Effective SQL brings together practical solutions and insights so you can solve complex problems with SQL and design databases that simplify data management in the future. It’s the only modern book that brings together advanced best practices and realistic example code for all of these versions of SQL: IBM DB2, Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle Database, and PostgreSQL.

Drawing on their immense experience as world-class database consultants and instructors, the authors identify 61 proven approaches to writing better SQL. Wherever SQL versions vary, the authors illuminate the key nuances, so you can get the most out of whatever version you prefer. This full-color guide provides clear, practical explanations; expert tips; and plenty of usable code. Going far beyond mere syntax, it addresses issues ranging from optimizing database designs to managing hierarchies and metadata. If you already know SQL’s basics, this guide will help you become a world-class SQL problem-solver.

• Craft better logical data models, and fix flawed models
• Implement indexes that improve query performance
• Handle external data from sources you don’t control
• Extract and aggregate the information you need, as efficiently as possible
• Write more flexible subqueries
• Analyze and retrieve metadata using your database platform of choice
• Use Cartesian Products and Tally Tables to solve problems you can’t address with conventional JOINs
• Model hierarchical data: managing SQL’s tradeoffs and shortcomings.

About The Author

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 six 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.

Douglas J. Steele has been working with computers, both mainframe and PC, for almost 45 years. (Yes, he did use punch cards in the beginning!) He worked for a large international oil company for more than 31 years before retiring in 2012. Databases and data modeling were a focus for most of that time, although he finished his career by developing the SCCM task sequence to roll Windows 7 out to over 100,000 computers worldwide.

Ben G. Clothier is a Solution Architect with IT Impact, Inc., a premier Access and SQL Server development shop based in Chicago, Illinois