Beginning SQL Programming - Softcover

John Kauffman

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1861001800 ISBN 13: 9781861001801

Publisher: Wrox Press, 2001

Synopsis

Structured Query Language is the industry standard for querying data held in relational databases. SQL can be used to create and alter the structure of databases, add new data, and access or modify existing data. Beginning SQL Programming begins by looking at what SQL is, then moves on to teach you the fundamentals of ANSI SQL, using the familiar Northwind database that comes with versions of Microsoft Access and SQL Server.

The book gives step-by-step instructions, alerts readers to common pitfalls, tricks and traps, and uses real-world examples, including two extensive case studies, to create a thorough tutorial. It will furnish readers with a firm grasp of SQL concepts that you can work with straight away, as well as provide solid foundations and challenging ideas with which you can later develop more advanced SQL techniques.

Included with this book is a 120-day evaluation enterprise edition of Microsoft's SQL Server 2000. An end user license agreement is contained in this licensed software.

About this title

Review

Structured Query Language (SQL)--a standard language for working with databases--is so flexible, yet so concise, it's hard not to consider it perfectly evolved. It's even harder to justify not taking the time to learn SQL, considering that scores of technologies and hundreds of manufacturers support it, and are likely to do so for some time. An investment in learning SQL is almost certain to pay off. Beginning SQL drills critical SQL concepts and techniques (like simple data extractions and insertions) into its readers' brains, and backs up that got-to-memorize knowledge with easily accessible information on less commonly used techniques (like stored procedures and complicated joins).

The authors' emphasis falls on ANSI-standard SQL (mostly SQL-92) rather than on any particular publisher's implementation (and extension) of it, though they do use Microsoft SQL Server 2000 in their examples (and include a time-limited copy of it on the companion CD-ROM). Like most books in this series, this volume exposes its subject with a combination of lecture-like prose (a discussion of NULLs, their meaning, and the design considerations associated with them is an example) and type-this-get-that examples. It's a helpful approach that lends itself to careful study as well as pressured hunts for quick answers. Readers may wish for information on specific database servers, or for information on integrating SQL queries into applications that don't involve Active Server Pages (ASP), but this book maintains its focus on SQL with overtones of Microsoft. --David Wall

Topics covered: Structured Query Language (SQL) for programmers, Web site developers, and others who need a solid familiarity with the language as part of their duties--as well as aspiring database administrators who want a place to start their in-depth study of SQL and database design. Sections deal with all standard SQL statements, as well as database design in terms of data types, value constraints, and joins. Calculations, stored functions, aggregate functions, and schemas all are touched upon.

From the Publisher

Beginning SQL Programming is designed for novice database programmers or people familiar with a desktop solution such as Access who would like to scale up to a relational database that requires SQL.

The book will also be a valuable learning tool for people with some knowledge of Visual Basic programming who would like to work with databases, and also for web developers who have wandered into the world of dynamic page creation using databases.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wrox Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1861001800
• ISBN 13: 9781861001801
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 723