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SQL in a Nutshell (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) |  | Authors: Kevin Kline, Brand Hunt, Daniel Kline
Publisher: O'Reilly Media
Category: Book
List Price: $44.99
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Rating:  45 reviews
Media: Paperback
Edition: 3
Pages: 592
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.1 x 1.4
ISBN: 0596518846
Dewey Decimal Number: 005
EAN: 9780596518844
Publication Date: November 25, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
SQL in a Nutshell applies the classic O'Reilly "Nutshell" format to Structured Query Language (SQL), the elegant descriptive language that's used to create and manipulate stores of data. This book explains the purpose and proper syntax of hundreds of SQL statements, as defined in four major SQL implementations, and details each entry with explanatory text and illustrative examples. Perhaps best of all, authors Kevin and Daniel Kline feature MySQL in their coverage, and give it billing that's equal to that of Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, and PostgreSQL. Their inclusion of open-source MySQL, which in most situations carries no license fee, is recognition of its growing popularity and suitability for serious database applications; also, it improves this book's appeal to Unix and Linux developers. The majority of this slender book comprises eminently useful syntax documentation (which is in the style of Unix man pages, with bracketed options and monospace arguments) and the other information that's specific to individual statements and functions. Additionally, it includes a relatively small amount of conceptual information, such as a section on the proper use of NULL values. The material that's not statement-specific also contrasts data-type implementations of the four covered platforms--for example, readers learn that a PostgreSQL int2 value is known as a smallint in ANSI standard SQL. This is a particularly handy reference book, if you use one of the emphasized SQL implementations. --David Wall Topics covered: Structured Query Language (SQL), as implemented in Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, and PostgreSQL, as well as in ANSI standard SQL (SQL92 and SQL99). After an introduction to data types and relational database fundamentals (the latter is not emphasized), the authors document SQL statements and functions, one by one and alphabetically. They take care to point out differences among the four implementations.
Product Description
For programmers, analysts, and database administrators, SQL in a Nutshell is the essential reference for the SQL language used in today's most popular database products. This new edition clearly documents every SQL command according to the latest ANSI standard, and details how those commands are implemented in Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Oracle 11g, and the MySQL 5.1 and PostgreSQL 8.3 open source database products. You'll also get a concise overview of the Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) model, and a clear-cut explanation of foundational RDBMS concepts -- all packed into a succinct, comprehensive, and easy-to-use format. This book provides: - Background on the Relational Database Model, including current and previous SQL standards
- Fundamental concepts necessary for understanding relational databases and SQL commands
- An alphabetical command reference to SQL statements, according to the SQL2003 ANSI standard
- The implementation of each command by MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server
- An alphabetical reference of the ANSI SQL2003 functions, as well as the vendor implementations
- Platform-specific functions unique to each implementation
Beginning where vendor documentation ends, SQL in a Nutshell distills the experiences of professional database administrators and developers who have used SQL variants to support complex enterprise applications. Whether SQL is new to you, or you've been using SQL since its earliest days, you'll get lots of new tips and techniques in this book.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 45
 Disappointing July 13, 2010
Klausness
I purchased this book because I work with several different database platforms, and I wanted a thorough reference that covered the syntax differences between platforms. That seems to be exactly what this book intends to be. Unfortunately, while it does do a good job with what it covers, there are topics that are not covered, with no indication that anything is missing. For example, common table expressions (WITH clauses in SELECT statements), which are included in the SQL-99 standard and have been supported by DB2 for quite a while, are not even mentioned. I have the second edition, and perhaps common table expressions have been added in the third edition (since SQL Server, Oracle, and PostgreSQL now support them, too), but that edition is not useful for me because DB2 coverage has been inexplicably removed. So, while this is still a useful book, it's not up to the usual high standards of O'Reilly's Nutshell series.
Good, for the right reader May 30, 2010
wiredweird (Earth, or somewhere nearby)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
That reader wants to use every bell and whistle available, to the the absolute max that the query language has to offer. That reader, however, is dismally aware that different SQL implementations offer different visions of what "the max" is. In order to meet that reader's needs, this book gives the finest level of detail in describing and comparing four commonly used systems. It shows how they differ from each other and from the vendor-neutral standard they hold as a common base. Whether your goal is to embrace or avoid the unique features of each, this presents the experienced SQL-er with their full feature set.
