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SQL Queries for Mere Mortals®
Third Edition

A Hands-On Guide to Data Manipulation in SQL

John L. Viescas
Michael J. Hernandez

Upper Saddle River, NJ • Boston • Indianapolis • San Francisco •

New York • Toronto • Montreal • London • Munich • Paris • Madrid
Capetown • Sydney • Tokyo • Singapore • Mexico City
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their
products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book,
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2014939438
Copyright © 2014 John L. Viescas and Michael J. Hernandez
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is
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Fourth Printing: June 2015
Associate Publisher: Dave Dusthimer
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Senior Development Editor: Chris Cleveland
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Praise for SQL Queries for Mere Mortals®,
Third Edition
The good books show you how to do something. The great books enable you to
think clearly about how you can do it. This book is the latter. To really maximize
the potential of your database, thinking about data as a set is required and the
authors’ accessible writing really brings out the practical applications of SQL
and the set-based thinking behind it.
— Ben Clothier, Lead Developer at IT Impact, Inc., co-author of
Professional
Access 2013 Programming, and Microsoft Access MVP

Unless you are working at a very advanced level, this is the only SQL book you
will ever need. The authors have taken the mystery out of complex queries and
explained principles and techniques with such clarity that a “Mere Mortal” will
indeed be empowered to perform the superhuman. Do not walk past this book!
— Graham Mandeno, Database Consultant

It’s beyond brilliant! I have been working with SQL for a really long time and
the techniques presented in this book exposed some of the bad habits I picked up
over the years in my learning process. I wish I had learned these techniques a
long time ago and saved myself all the headaches of learning SQL the hard way.
Who said you can’t teach old dogs new tricks?
— Leo (theDBguy), Utter Access Moderator and Microsoft Access MVP

I learned SQL primarily from the first and second editions of this book, and I am
pleased to see a third edition of this book so that others can continue to benefit
from its organized presentation of the language. Starting from how to design
your tables so that SQL can be effective (a common problem for database
beginners), and then continuing through the various aspects of SQL construction
and capabilities, the reader can become a moderate expert upon completing the
book and its samples. Learning how to convert a question in English into a
meaningful SQL statement will greatly facilitate your mastery of the language.
Numerous examples from real life will help you visualize how to use SQL to
answer the questions about the data in your database. Just one of the “watch out
for this trap” items will save you more than the cost of the book when you avoid
that problem when writing your queries. I highly recommend this book if you
want to tap the full potential of your database.
— Kenneth D. Snell, Ph.D., Database Designer/Programmer

I don’t think they do this in public schools any more, and it is a shame, but do
you remember in the seventh and eighth grades when you learned to diagram a
sentence? Those of you who do may no longer remember how you did it, but all
of you do write better sentences because of it. John Viescas and Mike Hernandez
must have remembered because they take everyday English queries and literally
translate them into SQL. This is an important book for all database designers. It
takes the complexity of mathematical Set Theory and of First Order Predicate
Logic, as outlined in E. F. Codd’s original treatise on relational database design,
and makes it easy for anyone to understand. If you want an elementary through
intermediate-level course on SQL, this is the one book that is a requirement, no
matter how many others you buy.
— Arvin Meyer, MCP, MVP

SQL Queries for Mere Mortals, Third Edition, provides a step-by-step, easy-to-
read introduction to writing SQL queries. It includes hundreds of examples with
detailed explanations. This book provides the tools you need to understand,
modify, and create SQL queries.
— Keith W. Hare, Convenor, ISO/IEC JTC1 SC32 WG3
— the International SQL Standards Committee

Even in this day of wizards and code generators, successful database developers
still require a sound knowledge of Structured Query Language (SQL, the
standard language for communicating with most database systems). In this book,
John and Mike do a marvelous job of making what’s usually a dry and difficult
subject come alive, presenting the material with humor in a logical manner, with
plenty of relevant examples. I would say that this book should feature
prominently in the collection on the bookshelf of all serious developers, except
that I’m sure it’ll get so much use that it won’t spend much time on the shelf!
— Doug Steele, Microsoft Access Developer and author

