SQL in 10 Minutes, Sams Teach Yourself

I have half a dozen SQL resources but this is the best in terms of presentation, ease of reference, and starting with no SQL knowledge. The color coding in the code alone makes it superior to other formats I've seen.

I just started my databases class in college and I was absolutely clueless about databases and I thought my professor would make that assumption. So, I got this book and its getting me up to speed real nice. The explanations and the code are clear and its easy to find anything you're looking for if you're stuck coding. It clarified concepts that I thought were hard but are actually straightforward. It might be odd, but one thing I really appreciate is the size of the book. It's not big and the pages don't spring back to close the book as much as the other large books out here.One thing that I wish was also promised are exercises that follow a lesson. It's easy to just follow the book and write the code the author puts down. The mental exercise that I wish was there, though, is to ask us to write queries using only natural language and not specify the code. A little bit of practice helps ingrain the concepts and the understanding of the code.

While the title is misleading, good reference tool for learning general SQL. The book doesn't focus on any particular Database Management Software but it gives examples of where the concepts may differ. I found the sections are broken up in a meaningful way. If you're taking a Database Course at school or learning on your own, this makes a great reference tool along with your course materials.MY RATING SYSTEM:I try to stick with the same criteria and system when reviewing products and here is how it breaks down…FIVE STARS: Great Product, would feel completely confident in recommending to others and consider the product to be a great overall value with no obvious faults.FOUR STARS: Still a very good product, I consider it to be overall a good satisfying purchase and can still recommend it in good faith but there is one small aspect about the product keeping it from a perfect score.THREE STARS: A good product but not a great one, it operates and appears as advertised but more than one aspect of the item is undesirable. This is an item I would use but probably consider an alternative option.TWO STARS: Product is definitely lacking in quality and or the way it operates. Would not recommend it to others and would seek and alternative elsewhere. It maybe just barely does what it is advertised to do but is probably not worth the money and there are many negative factors about it.ONE STAR: No two ways about it, this is a bad product and I would not recommend anybody purchase it.

This is a fantastic book for those who need to quickly learn how to use SQL! Here's what I like about it:- Designed for absolute beginners!- Well explained with lots of visual, hands-on examples to ensure that you solidly comprehend what is being taught.- Each lesson is quick and to the point. Best of all, it's actually fun and interesting to read. (A lot of SQL books out there are drier than DUST!!)- Shows how each feature is achieved on different "versions" of SQL, as needed.- Data files are freely available for different SQL database versions with an easy-to-use install script.Personally, I am very thankful that I found this book! A lot of SQL books are written by people who are clueless as to how to teach. This author knows exactly how to communicate to his audience in a way that makes it simply enjoyable. :-)

You really can teach yourself with just 10 minutes a day. This small book has made my job easier and saved me tons of time by migrating from Access to SQL Server when retrieving large amounts data. It even saved the day during a month end when data was updated late on the Server. When the update was finished, I tapped directly into SQL Server and got the data I needed in just under 2 minutes. Normally I would have used Access to link to the tables and run the append queries to be able to process the data. It would have taken me at least 1 hour for the whole process in Access and management needed the financial reporting as soon as possible. Luckily, I had written the code with this book's help and just ran the query. I was able to deliver on time.

Came quickly. Need it for my class. Strongly recommend.

A fairly rapid go through of SQL, it's not a tutorial but it's also not a dry A-Z reference manual. It was perfect for someone like me who has seen SQL and thus it's not completely foreign to me but who never really sat down to learn it. Like the better books it doesn't merely show you the syntax with a perfunctory explanation, but rather it builds up an understandable example and adds complexity as you go along. In this why you can begin to understand why a certain SQL aspect is pertinent and when it makes sense to have it.

I am currently studying for the MCSA Server 2012 certification to help become a DBA. I've read all the lessons on w3school, I took several DB classes in college, and I ordered a text book for the first exam of the certification.This is by far the best, most helpful book when it comes to learning SQL. There is no "fluff", so everything you read is straight to the point and valuable. I hate other books that go into great detail when I want to understand the basic information before I try to learn the more fine-tune details.It is quick and easy to read. Tons of examples that show you what to do, what not to do, and different examples of the codes.Highly recommended. I would give it 10 stars if I could.

Muy buen libro, lo recomiendo para los niveles básico e intermedio, muy bien explicado todo con ejemplos para el lenguaje SQL.

The book is shortly written... and less functions included.

The topics/lessons are displayed really well.It's easy to follow for beginners as he provides an introduction of the conventions and aims of learning SQL.The author also lays out the types of Database systems used alongside the lessons and their applicability like Microsoft Access, PostgreSQL, SQLite - which helps those target the systems they wish to learn immediately as there may be slight differences in the convention or features. In any case, he notes which ones work/not for the corresponding tutorials.I used this alongside my MOOC to learn SQL for data analysis, and this covered the fundamentals really well to gain confidence in writing code/statements to answer queries by viewing the syntax to answer these queries by understanding data structures.Afterwards, you could move onto filtering data and then gain the skill to handle more advanced features like using aggregations, JOINs and subqueries to gain the real value of SQL (especially PostgreSQL/SQLite)However if you're more advanced in querying - this might not be useful since features like CTE (WITH statements) and WINDOW functions (which carry out aggregations/statements concisely) aren't covered and are helpful for brevity and learning even advanced tools.Still, this book is valuable as a reference as I try to revise/refine my skills already covered every so often. Highly recommended nonetheless!

excellent

This is a relatively small book, but well written and well laid out. I've been working with SQL for decades, but with other tasks getting in my professional life's way I often don't code for months or years on end. When I do have to code, a quick skim through this book helps me get back up to speed. It also serves as a solid reference to commands and optional components.While many will see this as a beginner's book (and it will work fine teaching SQL), I prefer to think of it as a solid reference since I can quickly find anything I want. This is one book I keep handy, all the time, just in case. Very well done by Ben Forta, and recommended unequivocally. I find I turn to this book more than any other SQL book on my shelves.