The Fifth Edition of Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 21 Days More than 48,000 sold!   In just one hour a day, you’ll have all the skills you need to begin creating effective SQL queries, reports, and database applications. With this complete tutorial, you’ll quickly master the basics and then move on to more advanced features and concepts:   Quickly apply essential SQL techniques in useful, real-world queries Design trustworthy, high-performance databases Manipulate your data with views and transactions Leverage powerful features including stored procedures, triggers, and cursors Work with new objects introduced with the latest SQL standards Get practical, expert tips on implementing SQL in your business environment   Learn on your own time, at your own pace No previous SQL or database experience required Learn techniques that work with any current version of SQL Discover how to write faster, more efficient queries Secure your data using best practices from experienced database administrators Build more powerful databases with features exclusive to Oracle SQL*Plus, Oracle PL/SQL, and Microsoft Transact-SQL Write queries for the free, open source MySQL database Embed your SQL code in other applications   Ryan Stephens and Ron Plew are President and VP of Perpetual Technologies, Inc. (PTI) in Indianapolis, IN, providing managed services and consulting for top database implementations running Oracle, SQL Server, and other leading technologies. They taught for 5+ years as adjunct professors at Indiana University-Purdue University. Their books include Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 24 Hours, First through Fourth Editions, Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 21 Days, Second through Fourth Editions, and Database Design.   Table of Contents   Introduction  1   PART I: Introducing SQL   LESSON 1: Getting Started with SQL     5      A Brief History of SQL     5      A Brief History of Databases     6      Today’s Database Landscape     11      A Cross-Product Language     12          Early Implementations     12          SQL and Client/Server Application Development     13     An Overview of SQL     13     Popular SQL Implementations     14          MySQL     14          Oracle     14          Microsoft SQL Server and Sybase     15          IBM DB2     16     Open Database Connectivity     16     Embedding SQL in Application Programming     17   LESSON 2: Introducing the Query     21     Exploring SQL’s Background     21     Learning Basic Query Syntax     22     The Building Blocks of Data Retrieval: SELECT and FROM     23     Applying Query Concepts     25     Writing Your First Query     26          Terminating a SQL Statement     28          Selecting Individual Columns     28          Changing the Order of the Columns     29          Selecting Different Tables     31     Selecting Distinct Values     31          Exercises  37   LESSON 3: Expressions, Conditions, and Operators     39     Working with Query Expressions     40     Placing Conditions on Queries     40     Learning How to Use Operators     42         Arithmetic Operators     42         Comparison Operators     55         Character Operators     63         Logical Operators     70         Set Operators     75         Miscellaneous Operators: IN and BETWEEN     78   LESSON 4: Clauses in SQL Queries     85     Specifying Criteria with the WHERE Clause     87     Order from Chaos: The ORDER BY Clause     89     The GROUP BY Clause     98     The HAVING Clause     105     Combining Clauses     112         Example 4.1     112         Example 4.2     113         Example 4.3     113         Example 4.4     115   LESSON 5: Joining Tables     121     Joining Multiple Tables in a Single SELECT Statement     121         Cross Joining Tables     123         Finding the Correct Column     128     Joining Tables Based on Equality     129     Joining Tables Based on Nonequality     137     OUTER JOINs Versus INNER JOINs     139     Joining a Table to Itself: The Self Join     143   LESSON 6: Embedding Subqueries into Queries     151     Building a Subquery     153     Using Aggregate Functions with Subqueries     160     Nesting Subqueries     162     Referencing Outside with Correlated Subqueries     166     Using EXISTS, ANY, and ALL     169   LESSON 7: Molding Data with Built-in Functions     179     Using Aggregate Functions to Summarize Data     180          COUNT     180          SUM     181          AVG     182          MAX     184          MIN     185  &nb...

The Fifth Edition of Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 21 Days More than 48,000 sold!   In just one hour a day, you’ll have all the skills you need to begin creating effective SQL queries, reports, and database applications. With this complete tutorial, you’ll quickly master the basics and then move on to more advanced features and concepts:   Quickly apply essential SQL techniques in useful, real-world queries Design trustworthy, high-performance databases Manipulate your data with views and transactions Leverage powerful features including stored procedures, triggers, and cursors Work with new objects introduced with the latest SQL standards Get practical, expert tips on implementing SQL in your business environment   Learn on your own time, at your own pace No previous SQL or database experience required Learn techniques that work with any current version of SQL Discover how to write faster, more efficient queries Secure your data using best practices from experienced database administrators Build more powerful databases with features exclusive to Oracle SQL*Plus, Oracle PL/SQL, and Microsoft Transact-SQL Write queries for the free, open source MySQL database Embed your SQL code in other applications   Ryan Stephens and Ron Plew are President and VP of Perpetual Technologies, Inc. (PTI) in Indianapolis, IN, providing managed services and consulting for top database implementations running Oracle, SQL Server, and other leading technologies. They taught for 5+ years as adjunct professors at Indiana University-Purdue University. Their books include Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 24 Hours, First through Fourth Editions, Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 21 Days, Second through Fourth Editions, and Database Design.   Table of Contents   Introduction  1   PART I: Introducing SQL   LESSON 1: Getting Started with SQL     5      A Brief History of SQL     5      A Brief History of Databases     6      Today’s Database Landscape     11      A Cross-Product Language     12          Early Implementations     12          SQL and Client/Server Application Development     13     An Overview of SQL     13     Popular SQL Implementations     14          MySQL     14          Oracle     14          Microsoft SQL Server and Sybase     15          IBM DB2     16     Open Database Connectivity     16     Embedding SQL in Application Programming     17   LESSON 2: Introducing the Query     21     Exploring SQL’s Background     21     Learning Basic Query Syntax     22     The Building Blocks of Data Retrieval: SELECT and FROM     23     Applying Query Concepts     25     Writing Your First Query     26          Terminating a SQL Statement     28          Selecting Individual Columns     28          Changing the Order of the Columns     29          Selecting Different Tables     31     Selecting Distinct Values     31          Exercises  37   LESSON 3: Expressions, Conditions, and Operators     39     Working with Query Expressions     40     Placing Conditions on Queries     40     Learning How to Use Operators     42         Arithmetic Operators     42         Comparison Operators     55         Character Operators     63         Logical Operators     70         Set Operators     75         Miscellaneous Operators: IN and BETWEEN     78   LESSON 4: Clauses in SQL Queries     85     Specifying Criteria with the WHERE Clause     87     Order from Chaos: The ORDER BY Clause     89     The GROUP BY Clause     98     The HAVING Clause     105     Combining Clauses     112         Example 4.1     112         Example 4.2     113         Example 4.3     113         Example 4.4     115   LESSON 5: Joining Tables     121     Joining Multiple Tables in a Single SELECT Statement     121         Cross Joining Tables     123         Finding the Correct Column     128     Joining Tables Based on Equality     129     Joining Tables Based on Nonequality     137     OUTER JOINs Versus INNER JOINs     139     Joining a Table to Itself: The Self Join     143   LESSON 6: Embedding Subqueries into Queries     151     Building a Subquery     153     Using Aggregate Functions with Subqueries     160     Nesting Subqueries     162     Referencing Outside with Correlated Subqueries     166     Using EXISTS, ANY, and ALL     169   LESSON 7: Molding Data with Built-in Functions     179     Using Aggregate Functions to Summarize Data     180          COUNT     180          SUM     181          AVG     182          MAX     184          MIN     185  &nb...