I highly recommend SQL Queries for Mere Mortals to anyone working with
data. John makes it easy to learn one of the most critical aspects of working with
data: creating queries. Queries are the primary tool for selecting, sorting, and
reporting data. They can compensate for table structure, new reporting
requirements, and incorporate new data sources. SQL Queries for Mere Mortals
uses clear, easy to understand discussions and examples to take readers through
the basics and into complex problems. From novice to expert, you will find this
book to be an invaluable reference as you can apply the concepts to a myriad of
scenarios, regardless of the program.
— Teresa Hennig, Microsoft MVP-Access, and lead author of several
Access
books, including Professional Access 2013 Programming (Wrox)
Contents
Foreword
Preface
About the Authors
Introduction
Are You a Mere Mortal?
About This Book
What This Book Is Not
How to Use This Book
Reading the Diagrams Used in This Book
Sample Databases Used in This Book
“Follow the Yellow Brick Road”

Part I Relational Databases and SQL

Chapter 1 What Is Relational?

Types of Databases
A Brief History of the Relational Model
In the Beginning . . .
Relational Database Systems
Anatomy of a Relational Database
Tables
Fields
Records
Keys
Views
Relationships
What’s in It for You?
Where Do You Go from Here?
 Summary

Chapter 2 Ensuring Your Database Structure Is Sound

Why Is This Chapter Here?
Why Worry about Sound Structures?
Fine-Tuning Fields
What’s in a Name? (Part One)
Smoothing Out the Rough Edges
Resolving Multipart Fields
Resolving Multivalued Fields
Fine-Tuning Tables
What’s in a Name? (Part Two)
Ensuring a Sound Structure
Resolving Unnecessary Duplicate Fields
Identification Is the Key
Establishing Solid Relationships
Establishing a Deletion Rule
Setting the Type of Participation
Setting the Degree of Participation
Is That All?
Summary

Chapter 3 A Concise History of SQL

The Origins of SQL
Early Vendor Implementations
“. . . And Then There Was a Standard”
Evolution of the ANSI/ISO Standard
Other SQL Standards
Commercial Implementations
What the Future Holds
Why Should You Learn SQL?
Which Version of SQL Does This Book Cover?
Summary
Part II SQL Basics

Chapter 4 Creating a Simple Query

Introducing SELECT
The SELECT Statement
A Quick Aside: Data versus Information
Translating Your Request into SQL
Expanding the Field of Vision
Using a Shortcut to Request All Columns
Eliminating Duplicate Rows
Sorting Information
First Things First: Collating Sequences
Let’s Now Come to Order
Saving Your Work
Sample Statements
Summary
Problems for You to Solve

Chapter 5 Getting More Than Simple Columns

What Is an Expression?
What Type of Data Are You Trying to Express?
Changing Data Types: The CAST Function
Specifying Explicit Values
Character String Literals
Numeric Literals
Datetime Literals
Types of Expressions
Concatenation
Mathematical Expressions
Date and Time Arithmetic
Using Expressions in a SELECT Clause
Working with a Concatenation Expression
Naming the Expression
 Working with a Mathematical Expression
Working with a Date Expression
A Brief Digression: Value Expressions
That “Nothing” Value: Null
Introducing Null
The Problem with Nulls
Sample Statements
Summary
Problems for You to Solve

Chapter 6 Filtering Your Data

Refining What You See Using WHERE
The WHERE Clause
Using a WHERE Clause
Defining Search Conditions
Comparison
Range
Set Membership
Pattern Match
Null
Excluding Rows with NOT
Using Multiple Conditions
Introducing AND and OR
Excluding Rows: Take Two
Order of Precedence
Checking for Overlapping Ranges
Nulls Revisited: A Cautionary Note
Expressing Conditions in Different Ways
Sample Statements
Summary
Problems for You to Solve
Part III Working with Multiple Tables

Chapter 7 Thinking in Sets

What Is a Set, Anyway?
Operations on Sets
Intersection
Intersection in Set Theory
Intersection between Result Sets
Problems You Can Solve with an Intersection
Difference
Difference in Set Theory
Difference between Result Sets
Problems You Can Solve with Difference
Union
Union in Set Theory
Combining Result Sets Using a Union
Problems You Can Solve with Union
SQL Set Operations
Classic Set Operations versus SQL
Finding Common Values: INTERSECT
Finding Missing Values: EXCEPT (DIFFERENCE)
Combining Sets: UNION
Summary

