As dynamic, database-driven Web sites become the standard, more and more nonprogrammers just like yourself are being forced to work with database information and create and edit database objects. With SQL and this task-based guide to it, you can do it too--no programming experience required!

After going over the relational database model and SQL syntax in the first few chapters, veteran author Chris Fehily launches into the tasks that will get you comfortable with SQL fast. In addition to explaining SQL basics, this updated reference covers the ANSI SQL:2003 standard and contains a wealth of brand-new information, including a new chapter on set operations and common tasks, well-placed optimization tips to make your queries run fast, sidebars on advanced topics, and added IBM DB2 coverage.

Best of all, the book's examples were tested on the latest versions of Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, IBM DB2, MySQL, and PostgreSQL. On the companion Web site, you can download the SQL scripts and sample database for all these systems and put your knowledge to work immediately on a real database..

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 23 Ratings

A very good SQL referance book - 2008-03-04
Reviewer Rating:
SQL Second edition,

The book starts out fairly basic by covering what a DBMS is and what a forward slash versus a back slash means in terms of file path and how they relate to different operating systems. From there you get into the fundamentals of database building. From there you get into the command line utility (still an important function technology).

The meat of the book really starts in chapter 2 where you will learn about relational databases and what a key is. Primary keys are essential in the relational database. You will also learn about tables and their importance.

Chapter 3 you are back to the basics of SQL. You will learn more about syntax and how to decipher common syntax errors. Data types are also covered to some extent.

Chapter 4 is all about tables, how to construct them, keep them clean, filtering them, sort them and how to retrieve the information you are looking for. You will learn the basics of conditional statements.

Chapter 5 Lets have some fun with operators (no not the kind that you talk to on the phone but the kind you build using expressions to extract information also known as the function. Creating strings; who thought it could be so much fun. In this chapter we also get top create, change and clean up strings and their friends from next door the substrings.

Chapter 6 It's party time with Aggregate functions and expressions. While were at it we can summarize some data using statistics and aggregate values. While were at it we can filter a little more.

Chapter 7 Lets do some JOINing. Here we learn about creating table aliases and then joining the tables. The importance of the operator WHERE instead of JOIN syntax. And then there's the CROSS JOIN lurking in the background just waiting to return all possible combinations of rows between two tables. This chapter covers many different JOIN syntax's'

Chapter 8 The child to the query also known as the sub querie (inner query of an outer query, how sub queries work with other sub queries, comparing sub queries. ) This chapter is all about sub queries

Chapter 9 Lets join a UNION of sorts. Not the dues paying kind but the kind the compares the results with queries. You can learn how to create a EXCEPT operator for finding differences in rows of the queries that you are combining.

In chapter 10 we learn about INSERTing, DELETE(ing), UPDATE(ing) it's all about the rows in tables and using syntax to alter them.

Chapter 11 Is about creating tables, working with Nulls, specifying values, specifying keys.


Chapter 12 we learn about indexes, creating them and dropping them.

Chapter 13 covers setting up the view. You will learning about updating a view and dropping a view.

Chapter we learn about executions- executing transactions that is.

I have been using this book for a couple months now. When I started using it my skill level was somewhere between beginner and intermediate. After having used this book I feel pretty secure in saying that I am now at the intermediate skill level. I achieved this through the use of this book. It's very well written, easy to follow. Each chapter has these cool little tips for getting things done.

Everything the book walks you through it walks you through doing it in MySQL, postgre05, Microsoft SQL server and Oracle.

Excellent SQL Reference - 2008-05-01
Reviewer Rating:
Most of the titles in the Visual Quickstart Guide series that I've acquired have been very useful and "SQL" by Chris Fehily is no exception. I use SQL relatively rarely and this book is an excellent reference and refresher when I need a fast immersion in SQL.

The Visual Quickstart Guides teach by - you guessed it - visual examples and this is no exception. Fehily's writing style is spare and direct with few wasted words. There is a somewhat generalized introduction to the nature of SQL. The Introduction is actually a model of what such a chapter should be like. It is direct, to the point and covers the major things, in general, that you need to know about SQL.

He then moves deeper into the basics of SQL before advancing on basic SQL operations, such as retrieving data from a table, operators and functions, summarizing and grouping data and so on. Reading this book alone will not make you an expert SQL programmer, but it will certainly help you do more than muddle through basic SQL operations, which generally are all you need.

I've had this book on my shelf for a long time and, as I said, when the need for me to deal with SQL arises, it's the first reference I pick up.

Jerry

Full of great info on SQL!!! - 2009-09-14
Reviewer Rating:
I am a novice SQL programmer. This book helps me understand the basics as my skills grow.

Excellent tutorial AND reference - 2009-07-06
Reviewer Rating:
Generally technology books attempt to either provide a tutorial or a reference, rarely both. This book succeeds fantastically well in both categories. All aspects of SQL are covered: data types, statement creation, joins, operators and functions, subqueries, tables, indexes, views, and a brief section on transactions. This may not sound interesting yet, but the author does two things which make this book outstanding.

The first is there is enough information under each topic and sub-topic that the index is eminently usable. When reading cover to cover it may get old to see some of the same footnotes repeated over and over again, but I realized that whenever I had to look up a topic, every shred of information I needed (or a reference to it) would be in that very same section.

Secondly, for every topic, the author covers differences found within every major DBMS: MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, Microsoft Access and SQL Server, DB2, and Oracle. Syntax changes are noted, alternate functions or operators... everything! This is extremely handy if you ever change environments and need to know how something is done in the new platform.

There is also a sample database to download and a ton of examples for every topic. You can work through this book like a workbook if you wanted to.

There is very little information on database design or optimization, but as this is an SQL book and not a database book, I won't hold that against the author. This is a very user-friendly book and well worth the investment.

Great reference book - 2008-09-30
Reviewer Rating:
This is a great resource for someone who is a beginning/intermediate SQL user. It covers different versions depending on the database you are using. I use SQL Server and have found the book to be my bible. It gives lots of examples and visuals for those of us who don't find straight text and user manuals useful.

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