Understanding SQL is pretty basic to anyone usig a database. Yet most books take a theoretical, academic approach. Groth shows how anyone working with a database can familiarize themselves with SQL in only three hours using the DC and become completely onversant by following the hands-on approach. Contains Centura Software Corporation's SQL Wilndows Solo, Quest (what the enduser uses to query a database) and exercises relating to the book.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher
This book is a rapid-fire tutorial that will show you all you need to know to use SQL.
From the Inside Flap
SQL has enjoyed over 20 years of innovation since R. F. Boyce and D. D. Chamberlin wrote the first article on the language in 1973. Every database vendor in the market today has some tie to the SQL language. With the number of years and wealth of development surrounding the SQL language, why is it that so few of the software innovations based on the SQL language are used to help us learn the language?
This book, Hands-On SQL: The Language, Querying, Reporting, and the Marketplace, resulted from a frustration with the academic approach to teaching the use of the SQL language. Of the many books published to introduce the SQL language to the general public, this is the first to use software query tools, graphical interfaces, and a relational database engine to simplify the introduction to SQL.
Hands-On SQL: The Language, Querying, Reporting, and the Marketplace includes a CD-ROM containing Centura Software Corporation's SQLBase¿, a leading relational database for personal computers, and the award-winning, end-user query tool Quest. The combination of these tools makes learning SQL easier than ever.
Purpose of This Book
This book provides an innovative, easy approach to learning SQL and discusses how SQL is used in the industry.
This book takes a distinctly different approach to introducing SQL than other books currently on the market. The emphasis of this book is on market focus and rapid-fire, hands-on teaching style.
Market Focus SQL can be viewed as the assembly language of information storage and retrieval. To gain a reasonable understanding of what SQL is all about, you must have a broad perspective on how it is being used within the market today.
Much has been done within the industry to extend the power of this query language. Development tools currently on the market allow you to create SQL-based applications capable of connecting to Oracle,, DB2¿, Sybase,, Informix,, Centura Software's SQLBase, and a wealth of other databases without writing a single line of code.
The SQL market has matured to where you would not realistically want to use SQL without using several of the many tools available to assist you in such things as the creation of reports, queries, and front-end database applications. A clear demonstration of the market's maturity was Sybase's 1994 purchase of Powersoft, a prominent player in application development tools for the SQL market, for an excess of nine hundred million dollars.
This book broadens the scope of what is relevant to learning SQL. Not only should you learn the syntax needed to use SQL, but you should also learn about the query tools, report writers, development environments, class libraries, and the many extensions to SQL that have made the language so valuable in the industry today.
Rapid-Fire, Hands-on Teaching Style
This book also provides a rapid-fire, hands-on approach to learning SQL syntax. By devoting three hours of your time, you can use the enclosed CD-ROM to familiarize yourself with all the major components of the SQL language.
The CD-ROM includes Centura Software Corporation's SQLWindows Solo¿ and exercises relating to this book. Included with SQLWindows Solo is the award-winning 4GL, SQLWindows, the relational engine, SQLBase, and the end-user query tool, Quest¿. Quest offers a rapid learning environment for demonstrating the basics of the SQL language quickly and easily, allowing you to build a query statement graphically, via the point and click method, or interactively. You can then see the SQL statements you have created and view their results when you apply them to the relational database. In this book, you will interactively enter SQL commands via Quest.
Once we cover SQL syntax itself, we expand the exercise to show how easy it is to turn those queries into reports and graphs.
By the end of this book you should:
Have a basic understanding of the SQL language.
Increase your own marketability by understanding how SQL is used in the database industry today.
Be able to differentiate between the different SQL-based product offerings on the market. The differences in SQL offerings among Oracle, Informix, Sybase, and DB2, Microsoft,, and Centura Software are specifically addressed.
Audience
This book gives a general overview of the SQL market today and was written for a broad-based audience. The book will be useful to:
Application Developers
Application developers build client applications that access databases, using front-end products like SQLTalk, SQLWindows, and the SQL/API.
