Theoretical background

A relational database management system (RDBMS) is based on the relational model, which in turn is based on two branches of mathematics: Set Theory and Predicate Logic.

SQL

Data in a RDBMS can be managed and queried using the SQL language, and Microsoft’s dialect and extension of SQL is T-SQL. SQL is a declarative language that is both an both ANSI and ISO standard. A declarative language specifies what we want and not how to get it (as with procedural languages). The RDBMS determines the mechanics required to process the request. The three main categories of SQL statements are:

• DDL (Data Definition Language): Allows the user to define or modify data structures or objects, and includes statements such as CREATE, ALTER, and DROP.
• DML (Data Manipulation Language): Allows the user to query and manipulate the data in the tables of a database, and include statements such as SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, TRUNCATE, and MERGE.
• DCL (Data Control Language): Contains only two statements: GRANT and REVOKE. They are used to manage the rights users have in a database

Set Theory

A set is on a single entity representing a collection of objects. In set theory, every element in a set must be unique, and this can be defined, and the ordering of the elements in the set is irrelevant. This means a query against a table will return a result set with rows presented in any order unless the ordering of the rows is explicitly specified using the ORDER BY clause.

Predicate Logic

How to create complex reports that use Analysis Services as a data source and custom code assemblies

Master advanced topics of Reporting Services like scaled-out deployment, .Net integration and monitoring Reporting Services usage