Customer Reviews

A Visual Introduction to SQL

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4 star:		(1)
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This is a GREAT book for foundation skills in SQL.

I used this book to teach myself SQL when I was "elected" to implement an Oracle database system at a former job and have since gone on to become an Oracle developer and DBA. The concepts and techniques learned in this book have served me well along the way. I have taught Oracle development in a technical school, and insisted that they use this book in the classroom. The diagrammatic approach to learning about tables, columns, joins and SQL functions seems to "click" with everyone who encounters it.

I'm writing this review after buying my ?10th? copy of this book - don't loan it out if you need to keep your copy.

I saw this book in a bookstore and it did not look very impressive based on price to number of pages ratio but I had a look at it, and after trying to learn SQL from some other books, this was a breath of fresh air. This is a book you can blow though quickly, doesn't require access to a computer or even much knowledge of any particular relational database system. I read thorough half of it in a few hours, but by that time I had developed a working knowledge of SQL. (Without ever sitting at a computer). They use a visual technique and repetition to show exactly what the SQL commands are used for, and how to use them to get what you need from the database. It covers your plain vanilla SQL and so may be 'slightly' different in syntax from the SQL your database uses (but in my experience, the changes are very very minor (eg, Transact SQL does not require a semicolon at the end of a statement)). This is an awesome book for anyone trying to 'figure out' SQL. Really lets you s! ee what the commands do and lets you understand it. I reccomended this book to a friend trying to learn SQL and he feels the same way about the book. SQL is really a pretty simple language, and this book makes the simplicity clear. Covers all major parts of SQL queries. Select, Update, making tables, altering tables, granting permissions, etc. Everything you need to get you started. IF you are trying to understand SQL, this book belongs on your desk. It was published in 1989 I think, but dont let that deter you. It is the best intro book on SQL I have ever seen!!!

I am currently enrolled in a Database Management (Oracle/SQL) class at Boston College. Right off the bat, I knew I was in trouble when we were told the professor would be unavailable for help and most of students in class were computer science majors. (I was taking the class to broaden my computer skills above and beyond front-end web design.)

The textbook in class was the heinously monstrous 1200+ page Oracle 9i The Complete Reference by Kevin Loney. After struggling through many chapters and finding our professor's teaching style very unhelpful, I decided it was time for another resource.

I checked on Amazon ... and found Sam's Teach Yourself SQL in 10 minutes to be semi-helpful. Then at the Harvard Coop, I stumbled upon it - - A VISUAL INTRODUCTION TO SQL. The problem, I realized, was that I am a visual learner and need to see all the schema tables and step-by step actions to describe what happens as I develop queries. This books is key for any layman, like myself. It walks you through very basic (and more complex) problems in an easy-to-read visual approach. While using SQL on the PC, viewing the tables is difficult and this book helps you map out the problems to figure them out. I was especially impressed after emailing the author about a table question and getting a personalized response.

If you are in a bind to learn SQL on your own, this book is great and won't kill you lugging it around either.

P.S. A great addition I found to this book was a Mac client software (that can access Oracle Databases) called SQL Grinder. Like the book, this program is also very visual and the GUI (MAC) clearly reigns over any PC. Sorry Windows users! Thanks for your help, David Chappell! ;-)

This book doesn't assume that you are familiar with databases or the SQL programming language. It teaches you the programming language step-by-step using a graphic approach. A great way to learn SQL.

The visual representations used by the authors makes it much easier to grasp the concepts of data retrieval in a relational database. Where most books tend to represent SQL statements as a string of required and optional words in syntax, this book goes beyond the syntax to illustrate how the data is stored, and how to retrieve it. By using a visual approach, it is possible to see how sql works to manage data, rather than just imitating a string of text that you often don't understand.

Are you brand new to SQL? Do you need to Understand, Learn, and Apply SQL to your job or personal use? I would highly recommend this book! I am only half way through the book and I have learned so much, in so little time. Now I can apply what I have learned in the book to my job. =)

This book gave me a quick analysis of the meat of the language. Technical people often think in pictures so this book is the natural progression of teaching. I have tried to pick up SQL from other sources and have been daunted by task of creating examples and seeing how they fit together. This book gives examples and graphically lays out a database. Its treatment of joins leaves a bit to be desired (it is VERY general) and I wished that it had a "cheat-sheet" insert of all the commands. Other than that I found it to be an excellent book that I will continue to use as a reference for development work.

The book took me from somebody who knew nothing about SQL to somebody who can land on a 70K+ and a lot of stock options job in less than 3 hours. It explains the SQL language in a very simple way feature by feature and gives a lot of examples to illustrate the point and clarify any possible confusions. In short, this is a book that actually tries to teach you instead of showing off.

I used this book when I needed to pick up SQL fast. I worked in an organization where I had to build Teradata Data Bases and used SQL to select and move the data. The illustrations really help visualize every aspect of assembling an SQL program and how it interfaces with the data base. I still use it today when I need to be reminded of a particular syntax. Don't loan this book out if you ever want to see it again. I did and now I'm buying another book!

This is truly an innovative way to learn SQL. The visual approach really works and works quickly. I was looking for a SQL book to recommend for "power-users" but not database-savvy professionals, and this book clearly made the list. Many of my colleagues have really been able to learn SQL extremely well with just a few afternoon reading sessions. It always seems to be this book that's been borrowed from my desk. I couldn't recommend "A Visual Introduction to SQL" more!