Database Administrators (DBAs)
Database administrators perform day-to-day operation and maintenance of the database. They design the database, create database objects, load data, control access, perform backup and recovery, and monitor performance.
PC Owners/End Users
End users use SQL to query and change data. Casual users who want to access data from relational databases should know the basics of SQL and the tools available to them.
Students
Students desiring a practical introduction to the basics of SQL and what is being done in the SQL market can start with this book.
Systems Analysts and Consultants
Consultants can benefit from the discussions of the vendors involved in this market and specifically from Chapter 13, which discusses the differences in SQL.
Scope of the Book
Hands-On SQL: The Language, Querying, Reporting, and the Marketplace does not attempt to explain the ANSI SQL-86, SQL-89, or SQL-92 standards. The American National Standards Institute has come out with these standards as conformance guidelines that all SQL vendors should adhere to. In reality, these standards have been a least common denominator approach to the SQL language, and, depending on the database you are working with, SQL will greatly vary. If you want to learn more about the ANSI standard, see Understanding the New SQL: A Complete Guide by Jim Melton and Alan R. Simon. Jim Melton, from Digital Equipment Corporation, was the editor of the SQL-92 standard. In typical management by committee fashion, the standard itself is over 500 pages.
CD-ROM Installation Requirements
The minimum system requirements for installing the SQL Solo CD-ROM included by arrangements with Centura Software Corporation are:
CPU: 386-based PC or higher
RAM: 4 Mbytes (8 MBytes recommended)
Hard disk space: 35 MBytes minimum required
CD-ROM drive
The installed software enables you to run the CD-ROM-based tutorial included in this book. Additional files have been added specifically for this book beyond those provided by Centura Software.
Organization of This Book
Hands-On SQL: The Language, Querying, Reporting, and the Marketplace is divided into four parts:
Starting Out:
Chapter 1 introduces basic concepts of the SQL language and provides a brief history.
Chapter 2 introduces database design and discusses the database example to be used in this book.
Rapid Tutorial: Chapters 3 through 13 provide a hands-on approach to learning the SQL language. The tutorial uses a database of Fortune 500 companies and factual information about their revenue and other fundamental statistics. A database is created, data is inserted and updated, and then this data is queried by means of the SQL SELECT command. Performance issues, indexes, views, permissions, and system catalogs are all discussed in a quick, hands-on style. Chapter 13 specifically addresses the difference in SQL between implementations from Sybase, Microsoft, Informix, Oracle, IBM, and Centura Software.
Embedded SQL: Chapters 14, 15, and 16 look at embedding the SQL code in application languages and 4GL tools. We look at a range of vendors that provide simplified methods for rapid application prototyping. Chapter 16 explores the recent popularity of ODBC and other database connectivity options.
Expanding Horizons: Chapters 17, 18, and 19 look at tools and technologies that make SQL easier to use and discuss future directions of SQL and relational technology. Chapters 17 and 18 are devoted to end-user query and report tools available today. Chapter 19 examines future directions for the industry.
The chapters are listed below.
Chapter
Description
Preface
This preface discusses the purpose, audience, and outline of this book.
Chapter 1 Introduction to SQL
Chapter 1 introduces the concepts of SQL and relational database technology, as well as the database players in this industry.
Chapter 2 Database Design
Chapter 2 introduces the database example used in this book and talks about design issues.
Chapter 3 Creation of a Database
Chapter 3 teaches how to create a database and how to drop a database and its elements.
Chapter 4 INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE
Chapter 4 teaches how to insert, update, and delete records within the database and introduces basic operators used with SQL as search conditions.
Chapter 5 Retrieving Data/The SELECT Statement
Chapter 5 introduces the SELECT statement, which is the basis for retrieving data.
Chapter 6 Functions and the Clauses ORDER BY, GROUP BY, and HAVING
Chapter 6 expands on the use of the SELECT statement. This chapter introduces GROUP BY, ORDER BY, and HAVING clauses as well as functions, and, in particular, aggregate functions.
