Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 24 Hours

By Ron Plew and Ryan Stephens

• Table of Contents
  • Copyright
  • About the Authors
  • Acknowledgments
  • Tell Us What You Think!
  • Introduction
  • Part I: A SQL Concepts Overview
  • Hour 1. Welcome to the World of SQL
    • SQL Definition and History
    • SQL Sessions
    • Types of SQL Commands
    • An Introduction to the Database Used in This Book
    • Summary
    • Q&A
    • Workshop
  • Part II: Building Your Database
  • Hour 2. Defining Data Structures
  • Hour 3. Managing Database Objects
  • Hour 4. The Normalization Process
  • Hour 5. Manipulating Data
  • Hour 6. Managing Database Transactions
  • Part III: Getting Effective Results from Queries
  • Hour 7. Introduction to the Database Query
  • Hour 8. Using Operators to Categorize Data
  • Hour 9. Summarizing Data Results from a Query
  • Hour 10. Sorting and Grouping Data
  • Hour 11. Restructuring the Appearance of Data
  • Hour 12. Understanding Dates and Times
  • Part IV: Building Sophisticated Database Queries
  • Hour 13. Joining Tables in Queries
  • Hour 14. Using Subqueries to Define Unknown Data
  • Hour 15. Combining Multiple Queries into One
  • Part V: SQL Performance Tuning
  • Hour 16. Using Indexes to Improve Performance
  • Hour 17. Improving Database Performance
  • Part VI: Using SQL to Manage Users and Security
  • Hour 18. Managing Database Users
  • Hour 19. Managing Database Security
  • Part VII: Summarized Data Structures
  • Hour 20. Creating and Using Views and Synonyms
  • Hour 21. Working with the System Catalog
  • Part VIII: Applying SQL Fundamentals in Today's World
  • Hour 22. Advanced SQL Topics
  • Hour 23. Extending SQL to the Enterprise, the Internet, and the Intranet
  • Hour 24. Extensions to Standard SQL
  • Part IX: Appendixes
  • Appendix A. Common SQL Commands
  • Appendix B. Using MySQL for Exercises
  • Appendix C. Answers to Quizzes and Exercises
  • Appendix D. CREATE TABLE Statements for Book Examples
  • Appendix E. INSERT Statements for Data in Book Examples
  • Appendix F. Glossary
  • Appendix G. Bonus Exercises

Summary

You have been introduced to the standard language of SQL and have been given a brief history and thumbnail of how the standard has evolved over the last several years. Database systems and current technologies were also discussed, including the relational database, client/server systems and Web-based database systems, all of which are vital to your understanding of SQL. The main SQL language components and the fact that there are numerous players in the relational database market, and likewise, many different flavors of SQL, were discussed. Despite ANSI SQL variations, most vendors do comply to some extent with the current standard (SQL-99), rendering consistency across the board and forcing the development of SQL applications that are portable.

The database that will be used during your course of study was also introduced. The database, as you have seen it so far, has consisted of a few tables, which are related to one another, and the data that each table contains at this point (at the end of Hour 1). You should have acquired some overall background knowledge of the fundamentals of SQL and should understand the concept of a modern database. After a few refreshers in the Workshop for this hour, you should feel very confident about continuing to the next hour.

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