Head First SQL: Your Brain on SQL -- A Learner's Guide

Head First Series

by Lynn Beighley

Is your data dragging you down? Are your tables all tangled up? Well we've got the tools to teach you just how to wrangle your databases into submission. Using the latest research in neurobiology, cognitive science, and learning theory to craft a multi-sensory SQL learning experience, Head First SQL has a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works, not a text-heavy approach that puts you to sleep.Maybe you've written some simple SQL queries to interact with databases. But now you want more, you want to really dig into those databases and work with your data. Head First SQL will show you the fundamentals of SQL and how to really take advantage of it. We'll take you on a journey through the language, from basic INSERT statements and SELECT queries to hardcore database manipulation with indices, joins, and transactions. We all know "Data is Power" - but we'll show you how to have "Power over your Data". Expect to have fun, expect to learn, and expect to be querying, normalizing, and joining your data like a pro by the time you're finished reading!

Genres: Programming, Technology, Nonfiction, Reference, Computer Science, Technical, Software

808 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2007

About the author

Lynn Beighley is the author of dozens of tech books and even more articles. She's had lots of her short stories published in lots of places. She's an editor for Manning Publications and she's currently writing a YA novel that she hopes will encourage girls to try a bit of computer programming. She got an MFA a few years back. She's on twitter as @lynnbeighley and would enjoy hearing from you.

Reviews

[Tharindu Dissanayake · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is aimed at the absolute beginner and explains the basics very clearly. However, I think some of the syntax the book introduce are outdated and no longer valid at the time of this review (June 2020). This could be counterproductive for absolute beginner, who in fact are the intended audience in this book. Principles are still sound and most will like the Head First style, but unless there's a new edition, it's better to go for something else for now.

[Kasper Christiansen · Rating 1 out of 5]

You can save a lot of time by just using Google. This book takes its sweet time explaining concepts that are not that complicated.

[Ashok Krishna · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are an absolute beginner in the world of databases and SQL, then look no further. This is an ideal book to get your hands dirty and learn SQL. Simple and straightforward, this books makes learning a fun activity. Neither too technical nor a truckload of jargon, this book teaches SQL in the same way the kindergarten children are taught the alphabets - slowly, in simple steps.

Caveat though. As I said, it covers only the very basics of SQL. Don't get fooled by the page count. This book is full of graphics and Q&A based learning where questions and answers are printed in two full, separate pages. Hence, the length. If you already know the basics of SQL and are looking for further learning or a serious reference manual, then this book may not be the one for you.

Good one.

[Mahmoud Shrif · Rating 5 out of 5]

كتاب جميل وسهل كعادة كتب السلسلة كلها والمحتوي كلو محتوي لشخص مبتدأ وميعرفش حاجه عن ال sql
لسه قدامي رجلة طويلة ف المستوي المتوسط فلو حد تايه شويه زيي ممكن تسأل chatgpt
او تعمل زيي وتقرا كتاب
Database Systems: Design, Implementation, & Management
او
Beginning Database Design: From Novice to Professional
طبعا مع ال doc الخاص بال RDBM الي بتستخدموه
او موقع بيسهلها شويه زي https://www.postgresqltutorial.com/ or https://learnsql.com/

[Julie Dill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Computer tech manuals are drier than a popcorn fart, am I right? However, I'm only a quarter of the way through with this book, and I can safely declare it the best database programming language book ever. Holy crap on a cracker, there are decent works of fiction I'd put down to read this tech manual.