Chapter 8 INNER JOINs

What Is a JOIN?
The INNER JOIN
What’s “Legal” to JOIN?
Column References
Syntax
Check Those Relationships!
Uses for INNER JOINs
Find Related Rows
 Find Matching Values
Sample Statements
Two Tables
More Than Two Tables
Looking for Matching Values
Summary
Problems for You to Solve

Chapter 9 OUTER JOINs

What Is an OUTER JOIN?
The LEFT/RIGHT OUTER JOIN
Syntax
The FULL OUTER JOIN
Syntax
FULL OUTER JOIN on Non-Key Values
UNION JOIN
Uses for OUTER JOINs
Find Missing Values
Find Partially Matched Information
Sample Statements
Summary
Problems for You to Solve

Chapter 10 UNIONs
What Is a UNION?
Writing Requests with UNION
Using Simple SELECT Statements
Combining Complex SELECT Statements
Using UNION More Than Once
Sorting a UNION
Uses for UNION
Sample Statements
Summary
 Problems for You to Solve

Chapter 11 Subqueries
What Is a Subquery?
Row Subqueries
Table Subqueries
Scalar Subqueries
Subqueries as Column Expressions
Syntax
An Introduction to Aggregate Functions: COUNT and MAX
Subqueries as Filters
Syntax
Special Predicate Keywords for Subqueries
Uses for Subqueries
Build Subqueries as Column Expressions
Use Subqueries as Filters
Sample Statements
Subqueries in Expressions
Subqueries in Filters
Summary
Problems for You to Solve

Part IV Summarizing and Grouping Data

Chapter 12 Simple Totals

Aggregate Functions
Counting Rows and Values with COUNT
Computing a Total with SUM
Calculating a Mean Value with AVG
Finding the Largest Value with MAX
Finding the Smallest Value with MIN
Using More Than One Function
Using Aggregate Functions in Filters
 Sample Statements
Summary
Problems for You to Solve

Chapter 13 Grouping Data

Why Group Data?
The GROUP BY Clause
Syntax
Mixing Columns and Expressions
Using GROUP BY in a Subquery in a WHERE Clause
Simulating a SELECT DISTINCT Statement
“Some Restrictions Apply”
Column Restrictions
Grouping on Expressions
Uses for GROUP BY
Sample Statements
Summary
Problems for You to Solve

Chapter 14 Filtering Grouped Data

A New Meaning of “Focus Groups”
Where You Filter Makes a Difference
Should You Filter in WHERE or in HAVING?
Avoiding the HAVING COUNT Trap
Uses for HAVING
Sample Statements
Summary
Problems for You to Solve

Part V Modifying Sets of Data

Chapter 15 Updating Sets of Data

What Is an UPDATE?
 The UPDATE Statement
Using a Simple UPDATE Expression
A Brief Aside: Transactions
Updating Multiple Columns
Using a Subquery to Filter Rows
Using a Subquery UPDATE Expression
Uses for UPDATE
Sample Statements
Summary
Problems for You to Solve

Chapter 16 Inserting Sets of Data

What Is an INSERT?
The INSERT Statement
Inserting Values
Generating the Next Primary Key Value
Inserting Data by Using SELECT
Uses for INSERT
Sample Statements
Summary
Problems for You to Solve

Chapter 17 Deleting Sets of Data

What Is a DELETE?
The DELETE Statement
Deleting All Rows
Deleting Some Rows
Uses for DELETE
Sample Statements
Summary
Problems for You to Solve

Part VI Introduction to Solving Tough Problems

Chapter 18 “NOT” and “AND” Problems
A Short Review of Sets
Sets with Multiple AND Criteria
Sets with Multiple NOT Criteria
Sets Including Some Criteria but Excluding Others
Finding Out the “Not” Case
Using OUTER JOIN
Using NOT IN
Using NOT EXISTS
Using GROUP BY/HAVING
Finding Multiple Matches in the Same Table
Using INNER JOIN
Using IN
Using EXISTS
Using GROUP BY/HAVING
Sample Statements
Summary
Problems for You to Solve

