February 5, 2013 at 7:07 am
I am from Non IT background. Want to learn SQL. I am reffering sql for dummies book.
i want to practice sql commands. How do i go about it. I find reading book really boring.
Can i learn it via practicing certain commands. What should i use to practice ?
February 5, 2013 at 8:21 am
If you want to learn the general SQL then you can get whatever your book is using,
lots of open source DB's and I think all vendors have an express edition that is free.
If you want to learn T-SQL then you can download SQL Server 2012 Express ADV edition (it's free) it'll have the SSMS with this version
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29062
Or if you're really serious about it buy the Developers edition for around $60
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/pd/SQL-Server-2012-Developer-Edition/productID.249344600/search.true"> http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/pd/SQL-Server-2012-Developer-Edition/productID.249344600/search.true
If you're looking for PL/SQL then you can get Oracle Express here:
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/products/express-edition/downloads/index.html
You're on your own for NoSQL but if you are interested start here or just Google NoSQL:
This forum is for SQL Server and T-SQL so if that's your cup of tea Welcome!
I like books from O'Reily most are pretty good I haven't found a book I didn't like. Besides they have cool animals on the cover.
Sams publishing has some good quick short learn by doing books (i.e. SQL in 24 hours).
Wrox is another good publisher for SQL books.
If you're new to databases in general I'd go find a book on Relational Theory's. Look for books by C.J. Date (Chris Date).
Also look around this forums articles, editorials, stairways series there's pretty good stuff once you get a bit of experience using SQL. There's also a newbie section somewhere here.
Good luck SQL is a lot of fun 🙂
---------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Hahn - MCSomething someday:-)
Right way to ask for help!!
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/
I post so I can see my avatar :hehe:
I want a personal webpage 😎
I want to win the lotto 😀
I want a gf like Tiffa :w00t: Oh wait I'm married!:-D
February 5, 2013 at 8:29 am
thanks....I m using sql for dummies 7th edition...but its really taking time since 2 days i m reading...too lenghty i want it fast ..... thnks a lot for lot of info....:-D
February 5, 2013 at 8:35 am
Best way to learn the basics is by doing. You've already been pointed out how to get a copy of SQL Server to play with. Next up, a project. Start building a database to management something in your house; movies, recipes, comics, something. You can work on the basics that way.
The bad news, if you REALLY want a career in IT, you need to learn to read books. While the medium of paper is dying, most of the in depth, technically edited for accuracy, vetted and approved information on the details of the language and structure of SQL Server is still in a recognizable thing we still refer to as books. You can learn a lot from online articles (but that's just like reading a section or a chapter of a book) and from blog posts (which, again, we're talking the same reading skills as comes from books), but you're still primarily going to be reading. The problem with articles and blogs is that they don't necessarily go through a technical review process. I try to test anything I post on my blog to ensure what I'm saying is accurate, but I get things wrong. So, your best bet is going to the books. Also, you're going to have to read the documentation provided by any language or toolset to understand how it works. Even if it's online, as SQL Server has it's documentation, it's back to reading.
So while you can get through the basics by pounding away at stuff, you can't learn the intermediate and advanced topics without documentation.
If you really hate reading, IT might be a lousy career choice.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
February 5, 2013 at 9:07 am
Grant Fritchey (2/5/2013)
Best way to learn the basics is by doing. You've already been pointed out how to get a copy of SQL Server to play with. Next up, a project. Start building a database to management something in your house; movies, recipes, comics, something. You can work on the basics that way.The bad news, if you REALLY want a career in IT, you need to learn to read books. While the medium of paper is dying, most of the in depth, technically edited for accuracy, vetted and approved information on the details of the language and structure of SQL Server is still in a recognizable thing we still refer to as books. You can learn a lot from online articles (but that's just like reading a section or a chapter of a book) and from blog posts (which, again, we're talking the same reading skills as comes from books), but you're still primarily going to be reading. The problem with articles and blogs is that they don't necessarily go through a technical review process. I try to test anything I post on my blog to ensure what I'm saying is accurate, but I get things wrong. So, your best bet is going to the books. Also, you're going to have to read the documentation provided by any language or toolset to understand how it works. Even if it's online, as SQL Server has it's documentation, it's back to reading.
