A Hands-On Guide to Data Manipulation in SQL (3rd Edition)

[A review of the Second Edition 2007, the review being written on 27 Oct 2007.]

From the ground up, the authors teach SQL. Not just the syntax, but more broadly, how to design a set of tables that will describe your data, and then how create and populate these tables.

If you already know some SQL, you may be curious as to which version is described. The up to date nature of this 2007 Edition means that you're getting a good current description. Though in practise, given the slow pace of the SQL standards committees, a pragmatic answer is that the precise latest version known to the book really doesn't matter. The SQL syntax and methods given here have mostly been true (stable) for several years. So even if you are running a SQL implementation installed a few years ago, the book is still useful.

Each chapter has several examples. But maybe to a beginner, the most useful chapters are those on inner and outer joins. Certainly, there are many other SQL books that talk about these. But the examples given in these chapters are unusually lengthy and detailed. The number of items (lines) in the tables are few. But the complexity of the questions and the ensuing SQL queries that use these joins is high. Which could be closer to real applications and more helpful than books that simply put out trivial examples.

I've got five years experience in the IT industry, but had virtually no SQL experience when I started learning about Databases and the SQL Language. So, I was having a bit of difficulty following some of the other great texts on databases and database programming. I looked for tutorials online, and for tutorial type books. There aren't many. "SQL Queries for Mere Mortals," is an outstanding tutorial for beginners. Not only will you learn how to query databases, you gain a solid understanding of how to use the language to also begin learning how to program in SQL. But, this isn't an SQL programming book. The authors first explain concepts, show you examples and then provide hands-on exercises. Then, they provide problems that you attempt to solve, to test your comprehension, and ability to execute simple and complex (to me) queries. The answers are provided so you can compare your results. It's a confidence building process when you see just how well you're doing. The authors have done an exceptional job. I can only surmise that the few disappointed reviewers have extensive experience (or prejudice) and so are unsatisfied with this great book. I highly recommed this book if you're interested in learning the SQL language and how to query databases (or create views).

I have been using MS Access 2000 to develop database solutions for use in sales and marketing departments and needed to go to the next level and develop solutions based on SQL Server, so I was looking for a book to understand SQL queries better and thereby SQL Server. Knowing, that by writing your own SQL queries when working in Access you're able to develop a scaleable application that easily is transferred to SQL Server, the book helped me in this transition since all 5 sample databases included on the CD-ROM is available in both SQL Server 7.0 and MS Access 2000 files.
After an introduction to relational database theory and the SQL language in the first 3 chapters, you'll start learning about queries and each of the remaining 14 chapters includes exercises that will train your skills in writing SQL queries. Throughout the book the authors make use of diagrams to visualize the SQL queries, in the beginning they may seem difficult to understand but as you get used to them you will find yourself reading them faster and faster.
One of the things I learned the most from was the authors use of a 3-step method to write queries: A simple question in plain English to get the needed information from the data goes through a Translation, then a Clean Up, and finally you've got your SQL. With this method not only do you gain confidence but also an insight into the simple mathematical logic on which the queries are based.
To accompany this book and enhance the knowledge you gain from reading it I recommend the following titles: On Access 2000 I recommend John Viescas' "Running MS Access 2000" (ISBN 1572319348), which in my opinion is one of the best books on Access 2000. To strengthen your knowledge on relational database theory and design I recommend: "Inside Relational Databases" (ISBN 354076092X). To learn SQL Server 7.0 I recommend: "Professional SQL Server 7.0" (ISBN 1861002319).
Most people are able to develop a database that contain lots of data, but only few know how to transform these piles of data into useful information by using the powerful tools of SQL queries. With the knowledge from SQL Queries for Mere Mortals you will be well on your way to become one of the few.

Breath of fresh air.

easy to understand.

can breeze through it.

the main concepts are here.

great for beginners and intermediates.

If you want a book that is difficult for noobs to understand try this one and which doesn't introduce concepts nor explain them well try this one: Microsoft SQL Server 2012 T-SQL Fundamentals (Developer Reference) 1st Edition by Itzik Ben-Gan

........and you'll thank the heavens that Viescas wrote this one.

I'm a professional SW engineer of several years, and I program in several languages, Java, C, C++. I used to do embedded work until a couple years ago, but yecently I had to start working with databases and applications. This book was excellent at showing me the construction of SQL queries. It's not meant to be one of those all-inclusive 1,000 page monsters which document every configuration of a database, or how database internals work. This is strictly queries, and had plenty of detail for that. I would combine my purchase of this book with another book specific to the database you may need to work with if you have to worry about doing more than using the database (load balancing, query poooling, etc. are not subjects really covered here).

Our company switched to and extensively uses SQL. In an effort to educate the entire I.T. staff on the effective use of SQL, we purchased Microsoft Office Curriculum (to assess whether it fit our needs), searched book stores, and checked with Universities (online and local) for acceptable SQL curriculum. Our search was disappointing until we found this book. We enhanced this book with company-specific examples and created our own course using this book as the main text. We employed an instructor from a local university to conduct the course and have it certified by the state dept of education. It provides good information about good practices using SQL.

"SQL Queries for Mere Mortals" focuses on how to think about and create SQL queries to answer real-world questions. It covers the database design issues you need to understand in order to write SQL queries, but it doesn't try to be a design book. It doesn't talk about creating a database, inserting, updating, deleting data, or about performance tuning. In short, this book lives up to its title and focuses only on SQL queries.
This book is full of examples of how to take questions and turn them into SQL queries, plus explanations of why and when to use the various SQL capabilities. The examples focus on standard SQL. While your SQL implementation may support slightly different syntax, the examples provided in the book serve as a useful base for understanding the power and complexity of SQL.
If you are just learning SQL, or you have been using it for a while and need to enhance your SQL skills, you will find this book very useful.