Chapter 19 Condition Testing

Conditional Expressions (CASE)
Why Use CASE?
Syntax
Solving Problems with CASE
Solving Problems with Simple CASE
Solving Problems with Searched CASE
Using CASE in a WHERE Clause
Sample Statements
Summary
Problems for You to Solve

Chapter 20 Using Unlinked Data and “Driver” Tables

What Is Unlinked Data?
 Deciding When to Use a CROSS JOIN
Solving Problems with Unlinked Data
Solving Problems Using “Driver” Tables
Setting Up a Driver Table
Using a Driver Table
Sample Statements
Examples Using Unlinked Tables
Examples Using Driver Tables
Summary
Problems for You to Solve

In Closing

Appendices

A SQL Standard Diagrams

B Schema for the Sample Databases

Sales Orders Example Database
Sales Orders Modify Database
Entertainment Agency Example Database
Entertainment Agency Modify Database
School Scheduling Example Database
School Scheduling Modify Database
Bowling League Example Database
Bowling League Modify Database
Recipes Database

C Date and Time Types, Operations, and Functions

IBM DB2
Microsoft Office Access
Microsoft SQL Server
MySQL
Oracle
D Suggested Reading
Database Books
Books on SQL

Index
Foreword
In the 25 years since the database language SQL was adopted as an international
standard, and the 30 years since SQL database products appeared on the market,
SQL has become the predominant language for storing, modifying, retrieving, and
deleting data. Today, a significant portion of the world’s data—and the world’s
economy—is tracked using SQL databases.
SQL is everywhere because it is a very powerful tool for manipulating data. It is in
high-performance transaction processing systems. It is behind Web interfaces. I’ve
even found SQL in network monitoring tools and spam firewalls.
Today, SQL can be executed directly, embedded in programming languages, and
accessed through call interfaces. It is hidden inside GUI development tools, code
generators, and report writers. However visible or hidden, the underlying queries are
SQL. Therefore, to understand existing applications and to create new ones, you
need to understand SQL.
SQL Queries for Mere Mortals, Third Edition, provides a step-by-step, easy-to-read
introduction to writing SQL queries. It includes hundreds of examples with detailed
explanations. This book provides the tools you need to understand, modify, and
create SQL queries.
As a database consultant and a participant in both the U.S. and international SQL
standards committees, I spend a lot of time working with SQL. So, it is with a certain
amount of authority that I state, “The authors of this book not only understand SQL,
they also understand how to explain it.” Both qualities make this book a valuable
resource.
—Keith W. Hare, Senior Consultant,
JCC Consulting, Inc.Vice Chair, INCITS DM32.2
—the USA SQL Standards Committee; Convenor, ISO/IEC JTC1 SC32
WG3
—the International SQL Standards Committee
Preface
“Language is by its very nature a communal thing; that is, it expresses
never the exact thing but a compromise—that which is common to you, me,
and everybody.”

—Thomas Ernest Hulme, Speculations

Learning how to retrieve information from or manipulate information in a database is

commonly a perplexing exercise. However, it can be a relatively easy task as long as
you understand the question you’re asking or the change you’re trying to make to the
database. After you understand the problem, you can translate it into the language
used by any database system, which in most cases is Structured Query Language
(SQL). You have to translate your request into an SQL statement so that your
database system knows what information you want to retrieve or change. SQL
provides the means for you and your database system to communicate.
Throughout our many years as database consultants, we’ve found that the number of
people who merely need to retrieve information from a database or perform simple
data modifications in a database far outnumber those who are charged with the task
of creating programs and applications for a database. Unfortunately, no books focus
solely on this subject, particularly from a “mere mortals” viewpoint. There are
numerous good books on SQL, to be sure, but most are targeted to database
programming and development.
With this in mind, we decided it was time to write a book that would help people
learn how to query a database properly and effectively. We produced the first edition
of this book in 2000. We created a second edition in 2008 that introduced basic ways
to change data in your database using SQL. With this new edition, we stepped lightly
into the realm of tougher problems—the sorts of problems that make the heads of
even experienced users spin around three times. The result of our efforts is in your
hands. This book is unique among SQL books in that it focuses on SQL with little
regard to any one specific database system implementation. This third edition
includes hundreds of new examples, and we included versions of the sample
databases using Microsoft Office Access, Microsoft SQL Server, and the popular
open-source MySQL database system. When you finish reading this book, you’ll
have the skills you need to retrieve or modify any information you require.

