Looking for a good book on SQL

Question

Was wondering if any one could recommend any and all books for learning more about SQL and DB concepts?

I found this one while browsing SO, but was wondering if anyone had other or more up to date recommendations?

Answer 1

Ben Forta's books are great for quick upto speed on sql subjects.

Answer 2

Rudy Limeback's book is also good for step by step learning SQL.

Answer 3

Here's one by the same publisher that you link to, but it's a much more recent edition:

Answer 4

If your'e already familiar with the basic construction of SQL queries, eg. SELECT <columns> FROM <tables> WHERE <conditions>, you may want to check out Anthony Mollinaro's SQL Cookbook from O'Reilly.

It could also be used for learning SQL if you go through the examples in the book sequentially. Chapter 1 talks about how to write even the most basic SELECT queries. The examples are for many different databases, and talk about lots of different problems you may need to solve. He even goes into some of the underlying math involved in the appendices.

This may not be exactly what you're looking for (as it assumes some prior knowledge), but I have found the book covers 99% of my SQL questions, and I don't see it mentioned too often, so I thought I'd put a plug for it here. I can't count the number of times people have come to me at work with SQL questions, and we've solved them by looking through an example in that book.

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Oops... I see that's the one mentioned in your original post. I second it then.

Answer 5

Joe Celko's SQL For Smarties is well worth a look as is Chris Date's Introduction to Database Systems.