- Paperback: 428 pages
- Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (30 Jan 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0596523068
- ISBN-13: 978-0596523060
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 18.1 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
449,030 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #29 in Books > Computers & Internet > Computer Science > Databases > Beginners & Introduction > SQL & Relational Databases
- #59 in Books > Computers & Internet > Computer Science > Databases > SQL
- See Complete Table of Contents
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Understanding SQL's underlying theory is the best way to guarantee that your SQL code is correct and your database schema is robust and maintainable. On the other hand, if you're not well versed in the theory, you can fall into several traps. In SQL and Relational Theory, author C.J. Date demonstrates how you can apply relational theory directly to your use of SQL. With numerous examples and clear explanations of the reasoning behind them, you'll learn how to deal with common SQL dilemmas, such as:
- Should database access granted be through views instead of base tables?
- Nulls in your database are causing you to get wrong answers. Why? What can you do about it?
- Could you write an SQL query to find employees who have never been in the same department for more than six months at a time?
- SQL supports "quantified comparisons," but they're better avoided. Why? How do you avoid them?
- Constraints are crucially important, but most SQL products don't support them properly. What can you do to resolve this situation?
Database theory and practice have evolved since Edgar Codd originally defined the relational model back in 1969. Independent of any SQL products, SQL and Relational Theory draws on decades of research to present the most up-to-date treatment of the material available anywhere. Anyone with a modest to advanced background in SQL will benefit from the many insights in this book.
About the Author
C.J. Date has a stature that is unique within the database industry. C.J. is a prolific writer, and is well-known for his best-selling textbook: An Introduction to Database Systems (Addison Wesley). C.J. is an exceptionally clear-thinking writer who can lay out principles and theory in a way easily understood by his audience.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The most interesting chapter is "Using Logic to formulate SQL Expressions".
If you want to write accurate SQL constraints, this book is for you. This knowledge is very important when writing SQL code.
I recommend this book to any engineer writing SQL code.
If you want to write accurate SQL constraints, this book is for you. This knowledge is very important when writing SQL code.
I recommend this book to any engineer writing SQL code.
Format:Paperback
First off, let me be clear. This is a very good book. It does a great job of describing the relational model: what it is, how it works, and where SQL converges/diverges from it.
So why only 3 stars? Because of the incessant sniping at SQL the whole way through. Date has been vocal for years about SQL falling short of the relational model, and exhorting the DBMS world to step up. He (and Hugh Darwen) also provided a comprehensive specification for a next generation DBMS that fully realised the power of the relational model. For whatever reason, the market hasn't delivered the vision in product.
Whether because of that, Date seems to have become obsessed with pointing out SQL shortcomings against the relational model. And that is a real shame. This book would have been /so/ much better had Date focused on real-world problems, shown how the relational model elegantly handled them, and then providing solid advice on how best to solve the same problem using SQL, shortcomings and all.
Doing so would have made the book even more useful and removed the frustrated undertone. Paradoxically, it would likely also have served Date's goal to expose SQL's shortcomings and perhaps motivate improvement from the vendors.
So ultimately a good book that could have been great. It nevertheless remains an excellent description of the relational model, far more accessible than either "Foundations of Database Systems" (as mentioned elsewhere) or "The Third Manifesto".
So why only 3 stars? Because of the incessant sniping at SQL the whole way through. Date has been vocal for years about SQL falling short of the relational model, and exhorting the DBMS world to step up. He (and Hugh Darwen) also provided a comprehensive specification for a next generation DBMS that fully realised the power of the relational model. For whatever reason, the market hasn't delivered the vision in product.
Whether because of that, Date seems to have become obsessed with pointing out SQL shortcomings against the relational model. And that is a real shame. This book would have been /so/ much better had Date focused on real-world problems, shown how the relational model elegantly handled them, and then providing solid advice on how best to solve the same problem using SQL, shortcomings and all.
Doing so would have made the book even more useful and removed the frustrated undertone. Paradoxically, it would likely also have served Date's goal to expose SQL's shortcomings and perhaps motivate improvement from the vendors.
So ultimately a good book that could have been great. It nevertheless remains an excellent description of the relational model, far more accessible than either "Foundations of Database Systems" (as mentioned elsewhere) or "The Third Manifesto".
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is now the Date book to have if you want to understand the theory and practise behin SQL. Unlike his tome "An Introduction to Database Systems" which is nearly impossible to read - this is very readable. Even though I have been working with databases for nearly eight years now - I got a lot out of it.
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