Acknowledgments
Writing a book such as this is always a cooperative effort. There are always editors,
colleagues, friends, and relatives willing to lend their support and provide valuable
advice when we need it the most. These people continually provide us with
encouragement, help us to remain focused, and motivate us to see this project
through to the end.
First and foremost, we want to thank our acquisitions editor, Joan Murray, for
helping us get signed up to produce this third edition. Thanks also to Developmental
Editor Chris Cleveland for shepherding us along the way. And we can’t forget
Production Editor Tonya Simpson and the production staff—they’re a great team!
Finally, thanks to Associate Publisher David Dusthimer, who put this team together
and kept a watchful eye over the entire process.
Next, we’d like to acknowledge our technical editor, Dale Wallentine. We also had
help from some of our database friends—Jeff Boyce, Ben Clothier, Henry
Habermacher, Leo theDBGuy, and Doug Steele. Thanks once again to all of you for
your time and input and for helping us to make this a solid treatise on SQL queries.
Finally, another very special thanks to Keith Hare for providing the Foreword. As
the Convenor of the International SQL Standards Committee, Keith is an SQL expert
par excellence. We have a lot of respect for Keith’s knowledge and expertise on the
subject, and we’re pleased to have his thoughts and comments at the beginning of
our book.
About the Authors

John L. Viescas is an independent database consultant with more than 45 years of

experience. He began his career as a systems analyst, designing large database
applications for IBM mainframe systems. He spent 6 years at Applied Data Research
in Dallas, Texas, where he directed a staff of more than 30 people and was
responsible for research, product development, and customer support of database
products for IBM mainframe computers. While working at Applied Data Research,
John completed a degree in business finance at the University of Texas at Dallas,
graduating cum laude.
John joined Tandem Computers, Inc., in 1988, where he was responsible for the
development and implementation of database marketing programs in Tandem’s U.S.
Western Sales region. He developed and delivered technical seminars on Tandem’s
relational database management system, NonStop SQL. John wrote his first book, A
Quick Reference Guide to SQL (Microsoft Press, 1989), as a research project to
document the similarities in the syntax among the ANSI-86 SQL standard, IBM’s
DB2, Microsoft’s SQL Server, Oracle Corporation’s Oracle, and Tandem’s NonStop
SQL. He wrote the first edition of Running Microsoft Access (Microsoft Press, 1992)
while on sabbatical from Tandem. He has since written four editions of Running,
three editions of Microsoft Office Access Inside Out (Microsoft Press, 2003, 2007,
and 2010—the successor to the Running series), and Building Microsoft Access
Applications (Microsoft Press, 2005).
John formed his own company in 1993. He provides information systems
management consulting for a variety of small to large businesses around the world,
with a specialty in the Microsoft Access and SQL Server database management
products. He maintains offices in Nashua, New Hampshire, and Paris, France. He
has been recognized as a “Most Valuable Professional” (MVP) since 1993 by
Microsoft Product Support Services for his assistance with technical questions on
public support forums. He set a landmark 20 consecutive years as an MVP in 2013.
You can visit John’s Web site at www.viescas.com or contact him by e-mail at
[email protected].

Michael J. Hernandez has been an independent relational database consultant

specializing in relational database design. He has more than 20 years of experience
in the technology industry, developing database applications for a wide variety of
clients. He’s been a contributing author to a wide variety of magazine columns,
white papers, books, and periodicals, and is coauthor of the best-selling SQL Queries
for Mere Mortals. Mike has been a top-rated and noted technical trainer for the
government, the military, the private sector, and companies throughout the United
States. He has spoken at numerous national and international conferences, and has
consistently been a top-rated speaker and presenter.
Aside from his technical background, Mike has a diverse set of skills and interests
that he also pursues, ranging from the artistic to the metaphysical. His greatest
interest is still the guitar, as he’s been a practicing guitarist for more than 40 years
and played professionally for 15 years. He’s also a working actor, a great cook, loves
to teach (writing, public speaking, music), has a gift for bad puns, and even reads
Tarot cards.
He says he’s never going to retire, per se, but rather just change whatever it is he’s
doing whenever he finally gets tired of it and move on to something else that
interests him.
Introduction
“I presume you’re mortal, and may err.”

