In Chapter 5, Tables and Data, we looked at the contents of tables and various complexities. Now, we'll turn our attention to larger administration tasks that we need to perform from time to time, such as creating things, moving things around, storing things neatly, and removing them when they're no longer required.

The most sensible way to perform major administrative tasks is to write a script to do what you think is required. If you're unsure, you can always run the script on a system test server, and then run it again on the production server once you're happy. Manically typing commands against production database servers isn't wise. Worse, using an admin tool can lead to serious issues if that tool doesn't show you the SQL you're about to execute. If you haven't dropped your first live table yet, don't worry; you will. Perhaps, you might want to read Chapter 11, Backup and Recovery, first, eh? Back it up using scripts.

Scripts are great because you can automate common tasks...