Getting Started with SQL: A Hands-On Approach for Beginners

by Thomas Nield

Businesses are gathering data today at exponential rates and yet few people know how to access it meaningfully. If you’re a business or IT professional, this short hands-on guide teaches you how to pull and transform data with SQL in significant ways. You will quickly master the fundamentals of SQL and learn how to create your own databases. Author Thomas Nield provides exercises throughout the book to help you practice your newfound SQL skills at home, without having to use a database server environment. Not only will you learn how to use key SQL statements to find and manipulate your data, but you’ll also discover how to efficiently design and manage databases to meet your needs. You’ll also learn how

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

131 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 2016

Reviews

[Chitrank Dixit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very nice for beginners to start learning SQL. You can straight a way start learning SQL with basic examples and prebuilt databases provided on the github repo. This book is also nice for revising SQL knowledge, although the book will not cover much detail of the advanced topics like Index, Transactions, Triggers and Nested Queries, but it is good with beginner and some intermediate SQL expressions.

[Midori · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book for beginners who just start out learning SQL. The book uses SQLite/SQLiteStudio which is so easy to set up and you can start writing your first SQL queries right away. The book is, however, only more than 100 pages, therefore it didn't cover each and every topic deeply, but that is the perfect beginning if you are new to SQL.

[anfragment · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book explaining the basics of SQL. Thomas Nield gradually introduces a reader to all the fundamental principles and concepts behind SQL in a manner that is easy to follow and is right to the point.
My only minor gripe about the book would be that it is using SQLiteStudio. In the later chapter of it, the author uses its features to perform some table alterations, not showing the raw SQL for anyone not using this tool.
Apart from that, I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn SQL from scratch.

[Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nield is a good writer who knows how to keep things simple, use relatable examples, and stick to what's important. I highly recommend this book to those who not only want to learn about SQL about get their hands dirty with some real life examples thanks to the online tools Nield has set up for his readers to use.

[Barry Poulson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Introduction to SQL

Well- written introduction to SQL. Adding it to my database course, pairing it with that very methodical db design course. Enough here to get everyone started in the Windows environment before setting up a server on Azure for a taste of Linux. One of the best intro books!

[Renan De Oliveira Pereira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little book about SQL! It is a gentle introduction to SQL, and by the end of its roughly 100 pages, you will be able to perform some simple queries using SELECT, FROM, WHERE, GROUP BY, ORDER BY AND CASE WHEN commands, and also JOIN tables.

If you are rookie Data / Business analyst, this is a great place to start your SQL journey.

[Guthrie C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise and efficient SQL guide

A solid and appropriately sized book on SQL for beginners that sticks to plain language and illustrative problem solving. To accommodate those with larger interests, the Appendix and Chapter 11 directs new enthusiasts to deeper topics.

[Mohamed Shehata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nield is a very good writer. Simply because he choose the right simple way to illustrate his topics and it’s quite interesting to follow up. Although, this was the very basic knowledge to explore SQL but it’s a great chance to getting started with SQLite.

[Jimmy La Rue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to SQL, will help with a solid foundation (BUT just the beginning) of understanding SQL. Includes db examples in GitHub. I've looked over the book a few times.

What's next? online classes- there are so many good ones out there- and another basics book with more info.

[Francielle Kelner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good beginner's guide.

This book will teach you the basics of how to design a database, insert/update/delete records, and also select and filter your data.

That alone will allow you to build some amazing stuff. =)

[Rrrrrron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short intro for those coming from excel

[Dragomir Draganov · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written book which beginner SQL users can greatly benefit from!

[Mik Vargas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for starters, and it is very practical.

[Auggie Heschmeyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a little light on content, but the content that is there is easy to follow and serves as a great starting point.

[Mike Avanti · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good SQL intro with access to a number of database sets that guides you through querying and database creation.

[Pawin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sql for beginners! The book provides all fundamentals, concepts about SQL by using SqlLite to illustrate the examples.

[Joshua Dong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great intro to SQL. Focused book that goes over basics but gives more experienced readers some insight on where to pry for more. Very quick read.

[Ben Stenhaug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful in its brevity and how it contains only the key ideas. Good for my purpose of read quick to make sure there aren't any holes in my knowledge.

[Zayn K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book to learn the basics of SQL. Gave me the basics I needed to get going.

[Lucas Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good start, not complicated for beginners.

[Duong Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

always headache with sql topic all the time, but love it!

[Diego Schultz]

um capítulo me ajudou num trabalho da faculdade então ta otimo. o livro usa sqlite como base mas quem usa sqlite?

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Course was good and book was helpful.

[Juan Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book for beginners.

[Guilherme · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Li a tradução para Português Brasileiro)

Livro fantástico. Cobre o essencial e o fundamental do SQL sem ser maçante e desnecessariamente teórico. Recomendaria para todos que trabalham com dados.

[Chase Kregor · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really great primer on databases, SQL, and SQLite. The book does have some error in the example they provide if you try and follow along with the code hence the 3 stars instead of 4. If you do follow the book's code know that after a couple tries you may not be doing anything wrong but simply the code they have provided in the book has some errors. Excited to expand my SQL knowledge after reading this.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book to get a basic understanding of SQL especially if it's the first time you heard about it.

Pretty much once you know SQL, you know Postgres SQL, MYSQL, and pretty much all the SQL programs. Just slight differences in the programs, but 90% the same.

I would recommend this book, although I like SQL Pro better then the SQL Lite program.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this one up as a refresher since I haven't used SQL in a few years. It's a good basic overview and a quick read.

[Mohamed Metwalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a very good book for beginners starting learning SQL. The book uses SQLite. The book, however, doesn't cover each and every topic deeply.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very brief, but good, introduction to various SQL commands and concepts.