—James Shirley, The Lady of Pleasure

If you’ve used a computer more than casually, you have probably used Structured
Query Language or SQL—perhaps without even knowing it. SQL is the standard
language for communicating with most database systems. Any time you import data
into a spreadsheet or perform a merge into a word processing program, you’re most
likely using SQL in some form or another. Every time you go online to an e-
commerce site on the Web and place an order for a book, a recording, a movie, or
any of the dozens of other products you can order, there’s a very high probability
that the code behind the web page you’re using is accessing its databases with SQL.
If you need to get information from a database system that uses SQL, you can
enhance your understanding of the language by reading this book.

Are You a Mere Mortal?

You might ask, “Who is a mere mortal? Me?” The answer is not simple. When we
started to write this book, we thought we were experts in the database language
called SQL. Along the way, we discovered we were mere mortals, too, in several
areas. We understood a few specific implementations of SQL very well, but we
unraveled many of the complex intricacies of the language as we studied how it is
used in many commercial products. So, if you fit any of the following descriptions,
you’re a mere mortal too!
• If you use computer applications that let you access information from a
database system, you’re probably a mere mortal. The first time you don’t get
the information you expected using the query tools built in to your application,
you’ll need to explore the underlying SQL statements to find out why.
• If you have recently discovered one of the many available desktop database
applications but are struggling with defining and querying the data you need,
you’re a mere mortal.
• If you’re a database programmer who needs to “think outside of the box” to
solve some complex problems, you’re a mere mortal.
• If you’re a database guru in one product but are now faced with integrating the
data from your existing system into another system that supports SQL, you’re a
mere mortal.
In short, anyone who has to use a database system that supports SQL can use this
book. As a beginning database user who has just discovered that the data you need
can be fetched using SQL, you will find that this book teaches you all the basics and
more. For an expert user who is suddenly faced with solving complex problems or
integrating multiple systems that support SQL, this book will provide insights into
leveraging the complex abilities of the SQL database language.

About This Book

Everything you read in this book is based on the current International Organization
for Standardization (ISO) Standard for the SQL database language –
SQL/Foundation (document ISO/IEC 9075-2:2011), as currently implemented in
most of the popular commercial database systems. The ISO document was also
adopted by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), so this is truly an
international standard. The SQL you’ll learn here is not specific to any particular
software product.
As you’ll learn in more detail in Chapter 3, “A Concise History of SQL,” the SQL
Standard defines both more and less than you’ll find implemented in most
commercial database products. Most database vendors have yet to implement many
of the more advanced features, but most do support the core of the standard.
We researched a wide range of popular products to make sure that you can use what
we’re teaching in this book. Where we found parts of the core of the language not
supported by some major products, we warn you in the text and show you alternate
ways to state your database requests in standard SQL. When we found significant
parts of the SQL Standard supported by only a few vendors, we introduced you to
the syntax and then suggested alternatives.
We have organized this book into six major sections:
• Part I, “Relational Databases and SQL,” explains how modern database
systems are based on a rigorous mathematical model and provides a brief
history of the database query language that has evolved into what we know as
SQL. We also discuss some simple rules that you can use to make sure your
database design is sound.
• Part II, “SQL Basics,” introduces you to using the SELECT statement, creating
expressions, and sorting information with an ORDER BY clause. You’ll also
learn how to filter data by using a WHERE clause.
• Part III, “Working with Multiple Tables,” shows you how to formulate queries
that draw data from more than one table. Here we show you how to link tables
in a query using the INNER JOIN, OUTER JOIN, and UNION operators, and
how to work with subqueries.
 • Part IV, “Summarizing and Grouping Data,” discusses how to obtain summary
information and group and filter summarized data. Here is where you’ll learn
about the GROUP BY and HAVING clauses.
• Part V, “Modifying Sets of Data,” explains how to write queries that modify a
set of rows in your tables. In the chapters in this section, you’ll learn how to
use the UPDATE, INSERT, and DELETE statements.
• Part VI, “Introduction to Solving Tough Problems,” dips your toes into more
complex problems. In the chapters in this section, you’ll expand your horizons
to include solving complex “NOT” and “AND” problems (multiple conditions
on one table), performing logical evaluations with CASE, and thinking
“outside the box” using “unlinked” tables (Cartesian Products).
At the end of the book in the appendices, you’ll find syntax diagrams for all the SQL
elements you’ve learned, layouts of the sample databases, a list of date and time
manipulation functions implemented in five of the major database systems, and book
recommendations to further your study of SQL. You can download the five sample
databases for the three database systems (Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL Server,
and MySQL) from www.informit.com/title/9780321992475 and clicking the
Downloads tab.

