Randolph West

It may take a village to raise a child, but it takes a small country to write a book. Five books in, and I still don’t understand how it comes together at the end. Thank you to Loretta and Charvi at Microsoft Press, and to William Assaf, for long and thoughtful conversations. My co-authors and technical editors, obviously. To Marinus, thank you for begrudgingly letting me do another book even though I still don’t sit at the desk you bought me. Thanks to Trixie for the slower walks, our new puppy Tilley for keeping me on my toes, and Apple for making a quiet laptop.

A lot of us wouldn’t be here without the tireless efforts of medical professionals during the global pandemic. Join me in thanking your healthcare friends when you get a chance. Thank your teachers. Thank your first responders. Thank the people who keep the lights on and the water flowing. Hug a queer person.

I would like to extend a special acknowledgment to Melody Zacharias, who has been a major contributor to the Microsoft Data Platform community for a number of years. Melody selflessly introduced me to the community in Canada and even included me as one of the authors in her Let Them Finish book. She has helped so many people in our community and also deserves a special mention in the production of this book.

William Assaf

Becoming an empty nester has allowed me to spend more time than ever with my best friend and adventure buddy. Thanks, Christine, for tolerating endless nights of writing, rewriting, and editing this book instead of hiking, exploring, or snuggling.

I’d like to thank Loretta Yates, our intrepid and tactful editor throughout our Microsoft Press experience. I’d also like to thank the mentors and managers and colleagues in my professional career heretofore, who affected my trajectory, and to whom I remain grateful for technical and nontechnical lessons learned. I’d like to thank Connie Murla, David Alexander, Darren Schumaker, Ashagre Bishaw, Charles Sanders, Todd Howard, Chris Kimmel, Richard Caronna, Mike Huguet, Mike Carter, Jason Prell, James Sampson, Jason Roth, and finally Patrick Leblanc, a fellow Baton Rouge native, whose friendship has repeatedly challenged me and furthered my career. I’d also like to thank my father, a rare stamped mechanical and electrical engineer (and a HAM), and both my older brothers who are brilliant software engineers, for letting me play games on their 386s all summer long. I’d finally like to thank the STEM educators, nonprofit volunteers, and organizers in my hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They are doing the hard work of developing our future coworkers and coauthors among my home state’s perpetually underfunded, underappreciated, and underestimated public school youth.

Elizabeth Noble

I would like to thank Randolph West and William Assaf for inviting me to collaborate on this book. I also want to thank the entire team that made this book possible. You all were kind, supportive, and encouraging. I’d also like to thank my many mentors (mostly unofficial) including Phil Pledger, Mike Lawell, Ed Watson, and Rob Volk. You each have provided encouragement and guidance over the years. Rie Merritt, thank you for welcoming me to my second user group meeting. If it weren’t for you, I would not have come back to my third meeting or have met this wonderful community. I want to thank my family for giving me the time and space to work on this book. To Mom, thank you for being my cheerleader. To Dad, thank you for nudging me every so often to see how the book was going. Also, in memory of Khari, my forever companion, thank you for making sure that I remembered to take care of myself.

Meagan Longoria

First, I’d like to thank the co-authors and co-editors who collaborated on this book. It was a pleasure to work with them and learn from them. I would also like to thank my coworkers at Denny Cherry & Associates Consulting for their technical advice and support. I also want to acknowledge my laptop bag for safely carrying my computer through many states and a couple of countries while I worked on this book. I think everyone should consider a nice laptop bag. Finally, I’d like to thank my dog Izzy for being understanding when dinner was a little late due to writing or editing, and for reminding me to take breaks to go on walks. Life is better with a dog.

Joey D’Antoni

I would like to thank my wife Kelly, and my coworkers at Denny Cherry & Associates Consulting, for helping me and giving me time to work on this project. Also, thanks to the team at Microsoft for answering dumb questions when I had them.

Louis Davidson

I would like to acknowledge the rest of the team on this book for their wonderful work that makes tech editing the chapters I worked on some of the easiest technical book work I have ever participated in.

Melody Zacharias

I really want to thank William Assaf and Randolph West for their push/encouragement to do another book with them. It is always a pleasure to work with some of the best professionals in the industry. There have been a few who are special in the community who made this possible: Argenis Fernandez who introduced me to #SQLFamily, John Morehouse who mentored and encouraged me to do my first presentation, Dave Kawula for encouraging me to write my first book, and Rie Merritt for keeping me going and inspired to inspire others year after year. I would not be doing this if not for your encouragement. Thank you all for each experience that changed my life for the better. No family is perfect, but my #SQLFamily is an amazingly supportive and inclusive family, and I am so proud to be a member. Thank you to Marsha Pierce and Rob Ludeman, for bringing me into the Pure Family, and for letting me share my crazy obsession with SQL Server with Pure. Most of all, thank you to my family for understanding when I go back into my office after dinner and on weekends to work on this book and all the presentations and other community work I do. Thank you for accepting me as I am.

William Carter

I want to thank my children, Kadence and Kayla, for inspiring me to continue to grow and embrace change. I’d like to thank my mom and dad and my personal village of family, friends, and teachers who instilled in me the passion and perseverance to pursue my dreams. Finally, I want to thank Joel Whittington, Fred Seals, and William Assaf, three of my mentors who I respect and admire a great deal. Each of you directly impacted my professional and personal growth, sharing your wisdom and humor along the way.

Josh Smith

I’d like to thank those in the SQL Server community who have taken the time to provide me with opportunities to learn and grow in my career, including the authors of this book for taking a chance and inviting me to join the other technical editors. I am eternally grateful for the patience of my family throughout the last 10 years, but over this past summer in particular, as we’ve attempted to do ALL THE THINGS at the same time. Sara, hopefully by the time I am showing you this in print, we’ve finished unpacking.