In addition to being a tech writing genius, Author Lynn Beighley also happens to have an MFA in creative writing. And she rocks ass. I don't give a squat about SQL, and were it not required for my new job, I wouldn't have even wandered down that aisle of the bookstore, but if you have to read the stuff anyway, get this one.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually only review something if I've read every word, but I've lived in this book long enough and read enough to feel good about reviewing it.
This was one of my textbooks for a database design class, a class I was terrified to take but still signed up for (for various reasons out of my control). It's a very user-friendly guide, and as a novice to SQL, I appreciated the frisky, nothing-to-be-afraid-of tone. There are tons of visuals and extras, and when I wasn't driving myself crazy with fear I wouldn't be able to succeed in this class, I actually had fun doing it.
If I had to learn another coding language, I would certainly seek out a guidebook from this Head First series.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made learning SQL fun. I mean, I probably would have fun learning SQL anyway, but everything about this book is a good time. The examples included such practical applications as making a database to track clowns in order to help your clown-phobic friends. Clearly an introductory text, but that's the point.

[Chibimagic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needed to brush up on my SQL (specifically, the DB2 variety), so I picked up this book. After the first couple hundred pages, technical errors started popping up everywhere: apparently + is the operator for addition and subtraction. And "birthday > '1950-03-20' AND birthday < '1960-03-20'" means a birthday between 1970 and 1980. The book is awash in these.

There's a lot of testing before teaching, where they ask how you think a task can be accomplished, and then explain the actual syntax of the command. This helps the learning stick, since you compare your mental model with reality. But it's completely unhelpful when they quiz you at the beginning of chapter 7 on how to completely alter a table design, then spend all of chapter 8 explaining something you had to figure out on your own 100 pages ago.

The only thing keeping this from being a single star is that it's somewhat entertaining. Otherwise, the pacing is muddled, many elementary topics are skipped, and a lot of the example relationships are just wrong.

The syntax is heavily MySQL-oriented, which they point out themselves in the intro, but there's enough cross-RDBMS notes that it's a good general introduction to SQL. Unfortunately, syntax from other implementations is never explained. There's just copious notes scattered throughout saying "check your RDBMS-specific documentation". RTFM? Thanks for the advice.

If you want to learn any SQL, pick up a good MySQL-specific book and learn that first. Then read the technical docs for your specific implementation. I recommend PHP and MySQL Web Development from Addison Wesley. O'Reilly's other intro database book, Learning PHP and MySQL, is riddled with errors too.

[Carolina Bento · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is excellent as a beginners guide and is also suitable for people who want to review and refresh their memory on specific aspects of sql.

[Nick Hodges · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good run down on basics of SQL. Excellent for total newbies up to folks (like me) who want a refresher.

[Gabrielam13 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este într-adevăr un foarte reușit abecedar pentru SQL. Pentru mine, însă lectura a mers destul de repede, căci sunt familiară cu majoritatea conceptelor, folosindu-le în mod cotidian. Iar cu toate că am învățat și câteva lucruri noi, dintre care unele ce sunt valabile numai în MySql, mi-ar fi plăcut să aprofundez mai mult domeniul.

Precum toate cărțile din seria ”Head First” și aceasta a fost la fel de amuzantă, antrenantă și clară, aplicând toate teoriile de învățare pentru a ajuta cititorul să asimileze conceptele pe termen lung. Aș fi curioasă care ar fi rezultatele unui sistem de învățământ care ar aborda acest mod de a-și introduce elevii în domenii tehnice: într-o manieră simplă, interesantă, făcând procesul de învățare aproape ca o joacă!

Recomand cartea tuturor celor ce doresc să se familiarizeze cu SQL ! Pentru toți ceilalți ce doresc să aprofundeze domeniul, cu siguranță poate fi sărită.

[Andrew Weida · Rating 4 out of 5]

Speaking from someone that does data science and analytics , This book is a good reference book for understanding the principle of SQL or I like to cal it database management principles for queries . It has good visuals and easy to understand problem sets . Although the starting ground is MySQL, this technique can be applied to other databases and other tools that enable sql commands .

[Shota Karkashadze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, Head first never disappoints.

[Jahongir Rahmonov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Head First series should be your first book to read

[Himanshu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction to SQL. Head First books are always a pleasure to read. However, I wasn't very fond of the way the content of this book was organized.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and very readable intro to SQL.

[Gishu Pillai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just read it to kill time - you could read the whole book in one sitting if you just need a refresher.

