Practical SQL, 2nd Edition: A Beginner's Guide to Storytelling with Data

Second edition of the best-selling Practical SQL. An approachable guide to programming in SQL (Structured Query Language) that will teach even beginning programmers how to build powerful databases and analyze data to find meaningful information.

Practical SQL is an approachable and fast-paced guide to SQL (Structured Query Language), the standard programming language for defining, organizing, and exploring data in relational databases. A journalist by profession, the author focuses on using SQL to find the story your data tells. The book uses the popular open-source database PostgreSQL as its primary tool, though the skills learned are applicable to most database management systems.

You'll first cover the fundamentals of databases and the SQL language, then build skills by analyzing data from real-world datasets, like the U.S. Census, New York City cab data, and the National Farmers' Market Directory. With exercises and examples in each chapter, this book will teach even those who have never programmed before all the tools necessary to build powerful databases and access information quickly and efficiently.

You'll learn how to-
. Create databases and related tables using your own data

. Aggregate, sort, and filter data to find patterns

. Use functions for basic math and advanced statistical operations

. Identify errors in data and clean them up

. Write queries for geographic information systems (GIS)

. Create advanced queries and automate tasks


This updated second edition has been thoroughly revised to reflect the latest in SQL code and practices. In particular, this edition provides more thorough instructions to get your system set up, a new chapter on working with the popular JSON data format that's portable across systems, improved examples that use the latest data and techniques, and new syntax and techniques for dealing with data.

Learning SQL doesn't have to be dry and complicated. Practical SQL delivers clear examples with an easy-to-follow approach to teach you the tools you need to build and manage your own databases.