Author Description

If you're a beginner and want to learn practical SQL reporting skills in the shortest time possible, this is the course for you. The course's examples use free software, meaning you don't need to make any additional purchases. To follow the course's examples, you will need a Windows computer. Unlike many other courses, this book works entirely with practical examples. You won't be slowed down by long explanations of database theory and instead will get started doing useful work immediately and will be able to begin creating reports from SQL databases after just a few lessons. Almost any modern organization can benefit from a staff member who knows how to generate database reports using the SQL language, but SQL is a rare skill among most office staff. Part of the reason that few people have SQL skills is that most related courses try to teach every aspect of database theory, including database design and server administration. This course is different. It focuses entirely on database reporting and won't slow you down by trying to teach skills that you don't need. This course also focuses on skills that will be useful on many different types of database rather than teaching obscure commands that will only work on a certain type of database. Course Outline Lesson 1: Install SQL Server Express Lesson 2: Connect to SQL Server Lesson 3: Install the sample database Lesson 4: Explore a database Lesson 5: Write your first database query Lesson 6: Understand the SELECT statement and save a query Lesson 7: Sort with ORDER BY and export query results Lesson 8: Use the TOP and DISTINCT keywords Lesson 9: Filter results with WHERE Lesson 10: Use the LIKE keyword for inexact filters Lesson 11: Use simple mathematical operators and custom column names Lesson 12: Concatenate text and numbers Lesson 13: Understand dates and use the CONVERT funct