What This Book Is Not

Although this book is based on the 2011 SQL Standard that was current at the time
of this writing, it does not cover every aspect of the standard. In truth, many features
in the 2011 SQL Standard won’t be implemented for many years—if at all—in the
major database system implementations. The fundamental purpose of this book is to
give you a solid grounding in writing queries in SQL. Throughout the book, you’ll
find us recommending that you “consult your database documentation” for how a
specific feature might or might not work. That’s not to say we covered only the
lowest common denominator for any feature among the major database systems. We
do try to caution you when some systems implement a feature differently or not at
all.
You’ll find it difficult to create other than simple queries using a single table if your
database design is flawed. We included a chapter on database design to help you
identify when you will have problems, but that one chapter includes only the basic
principles. A thorough discussion of database design principles and how to
implement a design in a specific database system is beyond the scope of this book.
This book is also not about how to solve a problem in the most efficient way. As you
work through many of the later chapters, you’ll find we suggest more than one way
to solve a particular problem. In some cases where writing a query in a particular
way is likely to have performance problems on any system, we try to warn you about
it. But each database system has its own strengths and weaknesses. After you learn
the basics, you’ll be ready to move on to digging into the particular database system
you use to learn how to formulate your query solutions so that they run in a more
optimal manner.

How to Use This Book

We have designed the chapters in this book to be read in sequence. Each succeeding
chapter builds on concepts taught in earlier chapters. However, you can jump into
the middle of the book without getting lost. For example, if you are already familiar
with the basic clauses in a SELECT statement and want to learn more about JOINs,
you can jump right in to Chapters 7, “Thinking in Sets,” 8, “INNER JOINs,” and 9,
“OUTER JOINs.”
At the end of many of the chapters you’ll find an extensive set of “Sample
Statements,” their solutions, and sample result sets. We recommend that you study
several of the samples to gain a better understanding of the techniques involved and
then try working out some of the later “Problems for You to Solve” yourself without
looking at the solutions we propose.
Note that where a particular query returns dozens of rows in the result set, we show
you only the first few rows to give you an idea of how the answer should look. You
might not see the exact same result on your system, however, because each database
system that supports SQL has its own optimizer that figures out the fastest way to
solve the query. Also, the first few rows you see returned by your database system
might not exactly match the first few we show you unless the query contains an
ORDER BY clause that requires the rows to be returned in a specific sequence.
We’ve also included a complete set of problems for you to solve on your own, which
you’ll find at the end of most chapters. This gives you the opportunity to really
practice what you’ve just learned in the chapter. Don’t worry—the solutions are
included in the sample databases that you can download from the book’s website.
We’ve also included hints on those problems that might be a little tricky.
After you have worked your way through the entire book, you’ll find the complete
SQL diagrams in Appendix A, “SQL Standard Diagrams,” to be an invaluable
reference for all the SQL techniques we showed you. You will also be able to use the
sample database layouts in Appendix B, “Schema for the Sample Databases,” to help
you design your own databases.

Reading the Diagrams Used in This Book

The numerous diagrams throughout the book illustrate the proper syntax for the
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