SQL Server Learning Roadmap
1. Introduction to Databases & SQL Server
• What is a Database?
• Types of Databases (Relational vs Non-Relational)
• SQL vs T-SQL
• Installing and setting up SQL Server
• SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
2. SQL Basics
• Database, Schema, Tables
• Data Types in SQL Server
• Basic Queries (SELECT, WHERE, ORDER BY)
• INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE
• Constraints (PRIMARY KEY, FOREIGN KEY, UNIQUE, CHECK, DEFAULT)
3. Intermediate SQL
• Joins (INNER, LEFT, RIGHT, FULL)
• GROUP BY and Aggregate Functions
• HAVING clause
• Subqueries (Scalar, Multi-row, Correlated)
• Common Table Expressions (CTEs)
• Views and Indexed Views
4. Advanced SQL
• Stored Procedures
• Functions (Scalar, Table-Valued)
• Triggers
• Transactions (BEGIN, COMMIT, ROLLBACK)
• Error Handling (TRY...CATCH)
• Window Functions (ROW_NUMBER, RANK, LEAD, LAG)
5. Performance & Optimization
• Indexes (Clustered vs Non-Clustered)
• Execution Plans
• Query Optimization techniques
• Partitioning
• Statistics and Maintenance
6. Security & Administration
• Authentication & Authorization
• Roles and Permissions
• Backup and Restore
• Encryption
• Auditing and Monitoring
7. Advanced Topics
• SQL Server Agent & Jobs
• Linked Servers
• Replication
• AlwaysOn Availability Groups
• Clustering & High Availability
8. BI & Integration
• SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS)
• SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS)
• SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS)
• ETL Concepts
• Data Warehousing Basics
9. Tools & Deployment
• Azure SQL Database
• DevOps for SQL Server
• Version Control with SQL
• CI/CD with SQL Projects
• Monitoring with third-party tools
