sql

I have been working with SQL professionally for about 5 years and I was looking for a collection of elegant SQL code tips and techniques from the pros to add to my arsenal. So I eagerly bought SQL Puzzles and Answers a few weeks ago and read it from cover to cover.

The book essentially introduces the reader to the "thinking out of the box" approach to solving difficult SQL problems. The author walks us through the logic behind solutions of a collection of SQL puzzles that were submitted by readers of his magazine columns over the years. He demonstrates that there are numerous ways to solve SQL problems and that sometimes the solution lies right in the design of the base tables. But more importantly he helps the reader see that you can often solve seemingly unsolvable sql problems if you approach the problem with the right technique.

My one complaint is that the book does not come with turnkey source code files and they are not available for download. So the reader will have to type everything to test the solutions solutions that are presented.

Short of this there is plenty to learn here for the SQL programmer that wishes to pick up a few tricks of the trade from a pro.

One of the few puzzle books for IRM types. Joe's book is based on his columns in the now defunct Database Programming and Design magazine. Overall this is an excellent book if you work with SQL on a daily basis. I'd give it a 5 rating, but it's overdue for an update due to the fact that many, including Joe himself, have developed even better answers for the puzzles.

This is not an introductory text -- you should have not only a knowlege of SQL but some real world experience developing and deploying SQL based applications.

To get the most out of this book, make sure you make an attempt to solve the puzzles before reading the 'answers'.

Great problems and amazing solutions. I'll probably never have to use a cursor again. I'm not lending my copy to anyone. They'll have to get their own.