Typical head first design of the book - good but not as good as the Design Patterns one.

[Shreyamsh Kamate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Introductory Book for relational databases.

[Vinamra Bali · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helped me in understanding basic SQL concepts in a fun way. I would highly recommend this book to any SQL beginner.

[Alex Saykov · Rating 5 out of 5]

select * from table

[Henrik Kram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good first primer, super accessible!
More structured Exercises section at the end of the chapters and maybe ready to use and downloadable data sets would have been splendid

[Joost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing book; I discovered a lot of fascinating points in it. It was easy to follow. I consulted it when I created the website https://elett.ru

[Prince Venus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple but you will definitely need to read a other SQL book if you want better understanding

[Nathan Watkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

terrible reference book

[Bonnie Vasko · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a worthwhile book to get started with for learning general purpose SQL. This book is not specifically on mySQL, but that's what the author uses throughout the book.

Here are the few complaints that I have: If your totally brand new to SQL, it may not be clear that you can populate tables from the sample code provided at the book's website. More than one reviewer mentioned that on Amazon.com.

I found that the code from the website dropped off in the later tables on Joins, Subqueries, contraints and transactions. They did not provide the sample code to set up the tables needed to follow along with the examples in those chapters. I did get some value from reading those chapters, but it wasn't quite the same.

In a nutshell, this book gave me all the info I needed to get started with mySQL. (I am using it with PHP). There are lots of hands-on examples, tests and quizzes to drive home the basics. I feel pretty comfortable now with basic SQL commands. I would recommend this book for anyone that knows very little to nothing about SQL, and wishes to obtain 'beginner' level knowledge.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book to brush up on SQL since I haven't really had to work with it too much since I was in college.

On the plus side:

The book provides a url where you can experiment with some queries without setting up your own database/tables while you're going through the examples and I thought it provided a decent overview of commands/terminology/etc.

On the negative side:

I did find some technical errors, which weren't too difficult to spot/overcome, but my biggest pet peeve is how the book would ask something like 'now how would you do this....' and give a somewhat ridiculous answer (you would do 3 inserts, 2 updates, and a delete) and then 2 pages later say - NO there's a better way, use this alter command instead! Hello - I did not pick up this book to spend time reading (and actually trying to comprehend) how to do it the wrong way.

This is the only SQL book I've picked up (outside of college text book) so I can't really compare it to other primers.

[Jamie Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before reading this book, I knew almost no SQL. Head First SQL was a very fun entry into the world of talking to tables. Despite my near complete ignorance, I was very quickly creating tables and extracting information from them. I found the explanations very clear and the examples entertaining. Once or twice an exercise would throw me for a loop; but there was enough information in the book to figure them out.

Perhaps most surprising to me was that this is not just a beginner's book. The last half of the book gets into some relatively complex topics. This was great. I'm generally not a big fan of "fun" textbooks, and part of that is because they often have a tone of talking down to the audience. This book did not do that at all.

I have recommended this book to anyone who's mentioned to me that they were interested in learning SQL.

[Dezra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been dabbling with SQL at work and figured I really needed to know what I was doing. I follow syntax relatively easily, so I've been able to get an idea of what was happening, but I needed to know why what I did worked. Years ago, I used Head First HTML and CSS as an introduction to coding and really enjoyed how it approached teaching, so I didn't hesitate to turn to this one for SQL. The Head First series teaches the nuts and bolts and is entertaining in the process.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts out really basic, too basic for me.

More annoyingly, they're using lower quality copies of the same stock photos from the previous Head First books - most look like photocopies of pages from previous books. I'm guessing that the next edition will be produced on the mimeograph machine in the publisher's basement.

[Alexey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Очень простая в обращении книга.
Сразу понимаются все основы SQL - в этом помогают множество заданий, которые не вызывают отвращения, а наоборот желание их решить.
Книга ориентирована на MySQL пользователей. Но практически все подходит и для PostgreSQL.
Для начинающих изучение SQL, подойдет без вопросов.