SQL primer
I learned SQL using this book and referred to it often when I was starting out. Lots of clear examples. Highly recommended for those who have to learn SQL.
Great Book on SQL
We're building a start-up library for a new employee and this is the first book I'll order. The book was purchased for everyone in our group some time ago as a SQL primer. It is well written, logically ordered, and a comprehensive introduction to SQL. It is truly a pleasure to read.
The best for learning concepts and structure
Outstanding book for beginner looking to learn SQL from scratch. Thrown into an SQL job with no experience whatsoever, this book helped me become functional in a very short period of time. Provides sound fundamental concepts which will help lead to more efficient procedures, scripts, web-design, etc.
Good Beginning Book
I have been programming for over 15 years, and I have never had the need to venture into the world of SQL, until early 2001. At that time I started looking for a basic book to help me understand the SQL syntax. I finally purchased this book in Jan 2002; by this time I had a rough understanding of SQL, but would have been hard pressed to write any useful statements. I typically used Access to create the statement and then copied it into my code.After reading this book I feel able to write most any SQL statement, and to be able to understand the current ones in the code. I also found the answer to several syntax problems that I had: why I would get an error with an SQL statement the had a aggregate function and I was trying to select a column value as well. I would recommend this book to any beginner who needs to have a better understanding of SQL.
The only draw back, for me, was that the book concentrates on the SyBase version of SQL; however, there is a chart in the back of the book that list syntax for four different version of SQL: SyBase, Microsoft, Informix, and Oracle.
Easy Reading Practical Advice
I consider this the best book around for introducing yourself to SQL. It is easy to read, written in plain English and explains jargon and terminology unique to SQL. Although SQL does have a background in logic and mathematics, most practitioners work more by intuition and experience than set theory. The authors give clear practical advice and detailed explanations of all aspects of the SQL language and how they are used. They explain the theory behind relational databases plainly and to a detail necessary to understand what you are doing. Common mistakes and answers to questions gleaned from the net round out the book. The is the best SQL book by far, well written and edited, with sensitive typesetting and pleasing cover art. The only thing it lacks is a web based approach to database querying. Although it supplies an excellent example by taking your through the building of a book store database (!) the examples are more generic with an older enterprise orientation. For the specifics of building database driven web sites lookup one of the good books on PHP or ASP programming.
(55 reviews)
