Learning SQL queries

https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E11882_01/server.112/e40540/sqllangu.htm#CNCPT88899

I would also suggest seeing if someone has created a short online tutorial somewhere. It should be possible to install a developer or trial version of oracle on your own machine, import a tutorial/sample database and work through the tutorial.

ciangk wrote: »

SQL is not too difficult.
It's pretty easy!

Its easy until you start having to troubleshoot some idiots 1000 line query with unnecessary unions and joins.

Aswerty wrote: »

The idea that SQL is easy is one of my bugbears. It's like saying C is easy because you can write an Hello World application. SQL is as complex, or even more so considering domain logic is baked in, as any other main stream language.

In terms of courses, Pluralsight seems decent enough – I used their free trial for some other stuff and was pretty happy with the quality of course content. This http://www.pluralsight.com/courses/introduction-to-sql course seems to be well suited to a beginner in SQL. The free trial is 10 days though you have to use a credit card and cancel before the trial is over so you don't get charged.

Just note that many databases have their own flavour of SQL. So for Oracle it is PL/SQL - though they're all pretty similar especially for the less advanced stuff.

In my 25 years in IT never heard anyone calling C easy And I remember abandoning its "easiness" in favour of Pascal in the University.

As regards SQL, it IS relatively easy (for sure, comparing to C and other low level languages). I mean, ANSI SQL. It is different from PL/SQL which is an Oracle procedural extension to ANSI SQL. PL/SQL deals with variables, collections, conditions, exceptions, and other non native SQL constructs while SQL (even in Oracle) is really about DDL (Data Definition Language) and DML (Data Manipulation Language) statements on the table level.

For the OP, try to abstract from Oracle specifics for the beginning. Use just basic ANSI SQL CRUD (create, read, update and delete) commands - it should give you a gentle intro into the relational DBMS world. Only when you get comfortable with the fundamentals of SQL, you should consider moving to the next, PL/SQL step. This is where the heavy programming starts in the Oracle world with things like functions, procedures, packages and triggers getting under (or out of) your control.

none wrote: »

In my 25 years in IT never heard anyone calling C easy And I remember abandoning its "easiness" in favour of Pascal in the University.

As regards SQL, it IS relatively easy (for sure, comparing to C and other low level languages). I mean, ANSI SQL. It is different from PL/SQL which is an Oracle procedural extension to ANSI SQL. PL/SQL deals with variables, collections, conditions, exceptions, and other non native SQL constructs while SQL (even in Oracle) is really about DDL (Data Definition Language) and DML (Data Manipulation Language) statements on the table level.

For the OP, try to abstract from Oracle specifics for the beginning. Use just basic ANSI SQL CRUD (create, read, update and delete) commands - it should give you a gentle intro into the relational DBMS world. Only when you get comfortable with the fundamentals of SQL, you should consider moving to the next, PL/SQL step. This is where the heavy programming starts in the Oracle world with things like functions, procedures, packages and triggers getting under (or out of) your control.

I didn't say C was easy I was saying SQL was only easy if you just do the basics which is the same for any other language including C. And I stand by that statement.