The authors offer simple explantions to complex concepts. They break it down nicely. I never though I could understand heavily nested querries and get a real handle on what is going on. I have a much more solid understanding of sql and am confident that I can get the info I need from my company's databases.
Expect to spend a little time on some examples in order to allow concepts to sink in. I love this book.

Excellent book on providing an introduction to both how SQL works and how to write queries for extracting data. Really helped me to understand how stored procedures in the systems I tested worked, helped me to troubleshoot issues with those stored procedures, and with understanding how built in query tools were pulling data. Highly recommend to anyone looking to get a good start on learning to write and use SQL.

After reading this book I finally understood table relationships and how to retrieve the information I wanted from multiple tables at once. I have never had queries put across in such a clear simple manner. I had been working with ASP / SQL queries for about a year and was just muddling through with sub-tables and linking. I was creating databases with redundant information just so I didn't have to link tables. This book allowed me to streamline my database and improve the speed and simplicity of my ASP pages. This book focuses on select queries almost exclusively, but this is I think a strong point not a weakness, since most of the time you are pulling information out not inserting or updating. Works very well with it's companion book Database design for mere mortals

I had been trying to extract information from our workplace databases for several years, and it was a frustrating experience. This book put it all together for me, and I finally understand the complexities. I had tried to learn from many other books, but their focus was on point and click, creating databases, maintaining databases, and creating forms. SQL Queries for Mere Mortals focuses exclusively on what I need to accomplish -- extracting information from existing databases. I use it as a reference often. Now, I can obtain answers to complex questions with a single SQL statement, instead of numerous queries of queries of queries.

If starting out or know the basics of Select whatever from table, this book is for you. It explains SQL in a way you can understand, using real databases you would use.
I did learn the hard way from a MS-SQL 7 book with queries, and the information in here seems redundant to what I already know through about 1 year of SQL queries through ASP.
I would like to see a book that had more advanced problems other than 150 pages of explaining JOIN statements, while providing examples someone might use on a daily basis. ...

SQL Queries for Mere Mortals: A Hands-On Guide to Data Manipulation in SQL

I very well written and concise, easy to understand piece of work. Dont be fooled that since it was written for SQL 7 (2000) that the information is outdated and is not valid, it is definately still current infact this lays the foundation for you to understand why SQL Language is important in designing relationship databases such as Microsoft Access (all versions). I would have paid triple the pieces for this valuable information.

Structured Query Language is "underneath the covers" of all of our relational databases, but is sometimes less than intuitive when it comes to writing SQL statements, scripts and stored procedures. True to his easy to understand style from his book "Database Design for Mere Mortals," Mr. Hernandez, along with John Viescas, has a book which is straightforward enough for me to recommend to my students who wish to learn more about SQL itself.

SQL can be a threatening language for a beginner. Hernandez and Viescas's book provides an easy way to decipher and understand SQL. In particular, their method of converting real life questions into SQL queries is extremely useful and practical. The accompanying CD is extremely helpful. I highly recommend it for those who may be new to the subject and need a good introduction to the subject.

I like this book! It reads well, and has something to offer to just about every SQL developer, and even (especially?!?) to those people I would class as 'power users'. Its taken a while to bring together and examining different chapters over many months has been 'interesting', it is good to see it finally all together.

This is a great book especially for a beginner starting to do SQL queries. The examples in the book are clear and easy to follow and it's nice there's a CD which has good examples also. The book also describes inner and outer joins and grouping data. This book has helped me in my work.

This book is very well written. It is very intuitive for both persons who want to spice up their query knowledge and/or those who need a refresher. Having been away from SQL for a while it was a good "crash" course refresher. I highly recommend it. -----

This is an excellent book for SQL novices. The authors make the material understandable, with good descriptions, lots of examples, and a real in-depth coverage of SQL. The examples are really clear and show both traps you can fall into and how to avoid them.

The authors seem to believe that the simplest concepts need to be illustrated with overly complex diagrams and hugely complex SQL statements. The concepts contained in this book are not complex, although they are portrayed as such. If you want a fantastic introduction to SQL, get Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes, 2nd ed. by Ben Forta (ISBN 0672321289).

This is an excellent book for SQL novices. The authors make the material understandable, with good descriptions, lots of examples, and a real in-depth coverage of SQL. The examples are really clear and show both traps you can fall into and how to avoid them.

The authors seem to believe that the simplest concepts need to be illustrated with overly complex diagrams and hugely complex SQL statements. The concepts contained in this book are not complex, although they are portrayed as such. If you want a fantastic introduction to SQL, get Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes, 2nd ed. by Ben Forta (ISBN 0672321289).

The book is written starting from the basics about Databases. It gives the reader a background to databases therefore building a foundation for absolute beginners. The book however only focuses on Data Manipulation language (DML).

I found the book informative and the additional practise at the end of each chapter is handy. It allows the reader to delve into the practises as it re-enforces the explanations provided.

I bought this book based on its high popularity and ranking. I feel that the ranking is not true of this books potential. I have developed an Access database, but I am not a db developer. I wanted a a basic book which would show me examples of update, insert, delete queries etc. This book does not even mention about basic queries like delete, insert, update leave alone make table etc. Whats the point of a book about "Queries" if you mention only about select querries. I would not recommend this book at all.