Chapter 7 Joins and Unions
Chapter 7 discusses unions and joins with SELECT statements.
Chapter 8 Complex Queries and Performance
Chapter 8 expands on how to use subqueries and looks at performance issues.
Chapter 9 Views
Chapter 9 covers database views.
Chapter 10 Privileges and Use of GRANT and REVOKE
Chapter 10 discusses privileges and using the GRANT and REVOKE commands.
Chapter 11 System Tables and Stored Procedures
Chapter 11 discusses system tables and stored procedures.
Chapter 12 Data Integrity and Constraints
Chapter 12 discusses referential integrity concepts and transaction analysis.
Chapter 13 SQL Variations
Chapter 13 discusses the database specifics for the major vendors, including Sybase, Oracle, Informix, and IBM.
Chapter 14 Writing Applications Using SQL
Chapter 14 looks at embedded SQL, including ODBC.
Chapter 15 Fourth Generation Languages
Chapter 15 looks at 4GLs and the market trends in rapid application development with SQL.
Chapter 16 Database Middlewar
Chapter 16 looks at middleware and connecting SQL applications to multiple servers. Industry trends in middleware are examined.
Chapter 17 A Look at Query Tools
Chapter 17 looks at query tools in the industry and what they have to offer.
Chapter 18 Report Writers
Chapter 18 looks at component report writer products and discusses functionality of these products and the report writing capability of the query tools discussed in Chapter 17.
Chapter 19 Database Directions
Chapter 19 looks at future directions of SQL and relational technology.
Appendix A SQL Vendors
Appendix A provides a list of the companies and products mentioned in this book as players in the relational market.
Appendix B Installing SQL Solo
Appendix B outlines the steps to install SQL Solo and the book exercises for the hands-on use of SQL.
Appendix C The LEAD Toolkit: A Demonstration
Appendix C demonstrates a tool that generates a database and an application based on a database logical model.
This book, Hands-On SQL: The Language, Querying, Reporting, and the Marketplace, resulted from a frustration with the academic approach to teaching the use of the SQL language. Of the many books published to introduce the SQL language to the general public, this is the first to use software query tools, graphical interfaces, and a relational database engine to simplify the introduction to SQL.
Hands-On SQL: The Language, Querying, Reporting, and the Marketplace includes a CD-ROM containing Centura Software Corporation's SQLBase¿, a leading relational database for personal computers, and the award-winning, end-user query tool Quest. The combination of these tools makes learning SQL easier than ever.
Purpose of This Book
This book provides an innovative, easy approach to learning SQL and discusses how SQL is used in the industry.
This book takes a distinctly different approach to introducing SQL than other books currently on the market. The emphasis of this book is on market focus and rapid-fire, hands-on teaching style.
Market Focus SQL can be viewed as the assembly language of information storage and retrieval. To gain a reasonable understanding of what SQL is all about, you must have a broad perspective on how it is being used within the market today.
Much has been done within the industry to extend the power of this query language. Development tools currently on the market allow you to create SQL-based applications capable of connecting to Oracle,, DB2¿, Sybase,, Informix,, Centura Software's SQLBase, and a wealth of other databases without writing a single line of code.
The SQL market has matured to where you would not realistically want to use SQL without using several of the many tools available to assist you in such things as the creation of reports, queries, and front-end database applications. A clear demonstration of the market's maturity was Sybase's 1994 purchase of Powersoft, a prominent player in application development tools for the SQL market, for an excess of nine hundred million dollars.
This book broadens the scope of what is relevant to learning SQL. Not only should you learn the syntax needed to use SQL, but you should also learn about the query tools, report writers, development environments, class libraries, and the many extensions to SQL that have made the language so valuable in the industry today.
Rapid-Fire, Hands-on Teaching Style
This book also provides a rapid-fire, hands-on approach to learning SQL syntax. By devoting three hours of your time, you can use the enclosed CD-ROM to familiarize yourself with all the major components of the SQL language.
