SQL Queries for Mere Mortals: A Hands-On Guide to Data Manipulation in SQL, 4th Edition

Preface

“Language is by its very nature a communal thing;that is, it expresses never the exact thingbut a compromise—that which is commonto you, me, and everybody.”

—THOMAS ERNEST HULME, SPECULATIONS

Learning how to retrieve information from or manipulate information in a database is commonly a perplexing exercise. However, it can be a relatively easy task as long as you understand the question you’re asking or the change you’re trying to make to the database. After you understand the problem, you can translate it into the language used by any database system, which in most cases is Structured Query Language (SQL). You have to translate your request into an SQL statement so that your database system knows what information you want to retrieve ...