What is SQL? The lingua franca of data analysis

SQL is neither the fastest nor the most elegant way to talk to databases, but it is the best way we have. Here’s why

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  • Codecademy. Learn SQL. Free and interactive. Pro upgrade available for a fee.
  • Khan Academy. Intro to SQL: Querying and Managing Data. Free video tutorial.
  • SoloLearn. SQL Fundamentals. MySQL-oriented. Free.
  • SQL Problems and Solutions and SQL Exercises. Interactive textbook and exercises. Free.
  • SQLZoo. An interactive SQL tutorial developed and maintained by Edinburgh Napier University. Supports Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle Database, MySQL, IBM DB2, and PostgreSQL. Free. 
  • Tutorialspoint. Learn SQL. Text only, not interactive. Free. 
  • Udacity. Intro to Relational Databases. Uses Python and requires some Python knowledge. Free. 
  • Udemy. Free courses include Introduction to Databases and SQL Querying, MySQL Database for Beginners, Microsoft SQL for Beginners, Hands-on SQL for Beginners (SELECT, FROM, and WHERE), and Sachin Quickly Learns (SQL).
  • Vertabelo Academy. SQL Basics, Operating on Data in SQL, Creating Tables in SQL, and eight other interactive SQL courses. Some courses have free test drives, after which there may be a fee. There are seven additional courses for Microsoft SQL Server. The site also has a graphical database design tool for PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle Database, SQL Server, SQLite, and IBM DB2.
  • W3Schools. SQL Tutorial. Free and available without registration.

Database documentation:

SQL commands quick reference:

  • DDL: CREATE, ALTER, DROP (refer to tables)
  • DMS: SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE (refer to rows)
  • DCL: GRANT, REVOKE (refer to permissions)

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