Why buy this book? Like many people, I also ask this question before spending my hard-earned bucks. In the existence of free web material and many well-written comprehensive books, this question gets more weight. SQL is older than most of us, so I can't claim to be conveying some extraordinary stuff through this book. What makes this title unique is its slender size. If you are looking for a real compact practical guide on SQL, then this book is for you. For beginners, I have tried to confine an ocean to a bucket in order to equip them with SQL knowledge in the shortest time possible. SQL language is too voluminous and exposure of every aspect of this huge language is a very tedious task. Keeping aside the least utilized features, this book is rolled out to focus on the more operational areas of the language. It is meant to help you learn SQL quickly by yourself. It follows a tutorial approach wherein hundreds of hands-on exercises are provided, augmented with illustrations, to teach you SQL in a short period of time. Without any exaggeration, the book will expose SQL in record time. The book explicitly covers a free platform of the world's number 1 DBMS to expose SQL: Oracle Database Express Edition. I have chosen Oracle XE because it is free to develop, deploy, and distribute; fast to download; and simple to administer. The second important reason, that might attract you as well, is that it comes bundled with Oracle Application Express (APEX), a rapid application development tool for creating internet facing applications that can be accessed via desktops, laptops, and mobile devices (such as smart phones and tablets). Once you have become proficient with the SQL language on this platform, you can easily explore other platforms on your own. In addition to Oracle, the following renowned database management systems are also covered: - MySQL - SQLite - Microsoft SQL Server - IBM DB2 - Microsoft Access - PostgreSQL - MariaDB This book is ideal for self-study, and it can also be used as a guide for instructor-led classroom training. This book is designed in such a way that you can learn SQL even if you do not have access to your PC. At the end of each chapter in this book, a section named "Test Your Skill" is provided, which evaluates the knowledge you gained in each chapter. This work is an attempt to cram the most useful information about SQL into a compact guide to put your exploration vehicle in the top gear.
Riaz Ahmed is an IT professional with more than 23 years experience. He started his career in early 90's as a programmer, and has been employed in a wide variety of information technology positions, including analyst programmer, system analyst, project manager, data architect, database designer and senior database administrator. Currently he is working as head of IT for a group of companies. His core areas of interest include web-based development technologies, business intelligence, and databases. Riaz possesses extensive experience in database design and development. Besides all versions of Oracle, he has worked intensively in almost all the major RDBMS on the market today. During his career he designed and implemented numerous databases for a wide range of applications, including ERP. In addition to the best-selling title Create Rapid Web Applications Using Oracle Application Express (two editions), he has authored Implement Oracle Business Intelligence, The Web Book - Build Static and Dynamic Websites, and SQL - The Shortest Route For Beginners.
