Head First SQL by Lynn Beighley: Book Cover

    Head First SQL: Your Brain on SQL -- A Learner's Guide by Lynn Beighley

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    (Paperback)

    • Pub. Date: August 2007
    • 571pp
    • Sales Rank: 103,799

      Reader Rating: (6 ratings)

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      Product Details

      • Pub. Date: August 2007
      • Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
      • Format: Paperback, 571pp
      • Sales Rank: 103,799

      Synopsis

      With its visually rich format designed for the way the brain works, this series of engaging narrative lessons that build on each other gives readers hands-on experience working with the SQL database language.

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      Biography

      Lynn Beighley is a fiction writer stuck in a technical book writer's body. Upon discovering that technical book writing actually paid real money, she learned to accept and enjoy it. After going back to school to get a Masters in Computer Science, she worked for the acronyms NRL and LANL. Then she discovered Flash, and wrote her first bestseller. A victim of bad timing, she moved to Silicon Valley just before the great crash. She spent several years working for Yahoo! and writing other books and training courses. Finally giving in to her creative writing bent, she moved to the New York area to get an MFA in Creative Writing. Her Head First-style thesis was delivered to a packed room of professors and fellow students. It was extremely well received, and she finished her degree, finished Head First SQL, and can't wait to begin her next book. Lynn loves traveling, cooking, and making up elaborate background stories about complete strangers. She's a little scared of clowns.

      Customer Reviews

      • Reader Rating:
      • Ratings: 6Reviews: 2

      Jan Brady, smallmouth bass and Mr. Hobo ?by Anonymous

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      November 10, 2007: I like developing programs, making computers do cool things: Especially things that humans find boring, repetitive or difficult to accomplish without error. However, I have never quite found the time to really delve into SQL. Why should I? SQL is boring. Right? You cannot make it say 'Hello World.' I knew how to write your basic SELECT statement after all: Using SELECT in ADO code is pretty much all you need. Right? Turns out that learning SQL can be made engaging. And fun'?'. I mean, a database including Jan Brady, smallmouth bass and Mr. Hobo the clown can only be... thought provoking, to say the least! Yet, by the end of 'Head First SQL,' you have a very solid understanding of the language, and realize how powerful SQL actually is. This book also teaches relational database theory, in a thorough, but very interesting way. You begin making tables haphazardly, and then use these incorrect tables to learn advanced SELECT techniques, such as using SUBSTRING commands to fill new, normalized tables. As I contemplate returning to school to either pursue a Masters in Computer Science or merely get a few MS certifications, the Head First books seem to be great introductions to unfamiliar or half-remembered territory. The Head First approach is unique, visual, interactive, very goofy 'think 'Electric Company' for adults', and ultimately very effective. Unlike the infamous Dummies books, these books use shenanigans to actually teach you the underlying concepts in a very memorable way. This book is a solid investment for anyone wanting to learn 'and actually understand' SQL and databases in general.

      SQL made fun and CLEARby Anonymous

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      September 17, 2007: I've tried to learn SQL many times, but other books are so dry that I catch myself falling asleep. This one is actually interesting! It's got tons of graphics that actually help you see what's going on, instead of page after page of text like the others have. A picture really is worth a thousand boring words. More than worth them. One of the best things about the book is it gets into the WHY you should design your tables a certain way. I'd heard of Normal form before, but now I actually understand it. Great book. If you need to learn SQL, buy it. It's worth it. Although if you need a reference, buy something else.