Re: [GENERAL] Studying

On Thu, 28 Oct 1999, Ken Gunderson wrote:

> At 01:17 PM 10/29/99 +1200, John Henderson wrote:
> >Hi,
> >I am in need of a great SQL reference that is readable by a beginner but is
> >also comprehensive, any recommendations? Do you think O'Reilly is best? I
> >have seen others recommended?
> >
> >I have pretty much exhausted the online documentation/FAQ/tutorials etc.
> >
> >Thanks,
> >John Henderson
>
> The _Practical SQL Handbook_ by Bowman, et.al. is well respected and
> frequently recommended as a good SQL intro for beginners. This will not
> give you DB specific info though. I would stay away from O'Reilly on this
> one.
>
> Ciao-- Ken
> http://www.y2know.org/safari

And I never weary of touting the virtue of the `LAN TIMES Guide to SQL'
by Groff and Weinberg. I find it superior to every other tome I've read.
It includes very handy charts. The data type comparison chart includes
Ingres whose data types match PG for the most part. I ripped mine out
and laminated it. Very useful.

For performance tuning I recommend Guy Harrison's `SQL Performance Tuning'.
Although it is Oracle specific the concepts (e.g., sequences) apply.

Once you get the rudiments of SQL, anything by Joe Celko is usually helpful
for headier topics. I like `SQL for Smarties', even the parts that elude
me. ;-)

Cheers,
Tom

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