SQL for Smarties was hailed as the first book devoted explicitly to the advanced techniques needed to transform an experienced SQL programmer into an expert. Now, 10 years later and in the third edition, this classic still reigns supreme as the book written by an SQL master that teaches future SQL masters. These are not just tips and techniques; Joe also offers the best solutions to old and new challenges and conveys the way you need to think in order to get the most out of SQL programming efforts for both correctness and performance.

In the third edition, Joe features new examples and updates to SQL-99, expanded sections of Query techniques, and a new section on schema design, with the same war-story teaching style that made the first and second editions of this book classics.

* Expert advice from a noted SQL authority and award-winning columnist, who has given ten years of service to the ANSI SQL standards committee and many more years of dependable help to readers of online forums.
* Teaches scores of advanced techniques that can be used with any product, in any SQL environment, whether it is an SQL-92 or SQL-99 environment.
* Offers tips for working around system deficiencies.
* Continues to use war stories--updated!--that give insights into real-world SQL programming challenges....

Joe Celko has looked deep into the code of SQL programmers and found a consistent and troubling pattern - a frightening lack of consistency between their individual encoding schemes and those of the industries in which they operate. This translates into a series of incompatible databases, each one an island unto itself that is unable to share information with others in an age of internationalization and business interdependence. Such incompatibility severely hinders information flow and the quality of company data.

Data, Measurements and Standards in SQL reveals the shift these programmers need to make to overcome this deadlock. By collecting and detailing the diverse standards of myriad industries, and then giving a declaration for the units that can be used in an SQL schema, Celko enables readers to write and implement portable data that can interface to any number of external application systems!

This book doesn't limit itself to one subject, but serves as a detailed synopsis of measurement scales and data standards for all industries, thereby giving RDBMS programmers and designers the knowledge and know-how they need to communicate effectively across business boundaries.

* Collects and details the diverse data standards of myriad industries under one cover, thereby creating a definitive, one-stop-shopping opportunity for database programmers.

* Enables readers to write and implement portable data that can interface to any number external application systems, allowing readers to cross business boundaries and move up the career ladder.

* Expert advice from one of the most-read SQL authors in the world who is well known for his ten years of service on the ANSI SQL standards committee and Readers Choice Award winning column in Intelligent Enterprise.
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Perfectly intelligent programmers often struggle when forced to work with SQL. Why? Joe Celko believes the problem lies with their procedural programming mindset, which keeps them from taking full advantage of the power of declarative languages. The result is overly complex and inefficient code, not to mention lost productivity.

This book will change the way you think about the problems you solve with SQL programs.. Focusing on three key table-based techniques, Celko reveals their power through detailed examples and clear explanations. As you master these techniques, you'll find you are able to conceptualize problems as rooted in sets and solvable through declarative programming. Before long, you'll be coding more quickly, writing more efficient code, and applying the full power of SQL

. Filled with the insights of one of the world's leading SQL authorities - noted for his knowledge and his ability to teach what he knows.

. Focuses on auxiliary tables (for computing functions and other values by joins), temporal tables (for temporal queries, historical data, and audit information), and virtual tables (for improved performance).

. Presents clear guidance for selecting and correctly applying the right table technique....