The CD-ROM includes Centura Software Corporation's SQLWindows Solo¿ and exercises relating to this book. Included with SQLWindows Solo is the award-winning 4GL, SQLWindows, the relational engine, SQLBase, and the end-user query tool, Quest¿. Quest offers a rapid learning environment for demonstrating the basics of the SQL language quickly and easily, allowing you to build a query statement graphically, via the point and click method, or interactively. You can then see the SQL statements you have created and view their results when you apply them to the relational database. In this book, you will interactively enter SQL commands via Quest.
Once we cover SQL syntax itself, we expand the exercise to show how easy it is to turn those queries into reports and graphs.
By the end of this book you should:
Have a basic understanding of the SQL language.
Increase your own marketability by understanding how SQL is used in the database industry today.
Be able to differentiate between the different SQL-based product offerings on the market. The differences in SQL offerings among Oracle, Informix, Sybase, and DB2, Microsoft,, and Centura Software are specifically addressed.
Audience
This book gives a general overview of the SQL market today and was written for a broad-based audience. The book will be useful to:
Application Developers
Application developers build client applications that access databases, using front-end products like SQLTalk, SQLWindows, and the SQL/API.
Database Administrators (DBAs)
Database administrators perform day-to-day operation and maintenance of the database. They design the database, create database objects, load data, control access, perform backup and recovery, and monitor performance.
PC Owners/End Users
End users use SQL to query and change data. Casual users who want to access data from relational databases should know the basics of SQL and the tools available to them.
Students
Students desiring a practical introduction to the basics of SQL and what is being done in the SQL market can start with this book.
Systems Analysts and Consultants
Consultants can benefit from the discussions of the vendors involved in this market and specifically from Chapter 13, which discusses the differences in SQL.
Scope of the Book
Hands-On SQL: The Language, Querying, Reporting, and the Marketplace does not attempt to explain the ANSI SQL-86, SQL-89, or SQL-92 standards. The American National Standards Institute has come out with these standards as conformance guidelines that all SQL vendors should adhere to. In reality, these standards have been a least common denominator approach to the SQL language, and, depending on the database you are working with, SQL will greatly vary. If you want to learn more about the ANSI standard, see Understanding the New SQL: A Complete Guide by Jim Melton and Alan R. Simon. Jim Melton, from Digital Equipment Corporation, was the editor of the SQL-92 standard. In typical management by committee fashion, the standard itself is over 500 pages.
CD-ROM Installation Requirements
The minimum system requirements for installing the SQL Solo CD-ROM included by arrangements with Centura Software Corporation are:
CPU: 386-based PC or higher
RAM: 4 Mbytes (8 MBytes recommended)
Hard disk space: 35 MBytes minimum required
CD-ROM drive
The installed software enables you to run the CD-ROM-based tutorial included in this book. Additional files have been added specifically for this book beyond those provided by Centura Software.
Organization of This Book
Hands-On SQL: The Language, Querying, Reporting, and the Marketplace is divided into four parts:
Starting Out:
Chapter 1 introduces basic concepts of the SQL language and provides a brief history.
Chapter 2 introduces database design and discusses the database example to be used in this book.
Rapid Tutorial: Chapters 3 through 13 provide a hands-on approach to learning the SQL language. The tutorial uses a database of Fortune 500 companies and factual information about their revenue and other fundamental statistics. A database is created, data is inserted and updated, and then this data is queried by means of the SQL SELECT command. Performance issues, indexes, views, permissions, and system catalogs are all discussed in a quick, hands-on style. Chapter 13 specifically addresses the difference in SQL between implementations from Sybase, Microsoft, Informix, Oracle, IBM, and Centura Software.
Embedded SQL: Chapters 14, 15, and 16 look at embedding the SQL code in application languages and 4GL tools. We look at a range of vendors that provide simplified methods for rapid application prototyping. Chapter 16 explores the recent popularity of ODBC and other database connectivity options.
