Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 24 Hours (2nd Edition) [Paperback]

Ronald R. Plew (Author), Ryan K. Stephens (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0672318997 | ISBN-13: 978-0672318993 | Publication Date: March 2000 | Edition: 2nd

Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 24 Hours, Second Edition Learn how to...*Build and manage relational database objects; *Effectively query the database; *Master functions and clauses to query data; *Manage database transactions; *Summarize data with views; *Uncover ways to summarize, sort and group, and restructure the appearance of data; *Performance tune SQL statements; *Use SQL to implement database security. Get Started Now! 24 proven one-hour lessons In just 24 sessions of one hour or less, you will be up and running with SQL. Using a straightforward, step-by-step approach, each lesson builds on the previous one, allowing you to learn the essentials of SQL from the ground up. *Tips point out shortcuts and solutions; *Notes clarify concepts and procedures in a straightforward manner; *Cautions help you avoid common pitfalls. Ryan Stephens and Ronald Plew are President and Vice President of Perpetual Technologies, Inc., where their duties include Oracle database administration and consulting and Oracle, SQL, and UNIX training. They have both been teaching at the collegiate level for over three years as adjunct professors at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. Both are Oracle Certified Professionals, having specialized in Oracle and UNIX for more than 10 years each. Ryan and Ron have co-authored other books for Sams including Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 21 Days, Second Edition and Third Edition, Oracle Unleashed, Second Edition, Oracle Development Unleashed, and Oracle8 Server Unleashed.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This hands on tutorial will provide readers with: Thorough explanation of database concepts, SQL and low level programming Complete code listings with output. These listings are followed with analysis that explains exactly what the listings are doing Real world examples that can be incorporated in other projects Fast results: Each chapter can be completed in one hour so the reader is productive almost immediately Beginning-to - Intermediate coverage of SQL, including SQL in an enterprise setting, on the Web and Intranet

- SQL (Standard Query Language) is the ANSI standard language that allows people to create, access, manipulate, and store information in a relational database management system

- SQL is the core element of databases from companies such as Oracle, Microsoft, Informix, etc.

- The SQL market is widespread; all database programmers, developers, and administrators use this language to manipulate data --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

Written by college instructors, Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 24 Hours quickly teaches beginning- to intermediate-level SQL users how to create, store, access and manipulate data using a proven step-by-step format that teaches SQL by example. This book contains a thorough explanation of database concepts, SQL procedures, and low-level programming, enabling readers to gain an understanding of the whys as well as the hows behind SQL.

This book presents complete code listings and output, followed with analysis that explains exactly what the listings are doing. These practical code examples can be incorporated easily by the reader into other projects. Coverage includes SQL, as well as SQL in an enterprise setting and on the Web and Intranet.

Authors Ryan Stephens and Ronald Plew are Database Administrators for Unisys Federal Systems. They are also instructors at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis where they teach SQL and various database classes.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 440 pages
• Publisher: Sams; 2nd edition (March 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672318997
• ISBN-13: 978-0672318993
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,636,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars ..., June 29, 2003

By 

Anaxamaxan "Anaxamaxan" (Eugene, OR, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 24 Hours (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

I came to this book with a very basic working knowledge of SQL, hoping to round out my knowledge of more complex operations and get a better grasp of transactional operations. I came away with little more than I started with.

The authors take such a broad approach, attempting to do the impossible - teach readers how to use ANSI-compliant SQL. Problem is, no RDBMS (Database platform) is truly ANSI-compliant. When it gets specific it's generally to show how MySQL does not do what Oracle does, yet for some strange reason they instruct the reader to use MySQL for exercises. Even funnier, something like 20% of the exercises cannot be done on MySQL, so they actually suggest that you get out a piece of paper and write them out! Why not just write a book called "Oracle SQL" and offer some comparisons with other implementations? The "see your implementation documentation for details" disclaimer occurs 2-3 times per chapter. So, why am I reading this again? Why not just read my RDBMS help files?

In the same vein, the data provided to learn with is exemplary of "toy" code, with tables of 5-10 records each. Most chapters consist of run-downs of the various functions, sometimes with good examples, often without.

The typos are rampant, with whole blocks of text sometimes being misplaced. Even the source data contains egregious errors. Obviously, this book was slammed out (in "24 hours" I bet), was not proofread, and forgotten. Third edition?!? Was the first edition just a bunch of garbled text??

I could go on, but in summary, don't bother. Buy something else. Anything else. Most likely either a book aimed at a particular implementation (e.g. MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, PostgresSQL etc), or one of the many books aimed at giving a working knowledge of SQL for web development (e.g. PHP and MySQL Web Development, etc). Good luck.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Teach yourself Oracle SQL in 24 Hours, June 17, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 24 Hours (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

It is not important how much you pay for a book,

It is important on what you spend your precious time.

This Book Lies! It lies in its title.
Title must be change to:
"Learn Oracle SQL in 24 Hours"
More than 90% of samples are for oracle.

Author only mentions that this SQL can be done in other implementations!!!

Bottom Line: DO NOT BUY THIS if you are trying to learn MS SQL
For sql server.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well written, but too Oracle specific, June 12, 2000

By 

Stuart R. Ainsworth (Gainesville, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 24 Hours (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

Enjoyed this book, and the lessons are very straight-forward, but the majority of the code supplied is pretty Oracle-specific. I had a devil of a time getting the code to work in a Microsoft environment (SQL Server or Access 97).

As a beginner, I actually found Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes by Ben Forta to be a better book. Forta provides notes on what will and won't work in what programs.

Overall, this book was helpful, and it will probably remain a useful reference edition. But if I were going to choose again, I'd get the 10 minute version first.