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Add Another SQL Book to the List Add Another SQL Book to the List

"SQL Hacks" by Andrew Cumming & Gordon Russell is recommended SQL reading.
Those of you who are regular readers of this blog know that I periodically talk about new data- and database-related books. Today, I want to bring a new book titled SQL Hacks to your attention.

Even though there are literally hundreds of books "out there" on SQL, SQL Hacks will be a welcome new addition to your bookshelf. Most of those other SQL books offer basic syntax and coding descriptions. Those type of books have their place and uses, but we really don't need anymore of them.

SQL Hacks takes a different approach by offering 100 concise "hacks" that solve common problems using SQL code. The publisher of this book, O'Reilly, has produced a whole series of hacks books. So for the purposes of this book, don't think of a hack in terms of hacking or nefarious behavior; a hack is basically a solution to a problem. And we all need those, don't we?

So what type of hacks are offered in this book? Well, the 100 hacks run the gamut:

  • from number curnching hacks that identify overlapping ranges, handle rounding errors, and calculate ranks;
  • to organization hacks for combining tables, cleaning inconsistent rows, and generating unique sequential numbers;
  • to reporting hacks that fill in missing values of a pivot table, traverse a tree, or generate a calender;
  • and many, many more.
  • I recommend this book as a companion to one of my favorite SQL books, Joe Celko's SQL for Smarties. Both books can be used to help you use SQL to deal with many vexing application development problems.

    Indeed, I am going to officially add Cummings & Russell's SQL Hacks to my list of Recommended SQL Books.

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