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Ruben Solovyov
Ruben Solovyov
June 11, 2023

SQL Cookbook: Learn How to Solve Common and Complex Problems with SQL by Anthony Molinaro



SQL Cookbook by Anthony Molinaro: A Review




If you are looking for a practical and comprehensive guide to learn how to do more work with SQL inside the database, you might want to check out SQL Cookbook by Anthony Molinaro. In this article, I will review this book and share with you some of its main features, benefits, highlights, and limitations. I will also answer some frequently asked questions about the book and provide some recommendations for further reading.




sql cookbook anthony molinaro pdf 18



Introduction




SQL Cookbook is a book written by Anthony Molinaro, an experienced SQL developer and consultant who has worked with various database systems such as Oracle, Sybase, DB2, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server. The book was published by O'Reilly Media in December 2005 with ISBN 9780596009762.


The book aims to help SQL users who know the basics of the language but want to take their skills to the next level. It covers a wide range of SQL techniques and features that can help you solve common and complex problems, perform data analysis and manipulation, optimize query performance, and leverage database-specific functionalities.


The book is intended for intermediate to advanced SQL users who have some familiarity with relational database concepts and SQL syntax. It assumes that you have access to one or more of the following database platforms: SQL Server 2000 or later, PostgreSQL 8.0 or later, Oracle 9i or later, MySQL 4.1 or later, or DB2 8.1 or later.


Overview of the Book




The book consists of 20 chapters that are organized into four parts:



  • Part I: Basic Techniques (Chapters 1-6) covers topics such as retrieving records, metadata queries, working with strings, data arithmetic, date manipulation, data type conversions, row numbering and ranking.



  • Part II: Joins (Chapters 7-9) covers topics such as inner joins, outer joins, self-joins, cross joins, set operations (union, intersect, except), and multi-table joins.



  • Part III: Subqueries (Chapters 10-13) covers topics such as scalar subqueries, correlated subqueries, inline views, common table expressions, and recursive queries.



  • Part IV: Advanced Techniques (Chapters 14-20) covers topics such as window functions, pivoting, bucketization, hierarchical queries, reporting and warehousing, string aggregation, and dynamic SQL.



The book uses a problem/solution/discussion format to present each SQL technique or feature. Each chapter contains a series of problems that are relevant and realistic for SQL users, followed by solutions that show how to write SQL queries to solve them. The solutions are explained and discussed in detail, highlighting the logic, syntax, and output of the queries. The book also provides tips, tricks, notes, warnings, and cross-references throughout the chapters to help you understand and apply the SQL techniques and features more effectively.


Highlights of the Book




The book offers many useful and interesting SQL techniques and features that can help you improve your SQL skills and productivity. Here are some of the highlights of the book:



  • The book teaches you how to use window functions, arguably the most significant enhancement to SQL in the past decade. Window functions allow you to perform calculations over a set of rows that are related to the current row, such as running totals, moving averages, percentiles, rankings, and more. The book explains how to use window functions in various scenarios and how they differ from group functions and subqueries.



  • The book shows you how to pivot rows into columns and vice versa using various methods such as case expressions, aggregate functions, cross tabs, and database-specific operators such as SQL Server's PIVOT and UNPIVOT. Pivoting can help you transform data into a more readable or desirable format for reporting or analysis purposes.



  • The book demonstrates how to bucketize data into groups or categories based on certain criteria or ranges. Bucketization can help you summarize data into histograms, perform aggregations over a moving range of values, create frequency distributions, and more. The book also explains why you should never use the term "bucketization" in Brooklyn.



  • The book guides you how to manipulate strings using various functions and operators such as CONCAT, SUBSTRING, REPLACE, TRIM, UPPER, LOWER, LIKE, REGEXP_MATCHES, and more. String manipulation can help you parse, extract, format, compare, search, and replace text data in SQL.



  • The book instructs you how to perform date arithmetic using various functions and operators such as DATE_ADD, DATE_SUB, DATE_DIFF, DATE_TRUNC, EXTRACT, CURRENT_DATE, CURRENT_TIME, CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, and more. Date arithmetic can help you calculate durations, intervals, periods, and cycles in SQL.



The book also compares and contrasts different SQL dialects and platforms such as SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Oracle, MySQL, and DB2. The book shows you how to write portable SQL queries that work across different database systems, as well as how to take advantage of database-specific features that enhance or extend the standard SQL functionality. The book provides platform and version tables at the beginning of each chapter to indicate which database systems support which SQL techniques or features.


Limitations of the Book




While the book is a valuable and comprehensive resource for learning SQL techniques and features, it also has some limitations that you should be aware of before reading it:



  • The book does not cover some complex and advanced SQL topics such as query optimization, security, concurrency, transactions, triggers, stored procedures, functions, views, indexes, and more. The book focuses on writing SQL queries rather than designing or administering databases. If you want to learn more about these topics, you may need to consult other books or online resources.



  • The book does not handle changes and updates in SQL standards and implementations over time. The book was published in 2005 and reflects the state of SQL at that time. Since then, there have been new versions of SQL standards (such as SQL:2008, SQL:2011, SQL:2016) and new versions of database systems (such as SQL Server 2005-2019, PostgreSQL 8.1-13, Oracle 10g-19c, MySQL 5.0-8.0, DB2 9-11) that have introduced new or modified SQL techniques or features. Some of the examples or solutions in the book may not work or may not be optimal for the latest versions of SQL or database systems.



Conclusion




SQL Cookbook by Anthony Molinaro is a great book for SQL users who want to learn how to do more work with SQL inside the database. The book covers a wide range of SQL techniques and features that can help you solve common and complex problems, perform data analysis and manipulation, optimize query performance, and leverage database-specific functionalities. The book uses a problem/solution/discussion format to present each SQL technique or feature in a clear and practical way. The book also compares and contrasts different SQL dialects and platforms such as SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Oracle, MySQL, and DB2.


However, the book also has some limitations that you should be aware of before reading it. The book does not cover some complex and advanced SQL topics such as query optimization, security, concurrency, transactions, triggers, stored procedures, functions, views, indexes, and more. The book also does not handle changes and updates in SQL standards and implementations over time. The book was published in 2005 and reflects the state of SQL at that time. Some of the examples or solutions in the book may not work or may not be optimal for the latest versions of SQL or database systems. The book also does not provide exercises or quizzes for testing your knowledge or skills after reading each chapter.


Overall, I would recommend SQL Cookbook by Anthony Molinaro to anyone who wants to improve their SQL skills and productivity. I would rate the book 4 out of 5 stars for its content, style, and usefulness. I think the book is a valuable and comprehensive resource for learning SQL techniques and features that can help you do more work with SQL inside the database.


FAQs




Here are some frequently asked questions about the book and their answers:



Where can I find and download the SQL Cookbook by Anthony Molinaro PDF 18?




How can I access the supplemental files and example code for the book?


  • You can access the supplemental files and example code for the book from O'Reilly Media's website (https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/sql-cookbook/0596009763/). You will need to register for a free account or log in with your existing account to download the files. The files include a README file that explains how to use them, a ZIP file that contains all the example code for each chapter in different SQL dialects and platforms, and a PDF file that contains all the tables used in the book.



Is there a second edition or an updated version of the book available?




What are some other books or online courses that are similar to or complement SQL Cookbook?


  • There are many other books or online courses that are similar to or complement SQL Cookbook. Here are some of them:











I hope you enjoyed this article and found it helpful. If you have any questions or comments about the book or the article, please feel free to leave them below. Thank you for reading and happy learning! 71b2f0854b


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