SQL Queries for Mere Mortals(R): A Hands-On Guide to Data Manipulation in SQL (Paperback)

by Michael J. Hernandez (Author), John L. Viescas (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
To the people who are accomplished in its use, Structured Query Language (SQL) is a highly capable, eminently flexible, even beautiful way of describing the data that you want from a database, or the changes that you want to make to a database. For the rest of us, however, SQL is a first-class nuisance that we do our best to avoid by relying on relatively user-friendly--but usually less powerful--tools. SQL Queries for Mere Mortals aims to bring SQL-phobes closer to the first camp by tutoring them carefully in what SQL can do.

The authors recognize that SQL queries usually come about as a result of questions from human beings, and so usefully spend a fair bit of time showing how to convert, say, "In what cities do our customers live?" into, "Select city from the customers table" and, finally, "SELECT city FROM customers" in SQL. They call this the "translation and clean up" process, and it's a fine approach. They don't press it too far, however, and are equally adept at presenting straight explanations of SQL syntax elements in prose. They spend a lot of energy graphically diagramming aspects of SQL syntax in a format that requires some up-front study. A particular reader might prefer text capsules to this arrow-intensive format, but other learners might like the graphical syntax diagrams. --David Wall

Topics covered: ANSI SQL/92 for people who need to use it to make queries against business databases. The authors introduce one or two syntax elements at a time--SELECT, WHERE, JOIN, UNION, and so on--and cover data extraction, data insertion, filtering, joins, calculations, and other capabilities of generic SQL.

Product Description
Helps new users learn the foundations of SQL queries, and will prove to be an essential reference guide for intermediate and advanced users. Softcover. DLC: SQL (Computer program language).

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (August 31, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201433362
• ISBN-13: 978-0201433364
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #263,502 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This item is part of The For Mere Mortals Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

100 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SQL Queries for Mere Mortals, September 26, 2000

By	"cmjreview" (Copenhagen, Denmark) - See all my reviews

I have been using MS Access 2000 to develop database solutions for use in sales and marketing departments and needed to go to the next level and develop solutions based on SQL Server, so I was looking for a book to understand SQL queries better and thereby SQL Server. Knowing, that by writing your own SQL queries when working in Access you're able to develop a scaleable application that easily is transferred to SQL Server, the book helped me in this transition since all 5 sample databases included on the CD-ROM is available in both SQL Server 7.0 and MS Access 2000 files.

After an introduction to relational database theory and the SQL language in the first 3 chapters, you'll start learning about queries and each of the remaining 14 chapters includes exercises that will train your skills in writing SQL queries. Throughout the book the authors make use of diagrams to visualize the SQL queries, in the beginning they may seem difficult to understand but as you get used to them you will find yourself reading them faster and faster.

One of the things I learned the most from was the authors use of a 3-step method to write queries: A simple question in plain English to get the needed information from the data goes through a Translation, then a Clean Up, and finally you've got your SQL. With this method not only do you gain confidence but also an insight into the simple mathematical logic on which the queries are based.

To accompany this book and enhance the knowledge you gain from reading it I recommend the following titles: On Access 2000 I recommend John Viescas' "Running MS Access 2000" (ISBN 1572319348), which in my opinion is one of the best books on Access 2000. To strengthen your knowledge on relational database theory and design I recommend: "Inside Relational Databases" (ISBN 354076092X). To learn SQL Server 7.0 I recommend: "Professional SQL Server 7.0" (ISBN 1861002319).

Most people are able to develop a database that contain lots of data, but only few know how to transform these piles of data into useful information by using the powerful tools of SQL queries. With the knowledge from SQL Queries for Mere Mortals you will be well on your way to become one of the few.

62 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for someone new to using SQL Language., February 3, 2002

By	cabby (Jacksonville, FL United States) - See all my reviews

I've got five years experience in the IT industry, but had virtually no SQL experience when I started learning about Databases and the SQL Language. So, I was having a bit of difficulty following some of the other great texts on databases and database programming. I looked for tutorials online, and for tutorial type books. There aren't many. "SQL Queries for Mere Mortals," is an outstanding tutorial for beginners. Not only will you learn how to query databases, you gain a solid understanding of how to use the language to also begin learning how to program in SQL. But, this isn't an SQL programming book. The authors first explain concepts, show you examples and then provide hands-on exercises. Then, they provide problems that you attempt to solve, to test your comprehension, and ability to execute simple and complex (to me) queries. The answers are provided so you can compare your results. It's a confidence building process when you see just how well you're doing. The authors have done an exceptional job. I can only surmise that the few disappointed reviewers have extensive experience (or prejudice) and so are unsatisfied with this great book. I highly recommed this book if you're interested in learning the SQL language and how to query databases (or create views).

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Examples, Examples, and More Examples, September 28, 2000

By	K. Hare (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"SQL Queries for Mere Mortals" focuses on how to think about and create SQL queries to answer real-world questions. It covers the database design issues you need to understand in order to write SQL queries, but it doesn't try to be a design book. It doesn't talk about creating a database, inserting, updating, deleting data, or about performance tuning. In short, this book lives up to its title and focuses only on SQL queries.

This book is full of examples of how to take questions and turn them into SQL queries, plus explanations of why and when to use the various SQL capabilities. The examples focus on standard SQL. While your SQL implementation may support slightly different syntax, the examples provided in the book serve as a useful base for understanding the power and complexity of SQL.

If you are just learning SQL, or you have been using it for a while and need to enhance your SQL skills, you will find this book very useful.