Exam study material for Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012/2014 (Exam 70-461)

By:Daniel Calbimonte || Related Tips:More > Professional Development Certifications

Problem

I would like to pass the Microsoft 70-461 exam. Can you give me links, books and recommendations for the exam?

Solution

Yes. In this tip, we will answer some typical questions, give links, books and training exams to pass the 70-461 exam.

What is the 70-461 certification exam?

This is the Exam related to SQL Server 2012 and 2014 focused on SQL Server Querying.

Is this exam about ANSI SQL?

ANSI SQL is an standard for several Databases like Oracle, DB2, SQL Server, etc. This exam is about Transact SQL or T-SQL.

What is the difference between ANSI SQL and T-SQL?

ANSI SQL is a standard for relational databases. T-SQL is an extension of ANSI SQL created for Microsoft in SQL Server. The exam contains some sections on ANSI SQL and other sections on T-SQL.

It is my first exam about SQL Server. Do you recommend taking this exam first?

Yes. If you already have some experience with other databases, this exam is a good first step for SQL Server. If you do not have any experience on other databases, another starting point would be the MTA Database Fundamentals.

Is this exam focused on SQL Server 2014?

Yes, SQL Server 2012 and 2014.

Which books would you recommend for this exam?

There are thousands of books in the market, but these ones we know and recommend:

1. The official book is the Training Kit (Exam 70-461) Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012 . It is a good book, however it will be not be enough to pass the exam. The CD with questions that comes with the book is very simple compared to the real exam.

2. Microsoft SQL Server 2012 T-SQL Fundamentals (Developer Reference). This is a good complementary book of the first one.

3. T-SQL Querying (Developer Reference) is another great book to learn T-SQL.

4. Beginning T-SQL 3rd ed. Edition . This is another option. It is similar to other books mentioned before, but it is a different author.

5. Pro T-SQL Programmer's Guid e is an advanced book about T-SQL. It does not cover most of the exam chapters, but it has nice examples about XML, Triggers and other topics.

6. SQL Server Concurrency: Locking, Blocking and Row Versioning is a great book to study the locking sections in the exam.

Which courses would you recommend?

Can you recommended some courses:

Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Databases Jump Start T-SQL Fundamentals 2016 Advanced T-SQL Querying, Programming and Tuning for SQL Server 2012, 2014 and 2016 SQL Server 2012 Optimization, Performance Tuning and Troubleshooting T-SQL Fundamentals SQL Server - TSQL Which simulation exams would you recommend? 70-461 Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Microsoft Official Practice Test Practice Lab for Microsoft 70-461 Practice Exam for Microsoft 70-461 Microsoft Practice Exam for 70-461 MSCert: Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012/2014 What is the passing score?

700/1000

Do you recommend any links to continue my learning?

Yes. Here are some recommended links:

Create database objects Create and alter tables using T-SQL syntax (simple statements) Data Definition Language (DDL) Statements (Transact-SQL) Tables Add Columns to a Table (Database Engine) Tutorial: Writing Transact-SQL Statements CREATE TABLE (Transact-SQL) ALTER TABLE (Transact-SQL) DROP TABLE (Transact-SQL) Create and alter views (simple statements) Views ALTER VIEW (Transact-SQL) CREATE VIEW (Transact-SQL)