3 4
Chapter 18
In Chapter 17, you learned about indexes, auxiliary structures that exist separately from the database data but that relate to accessing the data. In other words, an index is an independent structure, but it is integrally tied to the data. In this chapter, we'll look at another auxiliary database structure: views. A view, like an index, exists independently of the data but is closely tied to that data. A view is used to filter, or process, data before users access it. In this chapter, you'll learn more about what a view is, how views are related to data, and why and when views are used, and you'll learn how to create and manage views. In addition, we will examine some view enhancements in Microsoft SQL Server 2000.