Practical SQL: A Beginner's Guide to Storytelling with Data

Analyze data like a pro, even if you’re a beginner.

Practical SQL  is an approachable and fast-paced guide to SQL (Structured Query  Language), the standard programming language for defining, organizing,  and exploring data in relational databases. Anthony DeBarros, a  journalist and data analyst, focuses on using SQL to find the story  within your data. The examples and code use the open-source database  PostgreSQL and its companion pgAdmin interface, and the concepts you  learn will apply to most database management systems, including MySQL,  Oracle, SQLite, and others.*

You’ll first cover the fundamentals  of databases and the SQL language, then build skills by analyzing data  from real-world datasets such as US Census demographics, New York City  taxi rides, and earthquakes from US Geological Survey. Each chapter  includes exercises and examples that teach even those who have never  programmed before all the tools necessary to build powerful databases  and access information quickly and efficiently.

You’ll learn how to:
  •  Create databases and related tables using your own data
  •  Aggregate, sort, and filter data to find patterns
  •  Use functions for basic math and advanced statistical operations
  •  Identify errors in data and clean them up
  •  Analyze spatial data with a geographic information system (PostGIS)
  •  Create advanced queries and automate tasks

This  updated second edition has been thoroughly revised to reflect the  latest in SQL features, including additional advanced query techniques  for wrangling data. This edition also has two new chapters: an expanded  set of instructions on for setting up your system plus a chapter on  using PostgreSQL with the popular JSON data interchange format.

Learning  SQL doesn’t have to be dry and complicated. Practical SQL delivers  clear examples with an easy-to-follow approach to teach you the tools  you need to build and manage your own databases.

* Microsoft SQL Server employs a variant of the language called T-SQL, which is not covered by Practical SQL.