Sams Teach Yourself SQL in One Hour a Day

by Stephens, Ryan; Plew, Ron; Jones, Arie D.

• ISBN13: 9780672330254
• ISBN10: 0672330253
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-05-29
• Publisher: Sams Publishing

Summary

The Fifth Edition ofSams Teach Yourself SQL in 21 Days More than 48,000 sold! In just one hour a day, yours"ll have all the skills you need to begin creating effective SQL queries, reports, and database applications. With this complete tutorial, yours"ll quickly master the basics and then move on to more advanced features and concepts: Quickly apply essential SQL techniques in useful, real-world queries Design trustworthy, high-performance databases Manipulate your data with views and transactions Leverage powerful features including stored procedures, triggers, and cursors Work with new objects introduced with the latest SQL standards Get practical, expert tips on implementing SQL in your business environment Learn on your own time, at your own pace No previous SQL or database experience required Learn techniques that work with any current version of SQL Discover how to write faster, more efficient queries Secure your data using best practices from experienced database administrators Build more powerful databases with features exclusive to Oracle SQL*Plus, Oracle PL/SQL, and Microsoft Transact-SQL Write queries for the free, open source MySQL database Embed your SQL code in other applications Ryan Stephens and Ron Plew are President and VP of Perpetual Technologies, Inc. (PTI) in Indianapolis, IN, providing managed services and consulting for top database implementations running Oracle, SQL Server, and other leading technologies. They taught for 5+ years as adjunct professors at Indiana University-Purdue University. Their books includeSams Teach Yourself SQL in 24 Hours, First through Fourth Editions,Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 21 Days, Second through Fourth Editions, andDatabase Design. Table of Contents Introduction 1 PART I: Introducing SQL LESSON 1: Getting Started with SQL 5 A Brief History of SQL 5 A Brief History of Databases 6 Todayrs"s Database Landscape 11 A Cross-Product Language 12 Early Implementations 12 SQL and Client/Server Application Development 13 An Overview of SQL 13 Popular SQL Implementations 14 MySQL 14 Oracle 14 Microsoft SQL Server and Sybase 15 IBM DB2 16 Open Database Connectivity 16 Embedding SQL in Application Programming

Author Biography

For more than 10 years, the authors have studied, applied, and documented the SQL standard and its application to the critical database systems in this book. Ryan Stephens and Ron Plew are entrepreneurs, speakers, and co-founders of Perpetual Technologies, Inc.(PTI), a fast-growing IT management and consulting firm. PTI specializes in database technologies, primarily Oracle and SQL servers running on all UNIX, Linux, and Microsoft platforms. Starting out as data analysts and database administrators, Ryan and Ron now lead a team of impressive technical subject matter experts who manage databases for clients worldwide. They authored and taught database courses for Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis for five years and have authored more than a dozen books on Oracle, SQL, database design, and the high availability of critical systems. Arie D. Jones is the Principal Microsoft Consultant for PTI in Indianapolis, Indiana. Arie leads PTI’s team of experts in the planning, design, development, deployment, and management of database environments and applications to achieve the best combination of tools and services for each client. He is a regular speaker at technical events and has authored several books and articles pertaining to database-related topics. His most recent book is SQL Functions Programmer’s Reference from Wrox Publishing.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Getting Started with SQL

Introducing the Query

Expressions, Conditions, and Operators

Clauses in SQL Queries

Joining Tables

Embedding Subqueries into Queries

Molding Data with Built-in Functions

Database Design

Database Normalization

Creating and Maintaining Tables

Controlling Data Integrity

Data Manipulation

Manipulating Data

Dates and Time in SQL

Creating Views

Controlling Transactions Part 3 In Review

Database Administration

Creating Indexes on Tables to Improve Performance

Streamlining SQL Statements for Improved Performance

Database Security: Wanted

Exploring the Data Dictionary (System Catalog) Part 4 in Review

More SQL Objects

Temporary Tables, Stored Procedures, Triggers, and Cursors

New Objects in the Latest Standard Part 5 In Review

Advanced SQL Programming

Using SQL to Generate SQL Statements

Creating Complex SQL Queries

Debugging Your SQL Statements

Embedding SQL in Application Programming Part 6 in Review

SQL In Various Database Implementations

Using Oracle SQL*Plus to Satisfy Reporting Needs

An Introduction to Oracle PL/SQL

An Introduction to Transact-SQL

Using MySQL on a UNIX-based System Part 7 in Review

Appendices

Answers

Code Examples to Create Tables

Code Examples to Populate Tables

Using MySQL for Exercises

Glossary of Common SQL Commands

Glossary of Common SQL Functions

Sources for Further Information

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Introduction IntroductionOver the past decade the landscape of information technology has drastically shifted to a data centric world. More than ever companies are looking for ways in which they can leverage their own data networks to make intelligent business decisions. This includes the ability to gather, store, and report effectively over possibly large sets of data in multiple formats. So the role of database administrators and developers have become strategically important in the proper implementation and care of these systems.The cornerstone to any database project is the language that will be used in order to interact with the system. Fortunately, a consortium of entities has enacted a standard query language for database environments known as the ANSI SQL standard. This provides a commonality between all database querying languages by following this know standard and allows developers to learn the standard and then work on any given number of database systems with minor adjustments.This book takes a focused approach on getting the reader the basics of the SQL language in order to allow them to have a solid foundation for future learning. Often in today's business environment, there is very little time to learn new things as our day to day functions consume large amounts of our time. By focusing on smaller lesson plans and logically segmenting the sections in a stepping stone fashion, the book will allow someone to learn the SQL language at their own pace and within their own schedule. Who Should Read This Book?This book is for people who want to learn the fundamentals of Structured Query Language (SQL) quickly. Through the use of countless examples, this book depicts all the major components of SQL, as well as options that are available with various database implementations. You should be able to apply what you learn here to relational databases in a traditional business setting. How Is This Book Organized?This book is divided into seven parts which logically break down the structure of ANSI SQL into easily learnable sections: Part I, comprised of the first seven lessons, discusses the basic concepts behind SQL and mainly focuses on the SQL query. Part II includes topics on the art of database design, such as creating databases and database objects properly, which is often the foundation of RDBMS application development. Part III focuses on data manipulation and using SQL to perform UPDATE s, INSERT s, and DELETE s of data within your database. These will be the staple commands that you will use on a day-to-day basis. Part IV is dedicated to database administration, which covers such topics as security, management, and performance, enabling you to maintain the integrity and performance of your database instance. Part V focuses on more advanced SQL objects such as triggers and stored procedures. Using these objects will allow you to perform more sophisticated data manipulation techniques that would otherwise be difficult in standard SQL syntax. Part VI covers more advanced SQL programming. Advanced SQL programming will allow you to perform more advanced queries and manipulation of the data within your database. Part VII presents you with SQL in various database implementations. SQL extensions such as PL/SQL allow you to take advantage of unique attributes within a particular database environment, such as Oracle. This book also contains six appendixes, which