The whole problem with doing books
on SQL is the general run-amuck that database vendors have been
doing
to the SQL standards. The result is that EAI-Enterprise Application
Integration and Heterogeneous Database Joins remain very thorny
problems - no thank yous directed to IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Sybase
and other
SQL companies.
So as potential SQL author do you write a general SQL text and
explain all the many and proprietary offshoots from the ANSI SQL
standards - or do you specialize on one vendors database for the
practical coverage
that allows. Most writers have chose the latter approach - so that
made finding some excellent general SQL texts an even more inviting
challenge.
The Simple, Easy But
Effective Book - Trimble and Chappell's A
Visual Introduction to SQL is just what the doctor
ordered in getting the key concepts of SQL - tables, diagrams,
and
the basic
SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE commands across to users
new to the database and SQL world. This is a very clear,
concise and well diagrammed exposure to SQL. This reviewer
liked the gentle injection of of ERD-Entity-Relationship
Diagramming elements and figures without fuss showing how
they can help to illustrate how SQL- and particularly SELECT
commands work.
And the authors build up successively to more complicated
GROUP BY with HAVING, then the various types of JOINS followed
by subqueries with ANY and ALL. Because this was written
in 1989, the JOIN mentions but does not feature the new left
and right join syntax. And the commands are generic - users
will find proprietary variation, as is their cavalier wont,
from all the major vendors from IBM through Microsoft to
Oracle. But most of the syntax will stand up and the database
concepts come through with distinct visual clarity. Kudos
to a well written book that has passed the test of time...
and available at Amazon for less than $10, what a bargain.!
The live database book on SQL - One
of the best ways to learn SQL is with live databases and
real practical applications (even better, web applications).
MySQL
is the free opensource database which runs in Linux and Windows
and has a wealth of supporting (often free as well) tools
readily downloadable to use. And Michael Kofler's book , MySQL, does
and admirable job of explaining the syntax of MySQL. Yes,
you can get free downloadable copies of DB2 and Oracle but
start
here first - its 1/10 the size and aggravation but MySQL
packs 80-90% of the wallop of the big boys. And Kofler's
book makes
sure you know where to go and how to install properly the
Windows as well as Linux versions of the software.
Kofler also shows use of MySQL in working contexts with
examples of VB, PHP, and Perl programs in both Select/query
and Update/Insert/modify contexts. These real world examples
including discussions of using transaction oriented features
like InnoDB give the book a solid foundation. I have seen
texts well above the $28 price deliver a lot less than Kofler
does.
