Beginning SQL
Chapter One
Introduction to SQL
A nice, gentle introductory chapter, this chapter begins by looking at databases in terms of what
they are and why and when you want to use them. Then the chapter turns to SQL and discovers
how it links in with databases and how it can be useful. After tackling the basics of SQL and how
it works in theory, you examine how to use it to create a database. This chapter also walks you
through creating the structure of the example database used throughout the book.
By the end of the chapter, you should understand how a database enables you to efficiently organize
and retrieve the information you want, as well as how to create a fully functional database, all
ready and waiting to accept add data. But before diving headlong into writing lines of SQL code,
it's helpful to know a little bit of background about databases.
A Brief History of Databases
Modern databases emerged in the 1960s thanks to research at IBM, among other companies. The
research mainly centered around office automation, in particular automating data storage and
indexing tasks that previously required a great deal of manual labor. Computing power and storage
had become much cheaper, making the use o ... read full excerpt from Beginning SQL ebook
