In this chapter, we've scratched the surface of an enormous subject. We have reviewed theory ranging from Codd's rules to database design and normalization. We have introduced SQL, the lingua franca of RDBMSs, and have compared SQL Server and Access, two of the most common RDBMSs for Windows. The chapters that follow will cover SQL in greater depth, but our emphasis will turn away from database design, and toward database programming. The focus shifts from theory to practice as you get hands-on experience and learn techniques to apply the theory to real-world problems. |