But, if you're trying to learn SQL (or, like me, re-learn it after many years away), this might not meet your needs. It presumes complete mastery of the basics, rather than spelling them out and showing how they work. Decide what you want from an SQL book. This meets some needs extraordinarily well, but really doesn't address others - including mine.
-- wiredweird
Helpful SQL guide regardless of DB vendor May 27, 2010
Dallas Marks (Oxford, OH USA)
I have a soft spot in my heart for O'Reilly Media. I was first introduced to O'Reilly, aka "the animal books" many years ago in college. I believe my first O'Reilly book was Unix in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition. It still occupies a space on my bookshelf. Next to it is Learning the Korn Shell (2nd Edition). Later, O'Reilly moved beyond it's traditional Unix and C into Oracle books. I really appreciated Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide (Definitive Guides), when using SQL*Plus as a reporting tool (way back in 1995). Recently, I received a review copy of SQL in a Nutshell, Third Edition.
This is a reference books, meaning that you typically flip to the part you need at the moment as opposed to reading from cover to cover. And the book is "SQL in a Nutshell", not "mySQL in a Nutshell", "Oracle in a Nutshell", etc. So the book covers ANSI SQL2003 syntax (also known as SQL3), MySQL version 5.1, Oracle Database 11g, PostgreSQL version 8.2.1 and Microsoft SQL Server 2008. One of the changes since the second edition is a "reduced footprint", which means that Sybase Adaptive Server and IBM DB2 UDB have been dumped from the discussion. I'm not surprised about Sybase. But I was a bit puzzled why IBM DB2 was omitted, although I'm sure O'Reilly knows who their audience is.
The book is organized by topic according to the SQL3 standard as opposed to each database vendor having their own slightly redundant section. Although some might consider the first couple of chapters fluff or filler, I found them interesting, especially since my education was electrical engineering rather than computer science. Chapter one is entitled SQL History and Implementations and covers some academic database terminology, including Codd's Twelve Principles of Relational Databases. Chapter two is entitled Foundational Concepts and reviews SQL2003 basics and sets the stage for Chapter three, which is the raison d'etre for the book: the SQL Statement Command Reference.
The book concludes with Chapter four, SQL Functions. I am frequently burned by moving amongst different database platforms. Because the book is organized by function rather than vendor, it's a helpful presentation to understand which functions are common across platforms (although most have options and variations). Chapter four also includes, by vendor, all of the nonstandard functions. I began working with Oracle 7 in 1993 and assumed that everything I was learning was "standard SQL" - until I was on a SQL Server 6.5 project and wondered what happened to Oracle favorites like DECODE and NVL. Fortunately, most databases (including Oracle) now include a more unified CASE statement to use instead of DECODE. And COALESCE is a more flexible version of NVL, although I was surprised to see it is not part of the SQL standard, despite support from multiple vendors.
This book is a handy reference and much easier to carry than a stack of books for each database vendor.
Excellent reference for the database user January 12, 2010
Andy (State College, PA)
I'm not a DBA, and I don't pretend to be one. I'm a C++ programmer and the only time I care about SQL is when I'm trying to coerce some database to give up the information I need. As I don't develop on an internet connected machine, I'm constantly running to the Google Gods to answer my SQL questions. But no more! This book keeps me in front of my dev machine where I belong. It has just the right level of detail. I find it very akin to a man page level of detail, which is perfect for my needs. It also presents SQL statements for various implementations; the MySQL and Postgres inclusion is key! Overall, it makes an excellent reference. I don't think you'd be able to learn the language or discover advanced techniques from it though.
Found something missing, what is missing that I don't know about? December 30, 2009
David S Bakin (Seattle)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'm studying SQL intensively for work and needed an up-to-date reference, so bought this book, relying on the O'Reilly reputation for good books.
As soon as I got it I looked up something I had just used at work for the first time: The WITH clause. (Or statement, I don't know.)
It wasn't in the alphabetical list of "commands", and didn't show up in the index. The word "WITH" does show up in the lists of reserved words in the Appendix.
Is it just my bad luck that the very first thing I looked up - no kidding! the first thing! - was missing from this book? This book is large enough to be encyclopedic, and is organized like an encyclopedia, yet - if this thing that I know about is missing, what is missing that I don't know about but would have wanted to learn from this book?
Showing reviews 1-5 of 45
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