables and their columns.
SQL Server does a great job of protecting your information. However, you can go the extra mile by taking advantage of a database concept known as constraints. In the next part of this chapter, we briefly show you how to take advantage of constraints to increase the integrity of your data. Views are another useful database capability, so we examine how to create them by using the SQL Server Management Studio.
Finally, because no one likes to hand enter code or reinvent the wheel, SQL Server offers helpful scripting capabilities that allow you to automate common database maintenance tasks, such as creating new tables. You'll see how to generate scripts quickly to help save time whenever you need to create or maintain a table.
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