Expanding Horizons: Chapters 17, 18, and 19 look at tools and technologies that make SQL easier to use and discuss future directions of SQL and relational technology. Chapters 17 and 18 are devoted to end-user query and report tools available today. Chapter 19 examines future directions for the industry.
The chapters are listed below.
Chapter
Description
Preface
This preface discusses the purpose, audience, and outline of this book.
Chapter 1 Introduction to SQL
Chapter 1 introduces the concepts of SQL and relational database technology, as well as the database players in this industry.
Chapter 2 Database Design
Chapter 2 introduces the database example used in this book and talks about design issues.
Chapter 3 Creation of a Database
Chapter 3 teaches how to create a database and how to drop a database and its elements.
Chapter 4 INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE
Chapter 4 teaches how to insert, update, and delete records within the database and introduces basic operators used with SQL as search conditions.
Chapter 5 Retrieving Data/The SELECT Statement
Chapter 5 introduces the SELECT statement, which is the basis for retrieving data.
Chapter 6 Functions and the Clauses ORDER BY, GROUP BY, and HAVING
Chapter 6 expands on the use of the SELECT statement. This chapter introduces GROUP BY, ORDER BY, and HAVING clauses as well as functions, and, in particular, aggregate functions.
Chapter 7 Joins and Unions
Chapter 7 discusses unions and joins with SELECT statements.
Chapter 8 Complex Queries and Performance
Chapter 8 expands on how to use subqueries and looks at performance issues.
Chapter 9 Views
Chapter 9 covers database views.
Chapter 10 Privileges and Use of GRANT and REVOKE
Chapter 10 discusses privileges and using the GRANT and REVOKE commands.
Chapter 11 System Tables and Stored Procedures
Chapter 11 discusses system tables and stored procedures.
Chapter 12 Data Integrity and Constraints
Chapter 12 discusses referential integrity concepts and transaction analysis.
Chapter 13 SQL Variations
Chapter 13 discusses the database specifics for the major vendors, including Sybase, Oracle, Informix, and IBM.
Chapter 14 Writing Applications Using SQL
Chapter 14 looks at embedded SQL, including ODBC.
Chapter 15 Fourth Generation Languages
Chapter 15 looks at 4GLs and the market trends in rapid application development with SQL.
Chapter 16 Database Middlewar
Chapter 16 looks at middleware and connecting SQL applications to multiple servers. Industry trends in middleware are examined.
Chapter 17 A Look at Query Tools
Chapter 17 looks at query tools in the industry and what they have to offer.
Chapter 18 Report Writers
Chapter 18 looks at component report writer products and discusses functionality of these products and the report writing capability of the query tools discussed in Chapter 17.
Chapter 19 Database Directions
Chapter 19 looks at future directions of SQL and relational technology.
Appendix A SQL Vendors
Appendix A provides a list of the companies and products mentioned in this book as players in the relational market.
Appendix B Installing SQL Solo
Appendix B outlines the steps to install SQL Solo and the book exercises for the hands-on use of SQL.
Appendix C The LEAD Toolkit: A Demonstration
Appendix C demonstrates a tool that generates a database and an application based on a database logical model.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
No Ansi SQL,
By A Customer
This review is from: Hands-On SQL: The Language, Querying, Reporting and the Marketplace (Bk/CD-ROM) (Paperback)
I don't like this book. This book doesn't use Ansi-92 SQL, instead it uses the SQL language implemented in SQLBase. The second half of the book show how to implement an application in SQL Windows!
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Basic Outline,
By "kimberlydaniels" (Chapel Hill, NC USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Hands-On SQL: The Language, Querying, Reporting and the Marketplace (Bk/CD-ROM) (Paperback)
This is the best basic outline of how to use SQL that I've seen. Other choices are books that merely provide a dictionary of commands, or that get into complicated solutions using particular programs. The excellent open formatting of this (short) book makes it a quick read as well as a good reference. After you've read this book you'll know the structure of SQL and enough basic commands to get started, and you'll be ready to move on to something more complicated- that's the time to buy a book about a specific program.
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