So while you can get through the basics by pounding away at stuff, you can't learn the intermediate and advanced topics without documentation.
If you really hate reading, IT might be a lousy career choice.
+10 Amen to that. e-books count too if you really don't like paper cuts. Personally there's something about the weight and feel and smell of a bunch of paper stuck together to make a book that feels comforting, even with the occasional paper cuts. 😛
P.S.
If you really want a "quicky" the Sams 24 hour books are as quick as you can get, and like Grant said if you're looking for a career in IT you're going to read a LOT. There ain't no shortcuts to knowledge and that osmosis thing where you sleep on a book to absorb the knowledge DOES NOT WORK! God know's I've tried it. 😉
---------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Hahn - MCSomething someday:-)
Right way to ask for help!!
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/
I post so I can see my avatar :hehe:
I want a personal webpage 😎
I want to win the lotto 😀
I want a gf like Tiffa :w00t: Oh wait I'm married!:-D
February 5, 2013 at 9:21 am
Yea...You r right...i m trying to understand wat the database is..N i feel if i dont even know wats the
database, how do i go about learning further, i m just reading on and on..its really tough..as its so big
book and its not ending...i keep on counting pages :alien:
February 5, 2013 at 9:28 am
Grant Fritchey (2/5/2013)
Best way to learn the basics is by doing. You've already been pointed out how to get a copy of SQL Server to play with. Next up, a project. Start building a database to management something in your house; movies, recipes, comics, something. You can work on the basics that way.The bad news, if you REALLY want a career in IT, you need to learn to read books. While the medium of paper is dying, most of the in depth, technically edited for accuracy, vetted and approved information on the details of the language and structure of SQL Server is still in a recognizable thing we still refer to as books. You can learn a lot from online articles (but that's just like reading a section or a chapter of a book) and from blog posts (which, again, we're talking the same reading skills as comes from books), but you're still primarily going to be reading. The problem with articles and blogs is that they don't necessarily go through a technical review process. I try to test anything I post on my blog to ensure what I'm saying is accurate, but I get things wrong. So, your best bet is going to the books. Also, you're going to have to read the documentation provided by any language or toolset to understand how it works. Even if it's online, as SQL Server has it's documentation, it's back to reading.
So while you can get through the basics by pounding away at stuff, you can't learn the intermediate and advanced topics without documentation.
If you really hate reading, IT might be a lousy career choice.
-------------------------------------------------------------
this is really sad ...its hell of a reading...N i m not the one who read...but i have to ..
February 5, 2013 at 10:33 pm
If you've already got SQL Server and SSMS, the best way to learn is to try to solve some of the puzzles that come up on this forum!
You don't necessarily need to post your solutions but do so if for no other reason that it subscribes you to the thread so you see how others solve the same problems.
Learn to run your solutions vs. those posted by others with a reasonably large test harness to see which performs better. These links will help with that:
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Data+Generation/87901/
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Test+Data/88964/
Trust me that it won't take too long this way. Six months and you should be pretty competent at it.
My thought question: Have you ever been told that your query runs too fast?
My advice:
INDEXing a poor-performing query is like putting sugar on cat food. Yeah, it probably tastes better but are you sure you want to eat it?
The path of least resistance can be a slippery slope. Take care that fixing your fixes of fixes doesn't snowball and end up costing you more than fixing the root cause would have in the first place.
Need to UNPIVOT? Why not CROSS APPLY VALUES instead?[/url]
Since random numbers are too important to be left to chance, let's generate some![/url]
Learn to understand recursive CTEs by example.[/url]
[url url=http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/St
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