Database performance has become a headache, and most IT departments believe that developers should provide simple SQL code to solve immediate problems and let DBAs tune any "bad SQL" later. In The Art of SQL, author and SQL expert Stephane Faroult argues that the "safe approach" only leads to disaster. His insightful book, named after Art of War by Sun Tzu, contends that writing quick inefficient code is sweeping the dirt under the carpet. SQL code may run for 5 to 10 years, surviving several major releases of database management systems and on several generations of hardware. The code should be fast and sound from the beginning, and that requires a strong understanding of SQL and relational theory. The Art of SQL offers best practices that teach experienced SQL users to focus on strategy rather than specific. Faroult's approach takes a page from Sun Tzu's classic treatise by viewing database design as a military campaign. Faroult way of seeing the SQL performance may be unconventional and unique, but he's deadly serious about writing good SQL and using SQL well.