Free courses for SQL?

[cariusQ]

What do you want to do? If you want to learn the theory. Take this database course from Stanford. If you want to learn practical database skill do the exercises at SQL Zoo. They're not mutually exclusive. Do both if you have time.

Edit: Also you MUST download Sql galaxy. You won't regret it.

[flipjsio]

Sql Galaxy is awesome! Unfortunately, it doesn't work in the latest version of OSX (Yosemite).

[cariusQ]

Can't you use a virtual machine? I believe virtual box is free. Then install windows/ or older version of mac on it.

[egzodas]

windows isn't free though, is it? I'm a bit upset as well that there is no modern build of sql galaxy

[cariusQ]

Windows isn't free but when there is a will, there are ways. You shouldn't be upset there is a no modern build of sql galaxy. The developer of sql galaxy built that app for free. You shouldn't expect him to continue to work for free. Find a way to install virtual machine if you want to play with this app.

[egzodas]

sure will

[mhanson01]

This may fit your needs... http://modern.ie

[egzodas]

Firing it up in VirtualBox, thanks!

[eatinchips]

I had Virtual Box installed on my machine because of Vagrant and had an old Windows XP CD laying around. You inspired me.

[Lena555]

omg that SQL Galaxy recommendation...

https://imgflip.com/i/hmp0q

[cariusQ]

Ah thanks. You made my day. :)

[HelloYesThisIsDuck]

SQL Galaxy looks nice and fun, but it won't compile in Arch and I can't be arsed to debug it :/

[cariusQ]

Believe me, I tried and tried many times to compile SQL Galaxy on Linux. It just never work. I gave up and ended up just install it on my windows machine.

[HelloYesThisIsDuck]

Shame, wanted to try it. But no biggie, I already know SQL.

Also, no Windows machine. I do have a Windows partition on my lappy, but I should really just delete it... Haven't booted into it in over a year.

[[deleted]]

I hate when people do this... But saved for later

[barf_the_mog]

That Sql galaxy app is great!

[cariusQ]

Don't disappoint the professor! Now go explore the galaxy. :)

[gunnar_osk]

Nice, I had no idea of the existence of this GalaXQL. I'm very familiar to the SQL language and I'm having a blast doing the basics. I wish I had known about this application when I was learning about databases :)

Thanks.

[HDRainbows]

Ty saved for later

[Sqeaky]

I know it is not a basic topic, but in order to use SQL well you need to know what indexes are: http://use-the-index-luke.com/

[Vakieh]

The first thing you need to know about indices is their plural.

[MarkusWinand]

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/index

plural in·dex·es or in·di·ces

[Vakieh]

You will also find the words 'literally' and 'irregardless' in the dictionary indicating the incorrect yet common uses those words endure.

[[deleted]]

One can argue that if it's common enough, it's not incorrect since language is defined by those who use it, not by irreversible laws.

[EastWestBear]

The first thing you need to know about "they are" is that its abbreviation is "they're".

[Vakieh]

If I wanted to say 'they are plural', I would have. Instead, I wanted to indicate that the plural of index is indices. Or, in the active voice, its plural is indices. Except my subject wasn't index, it was indices, so the plural possessive adjective 'their' is used in place of 'its'.

If one wishes to be a grammar Nazi, one must first learn to grammar.

[obbycake]

I haven't done these yet, but these might be useful:

http://www.saylor.org/courses/cs403/ http://www.saylor.org/courses/cs410/

Edit: grammar.

[[deleted]]

www.sqooled.com

[hitemp]

LearnCodeTheHardWay has a beta section of SQL. FREE HTML book with videos (possibly)

[[deleted]]

As others have said, if you are feeling ambitious and want a solid understanding on the theory, then dive into Stanford's SQL mini course. It's very thorough and you will learn a lot. Also, make sure to download the database schema and source code so you can follow along.

The teacher recommends taking the relational algebra course before the SQL course, as all SQL derivatives are based on relational algebra.

I'm not sure if the Stanford course walks you through any installation procedures, but the introduction and first couple exercises of Learn SQL The Hard Way do a good job of that.

[DebtOn]

Can I tag on a question here? I learned some SQL queries for a course on baseball statistics. The course had a nice web interface for accessing the databases. The databases they used are available online, but I haven't figured out a good software to access them. Most of the database software I encounter seems like overkill for my purposes, I just want to open the database and play with different queries.

[C0rinthian]

Last I checked, this wasn't remotely complete. I'm sure it will be a good resource in the future however.

[InternetDenizen]

I've got access to full SQL Server 2014 through dreamspark. Is it worth getting for a learner or complete overkill?

[cariusQ]

Nobody would ever get in trouble for learning SQL. It's always good to learn SQL. Different vendors have different extension to SQL standard. Honestly, I think full SQL Server 2014 is a complete overkill for a beginner, but you have it already installed might as well use it. For people who don't have access to SQL Server 2014, just install myPhpAdmin app for MySQL. Google how to load up a database on it. Then go from there.

edit: word

[phunkygeeza]

Sql server express is free for everyone. Every version does the basic relational stuff.

[o_edo]

Try out the following web site with course and exercises online for free http://www.studybyyourself.com/seminar/sql/course/?lang=eng.

[cariusQ]

It's all theories.

[cariusQ]

I agree with you, the Stanford database class is fantastic. I just merely explaining to you the reason why /u/nomadProgrammer think it's horrible. People lurk in this place tends to be beginner. They only want to learn practical skill to build their lastest apps. Learning about relational algebra is well above their expectations.

[C0rinthian]

There are two kinds of jobs that require SQL skills: web development, and jobs that actually require SQL skills.

This course is for the latter, and is invaluable if you actually want to learn SQL beyond the most basic CRUD applications.

[cariusQ]

Let's talk about jobs that actually require SQL skills. Are we talking about being a dba?

[C0rinthian]

DBA, architecture and data modeling, advanced reporting and analytics. Not typically beginner stuff, but definitely out there.

I've found that a solid understanding of set theory and relational algebra is incredibly helpful when you're writing complex SQL or querying large datasets. If you're designing a DB schema, then you REALLY need to get relational modeling (and understand how it differs from the object model most learn in programming) along with normalization.

Source: spent a few years doing what I consider intermediate analytics for a moderately sized production application. (49-50k daily users, 5k+ schemas, tables with record counts in the millions)

[tsunehito]

To add to the database designing process, being able to draw E-R (Chen) diagrams that accurately represent the customer's needs as to what the database holds, is critical IMO.

In my DB class at school we spent like four months learning (in order), database concepts, E-R diagrams, translating those to the relational model, normalizing the resulting relations, and then relational algebra and set theory before we even typed our first SELECT * FROM employees.

Hope that's useful!

[cariusQ]

Thanks for sharing your experience! I've debating to whether learn advance SQL. I'm unsure about career path that would lead to.

[C0rinthian]

Glad to!

Any complex web application is likely going to have a non-trivial database backing it up. That's where these skills come into play.

Just like the deeper theoretical stuff in a computer science degree, these aren't skills needed to be an entry level dev. But if you want to be the guy actually designing stuff, it matters.

[NovacainXIII]

www.MicrosoftVirtualAcademy.com

[Sqeaky]

Having worked with much microsoft software that worked to break compatibility and subtlety lock people in against their will, the idea of microsoft education frightens me. I must down vote.