Product Description

Now there's a practical, hands-on guide to SQL for millions of beginning-to-intermediate database users who desperately need to create fast, accurate, effective queries -- whether they have formal database training or not. The authors begin by introducing the fundamental concepts underlying relational databases and SQL. They then introduce the absolute basics of SQL, including the SELECT statement, creating expressions, and applying filters. Next, they introduce techniques for solving one of the most common problems database users encounter: drawing data from multiple tables at once. The book includes detailed coverage of grouping, totaling, and summarizing data; using SQL to update, insert, and delete data; and more. In the final section, Hernandez and Viescas introduce "thinking out of the box" techniques that allow users to solve a wide variety of complex SQL problems. Most chapters end with sample problems, solutions, and result sets -- all based on a library of five real-world databases included on the accompanying CD-ROM.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #507340 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 528 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
To those people accomplished in its use, Structured Query Language (SQL) is a highly capable, eminently flexible, even beautiful way of describing the data you want from a database, or the changes you want to make to a database. For the rest of us, though, SQL is a first-class nuisance that we do our best to avoid by relying on relatively user-friendly--but usually less powerful--tools. SQL Queries for Mere Mortals aims to bring SQL-phobics closer to the first camp by carefully tutoring them in what SQL can do.

The authors recognise that SQL queries usually come about as a result of questions from human beings, and usefully spend a fair bit of time showing how to convert, for instance, "What cities do our customers live in?" into "Select city from the customers table" and finally "SELECT city FROM customers" in SQL. They call this the "translation and clean up" process, and it's a fine approach. They don't press it too far, though, and are equally adept at presenting straight explanations of SQL syntax elements in prose. They spend a lot of energy graphically diagramming aspects of SQL syntax in a format that requires some up-front study. A particular reader might prefer text capsules to this arrow-intensive format, but other learners may like the graphical syntax diagrams. --David Wall

From the Back Cover

In the past few years, SQL has evolved from a language known only to computer specialists to a widely used, international standard of the computer industry. The number of SQL-compatible databases shipping each year now totals in the millions. If you are accessing corporate information from the Internet or from an internal network, you are probably using SQL. SQL Queries for Mere Mortals will help new users learn the foundations of SQL queries, and will prove an essential reference guide for intermediate and advanced users. The accompanying CD contains five sample databases used for the example queries throughout the book, plus an evaluation copy of Microsoft SQL Server version 7.

0201433362B04062001

About the Author

Michael J. Hernandez is a program manager for the Visual Studio .NET group at Microsoft, and is a veteran relational database developer with more than fourteen years of experience. He has been a premiere instructor with training organizations such as AppDev Training Co., Focal Point, Inc., and Deep Training, and was one of the first two hundred Microsoft-authorized .NET instructors. He speaks regularly at conferences.

John L. Viescas is President of Viescas Consulting, Inc., a respected provider of database consulting services. He is also the author of the best-selling Running Microsoft Access 2000 and Programmer's Quick Reference Guide to SQL.

0201433362AB02032003

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Customer Reviews

Disappointing, limited scope.
I read Michael Hernandez's previous book, Database Design for Mere Mortals, which was fantastic, so I had high expectations for this one. Everything is explained in crystal clear fashion, but that's the problem -- it's just too easy! For example, they don't even look at modifying queries, only at extracting data. For a complete beginner there's much in here of use, but if you're only going to buy one book on SQL, look for something a little more comprehensive.

SQL Queries for Mere Mortals
I have been using MS Access 2000 to develop database solutions in sales and marketing and needed to go to the next level and develop SQL Server solutions, so I was looking for a book to understand SQL queries better and thereby SQL Server. Knowing, that by writing your own SQL queries when working in Access you're able to develop a scaleable application that easily is transferred to SQL Server, the book helped me in this transition since all 5 sample databases included on the CD-ROM is available in both SQL Server 7.0 and MS Access 2000 files.

After an introduction to relational database theory and the SQL language in the first 3 chapters, you'll start learning about queries and each of the remaining 14 chapters includes exercises that will train your skills in writing SQL queries. Throughout the book the authors make use of diagrams to visualize the SQL queries, in the beginning they may seem difficult to understand but as you get used to them you will find yourself reading them faster and faster.

One of the things I learned the most from was the authors use of a 3-step method to write queries: A simple question in plain English to get the needed information from the data goes through a Translation, then a Clean Up, and finally you've got your SQL. With this method not only do you gain confidence but also an insight into the simple mathematical logic on which the queries are based.

To accompany this book and enhance the knowledge you gain from reading it I recommend the following titles: On Access 2000 I recommend John Viescas' "Running MS Access 2000" (ISBN 1572319348), which in my opinion is one of the best books on Access 2000. To strengthen your knowledge on relational database theory and design I recommend: "Inside Relational Databases" (ISBN 354076092X). To learn SQL Server 7.0 I recommend: "Professional SQL Server 7.0" (ISBN 1861002319).

Most people are able to develop a database that contain lots of data, but only few know how to transform these piles of data into useful information by using the powerful tools of SQL queries. With the knowledge from SQL Queries for Mere Mortals you will be well on your way to become one of the few.

The most useful book i own!
After reading this book from cover to cover i loaded the demo
databases on to my system and then went through the book again
following the demo scripts etc, i found that i was able to extract useful data within hours. I found this book to be clear and concise. The benefit of having the demo databases on the CDRom made everything easy to understand.