SQL (Structured Query Language) is a standard programming language for generating, manipulating, and retrieving information from a relational database. If you're working with a relational database--whether you're writing applications, performing administrative tasks, or generating reports--you need to know how to interact with your data. Even if you are using a tool that generates SQL for you, such as a reporting tool, there may still be cases where you need to bypass the automatic generation feature and write your own SQL statements. To help you attain this fundamental SQL knowledge, look to Learning SQL, an introductory guide to SQL, designed primarily for developers just cutting their teeth on the language. Learning SQL moves you quickly through the basics and then on to some of the more commonly used advanced features. Among the topics discussed: The history of the computerized database SQL Data Statements--those used to create, manipulate, and retrieve data stored in your database; example statements include select, update, insert, and delete SQL Schema Statements--those used to create database objects, such as tables, indexes, and constraints How data sets can interact with queries The importance of subqueries Data conversion and manipulation via SQL's built-in functions How conditional logic can be used in Data StatementsBest of all, Learning SQL talks to you in a real-world manner, discussing various platform differences that you're likely to encounter and offering a series of chapter exercises that walk you through the learning process. Whenever possible, the book sticks to the features included in the ANSI SQL standards. This means you'll be able to apply what you learn to any of several different databases; the book covers MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, and Oracle Database, but the features and syntax should apply just as well (perhaps with some tweaking) to IBM DB2, Sybase Adaptive Server, and PostgreSQL. Put the power and flexibility of SQL to work. With Learning SQL you can master this important skill and know that the SQL statements you write are indeed correct.

If you write programs to run against an Oracle database, you spend a lot of time and mental energy writing queries to return the data your programs need. Knowledge of SQL, and particularly of Oracle's implementation of SQL, is the key to writing good queries in a timely manner. In this book, the authors share their knowledge of Oracle SQL, and show you many creative techniques that you can use to advantage in your own applications. This book shows you how to: Leverage Oracle's vast library of built-in SQL functions Query time-based data, and write joins involving date and time ranges Use Oracle SQL's hierarchical query features to deal with data best represented in a tree format Use DECODE and CASE to implement conditional logic in your queries Use Oracle's new, analytic SQL features to write ranking queries, lag and lead queries, windowing queries, and more Join data from two or more tables using the newly supported SQL92 join syntax In addition, you'll see how SQL can best be integrated with PL/SQL. You'll also learn various best practices to help you write SQL queries that perform efficiently. Precious few books on the market today go beyond discussing syntax and the barest rudiments of using Oracle SQL. This book changes that, showing you how to creatively leverage the full power of SQL to write queries in an Oracle environment.