SQL Fundamentals with CDROM [Paperback]

John J. Patrick (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0130960160 | ISBN-13: 978-0130960160 | Publication Date: May 11, 1999

There are plenty of SQL books, but this is the one to buy if you really want to understand how SQL works and how to make it work for you. It emphasizes practical concepts and examples from the two leading SQL implementations: Access on the desktop, and Oracle for the enterprise. Start with the basics: creating simple queries to retrieve information from a single table. Next, move on to more complex queries involving many tables. Key topics include outer joins, process verification and program testing. Each topic is discussed in detail, with practical examples that show how to write queries others can understand and modify; verify the correctness of your queries and account for all the data returned. By the end of the book, you'll be able to design your own databases. Whether you plan to use SQL for ad hoc reports, database design or data warehousing, this book gives you the strong foundation you need to succeed. For anyone who wants to learn SQL on the leading desktop platform, Access; or the leading enterprise platform, Oracle.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

SQL Fundamentals deserves praise because it documents the implementation of Structured Query Language (SQL) in Oracle databases and Access databases simultaneously. Readers find out how to do simple single-table queries, more complicated multitable queries, table creation, joins, unions, and calculations in both environments in a variety of circumstances. For those who've never worked with SQL before and plan to use one of the two covered platforms, this book will make a fine starting point, since it explains elementary SQL concepts too.

Here's the approach: Author John J. Patrick sets out a task--for example, writing a statement that yields a left outer join of two databases. Then he proceeds to accomplish the task in both Access and Oracle, presenting the platforms' respective SQL statements side by side. The differences between the two implementations of SQL are obvious, making it easy for someone familiar with one of the two environments to adapt to the other. The reader will also find the numbered and highlighted key passages, which include details on the facing page, very helpful.

Patrick, who based this book on a university course he teaches, knows the value of practical experience--he's loaded SQL Fundamentals with exercises in addition to the tasks he completes himself. He leaves most of these to the reader but provides solutions to some of the more interesting ones. Databases for the illustrations and exercises are included on the companion CD-ROM. --David Wall

From the Back Cover

Don't just learn "generic" SQL! Learn SQL to get results with the world's top database platforms: Oracle for the enterprise and Microsoft Access for the desktop! Based on John Patrick's hands-on SQL course for IT pros at the University of California, Berkeley, this book shows exactly how to retrieve the data you want, when you need it, in any application - from ad hoc reports to the data warehouse. SQL Fundamentals covers all this and more:

* Simple queries that retrieve information from a single table
* Creating tables and views to divide a complex process into a series of single steps
* Summarizing your data
* Inner joins, outer joins, unions, self joins, cross joins, and subqueries
* Writing SQL queries that are easily understood, verified, modified, and extended

Want better access to business data? Want to make your data more accessible to others? SQL Fundamentals delivers the practical techniques and examples you need - on the database platforms you already use! If you want to fully use the information in your database, then read this book!

CD-ROM INCLUDED

The accompanying CD-ROM contains a library of Access databases and the code for building Oracle databases. All the tables used in the book are furnished in both Oracle and Access format. A website provides additional technical support to assure that all the code is completely correct and works with the latest versions of both Oracle and Access.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall (May 11, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130960160
• ISBN-13: 978-0130960160
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,916,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent choice, November 19, 2002

By 

Carlos Santiago (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SQL Fundamentals (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

Choosing one particular SQL book out of the dozens available was not an easy task. Here are the reasons that made me choose this one over the others:

* Book organization - Chapters are very well structured with very descriptive sections, making it easy to find what you want. The first page of every chapter lists the contents by section

* Ease of reading - Everything is explained and described with tables or diagrams. Chapters are summarized at the end with the most important points covered. SQL code is explained in detail using numeric references that are explained separately from the code. Other books clutter the code with explanations making them hard to read and follow

* Oracle and Access code examples - Two of the most widely used DBs are covered, allowing the reader to see the slight, but nevertheless important differences in coding requirements for each platform. Command results are also presented for every example to allow the reader to compare them with their results

* Topics covered - From What is SQL to How to use Oracle and Access, the book is detailed and specific without being overkill

* CD - It contains all the examples in the book, plus all the tables and data. The CD is compatible with 98/ME/XP/2000 and NT. The Oracle code can be used with Unix and their flavors

Some examples could have been more realistic though, instead of using lunches, fruits and colors in many of them. But this is a very personal opinion that will not affect the evaluation.

I have no regrets in choosing this book, it has made me understand the SQL virtues and also its limitations. The book was definitely created with a wide audience in mind, written with no silly jokes and no fancy graphics or fonts to show off. This is a very straight, solid SQL foundation book for people with not much time for distractions.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for SQL first timers, December 7, 2001

By 

Jennifer Fowler (Plainfield, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SQL Fundamentals with CDROM (Paperback)

This is a *very* useful book. It explains the SQL language in a very clear and concise manner, covering the language in detail and offering excellent explanations. The book is also organized extremely well. The countless diagrams and screen shots are invaluable while working thru the examples.

Having come to a point where I needed to learn SQL (and understand it), and fast, I picked this book out of 4 I was considering. I whole-heartedly believe I made the right decision. Not only did I learn SQL, but I understood it too.

The book covers both MS Access and Oracle so if you're using either of those, and you need to learn the SQL language, this book is a great start! Heck, even if you won't be using Access or Oracle but have access to them for the purpose of the examples (I used Access for the examples but I needed to learn SQL for use with MySQL and MSSQL), this book should benefit you greatly.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Learning SQL!, January 31, 2011

By 

Hakuna Matata (Baltimore/Washington, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SQL Fundamentals (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

The entire layout is very clean and the phrasing is concise. I was able to understand and grasp the concepts outlined in this book with little effort. I really like the way the author organizes the book because it felt like I was being taught by someone rather than just reading things from a book. Everything is approached logically and carefully, which made for a good learning environment.

You definitely need to follow along and use some sort of SQL application to get the full benefit from this. I was afraid at first that I would be limited to Oracle or Access, but it seems like the information here is probably applicable to most SQL systems. I personally used a free iPad application called Empress SQL Master and had no problems. The examples were simple and not very realistic, but definitely showed proof of concept.

The only problems I had with this book were very minor and mostly had to do with aesthetics. Sometimes the font was too small, or difficult to read (Large blocks of boldface console text). Although, the previous statement may be more of a testament to my poor eyesight. As well, the book is in black and white, which may be a pro for some, con for others.

Overall I would say this is a no-nonsense approach to quickly and efficiently learn SQL commands and their limitations.