SQL book

FlorayG

Hi
can someone recommend a book ( that's a thing printed on paper btw) that is good for learning SQL and is up to date?
I can't do much online as I use a work laptop and it blocks external downloads but I can access some databases to practice on
thank you

DullGreyGuy

What level are you at now?
What are you aiming at?

Personally like the For Dummies series though know others prefers the Sams. Make sure you know which version you are buying as they update them every 5-7 years or so but if you are right at the basics of selects, joins etc then things haven't moved on vastly in the last decade or more (ignoring JSON)

FlorayG

Zero - I'm pretty good with Excel and am applying for an analyst job so need to learn it. I've got all the other required skills, I know the person who does this job now and the business wants a second person in the same job. He says all I need to be able to go right in and do it is SQL
I know everything on paper goes out of date very quickly which is why I'm asking for a recommendation

DullGreyGuy

FlorayG said:

I know everything on paper goes out of date very quickly which is why I'm asking for a recommendation

Other than it doesnt for core elements... as an analyst you most likely will just need to have a strong understanding of functions like Join and Group rather than being able to code stored procedures or understand about the cursor and T-SQL etc but your associate will be able to guide you. 

the SQL standards were created in 1986 and update about every 4 years but firstly most the changes are evolution not revolution and secondly most databased dont 100% conform to the standards. So in 2023's standards they introduced Greatest / Least as a new function but all dbs have had Min and Max functions that do the same for donkeys years. 

The 1992 revision was probably the last big one I recall which introduce time/date data types, case and temp tables but as an occasional analyst temp tables for me are normally there to deal with deficiencies in the original data design

400ixl

On the physical book piece, just host the file as a PDF or similar on the cloud and access it through a web browser. No need to download it onto your own work laptop.

The SQL for Dummies books (there are two by the same author) were last revised in 2019 so are up to date enough for a beginner.

Doshwaster

The basics of SQL haven't changed in many years (there are essentially only 4 basic commands) so any introductory book will get you started. I have a book from 20 years ago which I still refer to occasionally.

The problem with the next level is that each implementation of SQL is slightly different so there you are better off using online resources which are kept up to date.

400ixl

You may also want to look for something which also covers NoSQL databases as well.

Vitor

A book on SQL will include a lot of material that's less relevant to a data analyst. I'd suggest focussing on learning about extracting, transforming and loading data into Excel where just one category of data source is a relational database.

A book that covers Power Query with example of gathering data from relational database -
Excel Power Pivot & Power Query For Dummies: Amazon.co.uk: Alexander, Michael: 9781119844488: Books

For an overview iof SQL to fetch data - (1) SQL for Data Analysts and Data Scientists IN 1 HOUR - YouTube

LeafGreen

What DBMS are you using (MS Access, Microsoft SQL, Oracle, MySQL, MongoDB etc)?   Although there will be lots of similarities, there will be differences in features and syntax between different products.  It might be good to look for something specific to what you are working with.

bob_a_builder

Is a web site useful ? 

I used to use this one ( not just for SQL either) 
It allows you to practice code too 

https://www.w3schools.com/sql/default.asp

onomatopoeia99

O'Reilly are generally good (I have a few of theirs that I refer to) and they have a 'Learning SQL' book.  While I have to write some SQL, I haven't read it (or any othe r book on the subject) so can't give a recommendation.