What do you think?
Rate this book
SQL
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..
460 pages, Paperback
First published July 29, 2002
34 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 8, 2017
Ok wow nobody is going to care about this review and I promise I'll review an actual book soon (my copy of I Hate Everyone But You just came in the mail!). I got this book because my new job involves more advanced programming than I've done since college, so I wanted to brush up/learn some new stuff and this was recommended as a book for people with intermediate SQL knowledge. But I felt like this was very basic?? Like just simple select queries, creating tables, etc. Not even anything about stored procedures. But I did like that it taught in a way that wasn't specific to any DBMS and I did learn a helpful trick or two.
In conclusion: I'm very smart thank you and goodnight.
In conclusion: I'm very smart thank you and goodnight.
March 14, 2019
Nice book covering basics of SQL. May be good choice for quick recap. What I liked are: a lot of examples based on the same simple dataset (which makes them clear and easy to compare) and showing differences between most popular DBMS for each and every functionality described.
December 29, 2016
The book covered a variety of DBMSs, which is mostly a distraction but could be a benefit if you are unsure what DBMS you want to dedicate yourself to for a time and so would like to try a few before making a greater commitment.
It did its job as an introductory book but not all material was accurate according to a more experienced developer I have talked to on it. There was a fair amount of practice material, but not in a very useful format. If the exercises were in a format with a given problem and a defined but separate solution then that would be more practical for learning than simply giving up the answers.
It did its job as an introductory book but not all material was accurate according to a more experienced developer I have talked to on it. There was a fair amount of practice material, but not in a very useful format. If the exercises were in a format with a given problem and a defined but separate solution then that would be more practical for learning than simply giving up the answers.
January 4, 2013
This book is a lesson in good educational design. It was a perfect match, at least, for the way that I learn. That's high praise for a reference book from 2002, but SQL isn't complicated enough to warrant a step-by-step approach and it was more than enough to show me what's possible, how it's generally done, and how to tailor the SQL statements for different DBMS. There were only a few occasions on which I had to scroll down to the 'fine print' in Microsoft's Access documentation to troubleshoot a statement.
October 22, 2010
It's been 4 or 5 years since I've done anything with SQL, so I was hoping to use this to shake off the rust. Related topics seem to be scattered about rather than grouped together, which makes it difficult to go through from start to finish. Its explanations and examples are also fairly wordy, which makes this difficult to use as a reference. I ended up having to rely on an older SQL book and searching the internet for updates to the language to get back up to speed.
February 5, 2019
It is fairly short but comprehensive introduction to standard SQL, the book has fair amount of examples, that illustrate concepts well enough.
The distinctive feature is compatibility with around 10 most important RDBMSs.
The distinctive feature is compatibility with around 10 most important RDBMSs.
February 16, 2009
Still use this is a reference book while working, highly recommended if you're kind of slow like me.
July 18, 2015
A really handy reference and good learning tool.
May 26, 2016
Hard to get passionate about a textbook but this is easy to read and useful. 4 stars.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.