Learn SQL in 400 Minutes

Learn Microsoft SQL in 400 minutes! 1 page a minute! The topics are structured so that each page can be learned quickly. Beginning level relational database programming & design teach-by-practical-diagrams-&-examples book for database developers, programmers, systems analysts and project managers who are new to relational database and client/server technologies. Also for database developers, database designers and database administrators (DBA), who know some database design, and who wish to refresh & expand their RDBMS design technology horizons. Familiarity with at least one computer programming language, Windows file system & Excel is assumed. Since the book is career advancement oriented, it has a number of 3NF database design examples with metadata explanations along with practical SQL queries (over 1100 SELECT queries) and T-SQL scripts, plenty to learn indeed. Great emphasis is placed on explaining the FOREIGN KEY - PRIMARY KEY constraints among tables, the connections which make the collection of individual tables a database. The database diagrams and queries are based on historic and current SQL Server sample databases: pubs (PRIMARY KEYs 9, FOREIGN KEYs 10) , Northwind (PRIMARY KEYs 13, FOREIGN KEYs 13) and the latest AdventureWorks series. Among them: AdventureWorks, AdventureWorks2008, AdventureWorks2012 (PRIMARY KEYs 71, FOREIGN KEYs 90), & AdventureWorksDW2012 (PRIMARY KEYs 27, FOREIGN KEYs 44). The last one is a data warehouse database which is the basis for multi-dimensional OLAP cubes. The book teaches through vivid database diagrams and T-SQL queries how to think in terms of sets at a very high level, focusing on set-based operations instead of loops like in procedural programming languages. In addition to quick learning , the best way to master relational database design & T-SQL programming is to type the query in your own SQL Server Management Studio Query Editor, test it, examine it, change it and study it. Wouldn't it be easier just to copy & paste it? It would, but the learning value would diminish rapidly. You need to feel relational database design and the SQL language in your DNA. SQL queries, "CREATE TABLEs" must "pour" out from your fingers into the keyboard. Why is knowing SQL queries by heart so important? After all everything can be found on the web so why not just copy & paste? Well not exactly. If you want to be an database designer expert, it has to be in your head not on the web. Second, when your supervisor is looking over your shoulder, "George, can you create a new table for our mobile devices inventory?", you have to be able to type the CREATE TABLE query without documentation or SQL forum search and explain how it will work to your superior promptly. The book was designed to be readable quickly in any environment, even on the beach laptop around or no laptop in sight at all. All queries are followed by results row count and /or full/partial results listing in tabular (grid) format. Screenshots are used when dealing with GUI tools such as SQL Server Management Studio. Mastery of the basic relational database design & T-SQL query book likely to be sufficient for career advancement as a database designer and database developer.