Stock options are no longer solely an executive perk. While most books on the subject focus on how business owners can set up a stock options program for their company, this book shows option holders at all levels the keys to exercising one of the most lucrative benefits in today's booming market. This friendly guide brings you:

• Clear, detailed explanation of the different types of stock options-pre-IPO versus post-IPO options
• Clarification of realistic tax and legal consequences to consider when handling stock options
• Descriptions that outline the purpose, pros, and cons of Employee Stock Purchase Plans, 401(k)s, and other company investment vehicles
• Warning signs to look for and why your options might turn out to be worthless
• Advice on what happens to your options if you leave the company or when your company is bought out by another
• And much more!

This book is the best way to make the leap from SQL-92 to SQL: 1999, but it is much more than just a simple bridge between the two. The latest from celebrated SQL experts Jim Melton and Alan Simon, "SQL: 1999" is a comprehensive, eminently practical account of SQL's latest incarnation and a potent distillation of the details required to put it to work. Written to accommodate both novice and experienced SQL users, "SQL: 1999" focuses on the language's capabilities, from the basic to the advanced, and the way that real applications take advantage of them. Throughout, the authors illustrate features and techniques with clear and often entertaining references to their own custom database, which can be downloaded from the companion Web site.
* Gives authoritative coverage from an expert team that includes the editor of the SQL-92 and SQL: 1999 standards.
* Provides a general introduction to SQL that helps you understand its constituent parts, history, and place in the realm of computer languages.
* Explains SQL: 1999's more sophisticated features, including advanced value expressions, predicates, advanced SQL query expressions, and support for active databases.
* Explores key issues for programmers linking applications to SQL databases.
* Provides guidance on troubleshooting, internationalization, and changes anticipated in the next version of SQL.
* Contains appendices devoted to database design, a complete SQL: 1999 example, the standardization process, and more.

SQL is the way to develop, program, and use database applications. SQL-92 is a major advance over earlier versions, offering the first complete SQL language. DB programmers will have the advantage of knowing that applications written in SQL-92 will be portable to all hardware platforms for many years to come. As the editor of the new standard, Jim Melton is an authority on the language and its new features. Using a highly readable, conversational style, the authors clearly present the power of SQL. They describe practical methods of using SQL to solve problems, advanced SQL query expressions, dynamic SQL, transaction models, and database design. Beginning with a tutorial on basic relational database concepts, subsequent chapters develop SQL and clarify the differences between SQL-89 and SQL-92. Throughout, a retail video and music store is used as an example that develops with the SQL presentation. The book is enhanced by a complete dynamic SQL example, coverage of international character sets, and a look at future generations of SQL. Whether you're a newcomer to SQL or an experienced programmer using PCs, workstations, mini- or mainframes, Understanding the New SQL is an essential resource for current and future implementation of SQL.