Best SQL Books
by Bradley Nice, Content Manager at ClickHelp.com — software documentation tool
SQL is a domain-specific language used in programming and designed for managing data held in a relational database management system (RDBMS), or for stream processing in a relational data stream management system (RDSMS).
So what are the top SQL books for today?
SQL: The Complete Reference (Kindle — $33.21, paperback — $34.96)
SQL: The Complete Reference, Third Edition shows you how to work with SQL commands and statements, set up relational databases, load and modify database objects, perform powerful queries, tune performance, and implement reliable security policies. Learn how to employ DDL statements and APIs, integrate XML and Java scripts, use SQL objects, build web servers, handle remote access, and perform distributed transactions. Techniques for managing in-memory, stream, and embedded databases that run on today’s mobile, handheld, and wireless devices are included in this in-depth volume.
- Build SQL-based relational databases and applications;
- Create, load, and modify database objects using SQL;
- Construct and execute simple, multitable, and summary queries;
- Implement security measures with authentication, privileges, roles, and views;
- Handle database optimization, backup, recovery, and replication;
- Work with stored procedures, functions, extensions, triggers, and objects;
- Extend functionality using APIs, dynamic SQL, and embedded SQL;
- Explore advanced topics such as DBMS transactions, locking mechanisms, materialized views, and two-phase commit protocol;
- Understand the latest market trends and the future of SQL.
SQL in 10 Minutes, Sams Teach Yourself (Kindle — $14.39, paperback — $25.37)
Whether you’re an application developer, database administrator, web application designer, mobile app developer, or Microsoft Office users, a good working knowledge of SQL is an important part of interacting with databases. And Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes offers the straightforward, practical answers you need to help you do your job.
Expert trainer and popular author Ben Forta teaches you just the parts of SQL you need to know–starting with simple data retrieval and quickly going on to more complex topics including the use of joins, subqueries, stored procedures, cursors, triggers, and table constraints.
You’ll learn methodically, systematically, and simply–in 22 short, quick lessons that will each take only 10 minutes or less to complete.
With the Fourth Edition of this worldwide bestseller, the book has been thoroughly updated, expanded, and improved. Lessons now cover the latest versions of IBM DB2, Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, SQLite, MariaDB, and Apache Open Office Base. And new full-color SQL code listings help the beginner clearly see the elements and structure of the language.
10 minutes is all you need to learn how to…
- Use the major SQL statements;
- Construct complex SQL statements using multiple clauses and operators;
- Retrieve, sort, and format database contents;
- Pinpoint the data you need using a variety of filtering techniques;
- Use aggregate functions to summarize data;
- Join two or more related tables;
- Insert, update, and delete data;
- Create and alter database tables;
- Work with views, stored procedures, and more.
Learning SQL: Master SQL Fundamentals (Kindle — $17.27, paperback — $24.68)
Updated for the latest database management systems — including MySQL 6.0, Oracle 11g, and Microsoft’s SQL Server 2008 — this introductory guide will get you up and running with SQL quickly. Whether you need to write database applications, perform administrative tasks, or generate reports, Learning SQL, Second Edition, will help you easily master all the SQL fundamentals.
Each chapter presents a self-contained lesson on a key SQL concept or technique, with numerous illustrations and annotated examples. Exercises at the end of each chapter let you practice the skills you learn. With this book, you will:
- Move quickly through SQL basics and learn several advanced features;
- Use SQL data statements to generate, manipulate, and retrieve data;
- Create database objects, such as tables, indexes, and constraints, using SQL schema statements;
- Learn how data sets interact with queries, and understand the importance of subqueries;
- Convert and manipulate data with SQL’s built-in functions, and use conditional logic in data statements.
SQL Queries for Mere Mortals: A Hands-On Guide to Data Manipulation in SQL (Kindle — $24.10, paperback — $31.89)
Step by step, John L. Viescas and Michael J. Hernandez guide you through creating reliable queries for virtually any modern SQL-based database. They demystify all aspects of SQL query writing, from simple data selection and filtering to joining multiple tables and modifying sets of data.
Three brand-new chapters teach you how to solve a wide range of challenging SQL problems. You’ll learn how to write queries that apply multiple complex conditions on one table, perform sophisticated logical evaluations, and think “outside the box” using unlinked tables.
Coverage includes:
— Getting started: understanding what relational databases are, and ensuring that your database structures are sound;
— SQL basics: using SELECT statements, creating expressions, sorting information with ORDER BY, and filtering data using WHERE;
— Summarizing and grouping data with GROUP BY and HAVING clauses;
— Drawing data from multiple tables: using INNER JOIN, OUTER JOIN, and UNION operators, and working with subqueries;
— Modifying data sets with UPDATE, INSERT, and DELETE statements Advanced queries: complex NOT and AND, conditions, if-then-else using CASE, unlinked tables, driver tables, and more.
Practice all you want with downloadable sample databases for today’s versions of Microsoft Office Access, Microsoft SQL Server, and the open source MySQL database. Whether you’re a DBA, developer, user, or student, there’s no better way to master SQL.
SQL Cookbook: Query Solutions and Techniques for Database Developers (Kindle — $17.99, paperback — $29.16)
You know the rudiments of the SQL query language, yet you feel you aren’t taking full advantage of SQL’s expressive power. You’d like to learn how to do more work with SQL inside the database before pushing data across the network to your applications. You’d like to take your SQL skills to the next level.
Let’s face it, SQL is a deceptively simple language to learn, and many database developers never go far beyond the simple statement: SELECT columns FROM table WHERE conditions. But there is so much more you can do with the language. In the SQL Cookbook, experienced SQL developer Anthony Molinaro shares his favorite SQL techniques and features. You’ll learn about:
- Window functions, arguably the most significant enhancement to SQL in the past decade. If you’re not using these, you’re missing out;
- Powerful, database-specific features such as SQL Server’s PIVOT and UNPIVOT operators, Oracle’s MODEL clause, and PostgreSQL’s very useful GENERATE_SERIES function;
- Pivoting rows into columns, reverse-pivoting columns into rows, using pivoting to facilitate inter-row calculations, and double-pivoting a result set;
- Bucketization, and why you should never use that term in Brooklyn;
- How to create histograms, summarize data into buckets, perform aggregations over a moving range of values, generate running-totals and subtotals, and other advanced, data warehousing techniques;
- The technique of walking a string, which allows you to use SQL to parse through the characters, words, or delimited elements of a string.
Written in O’Reilly’s popular Problem/Solution/Discussion style, the SQL Cookbook is sure to please. Anthony’s credo is: “When it comes down to it, we all go to work, we all have bills to pay, and we all want to go home at a reasonable time and enjoy what’s still available of our days.” The SQL Cookbook moves quickly from problem to solution, saving you time each step of the way.
That’s all for today.
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Have a nice day!
Bradley Nice,
Content Manager at ClickHelp.com — best online documentation tool for SaaS vendors
