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SQL Basics

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Talking to Databases with SQL

2:40 with Andrew Chalkley

In order to communicate with a database, you've got to speak its language. SQL is a specialized programming language used for interacting with databases, for example, reading information from a database.

SQL stands for Structured Query Language. SQL has been around since the 1970s!

Reading data from a database is known as querying.

Further Reading

SQL Database Websites

NoSQL Database Websites

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    Now that you have a basic understanding of what a database is, 0:00
    you might be wondering how a more in depth understanding might be helpful. 0:03
    Data and 0:08
    the database help you ask important questions about your business and users. 0:08
    Let's imagine you're in marketing. 0:13
    As a marketer, you want to see how different campaigns performed last month. 0:15
    Did the spending increase on search engine marketing 0:21
    yield better results than running an ad on an industry blog? 0:24
    Recording information about where users come from and what they did on your 0:28
    site can give you insights about how to engage with those users. 0:33
    What if you're a book editor at a large publishing company? 0:37
    You may want to retrieve your views for ebooks, 0:41
    specifically you might want to see the books with only a rating of three stars or 0:43
    fewer, so you can offer helpful suggestions to authors. 0:48
    Perhaps you're a developer for a library, you may want to get a list of 0:53
    email addresses for patrons with books due to be returned tomorrow. 0:57
    You can use those email addresses to send those patrons reminders. 1:01
    These are just a few simple examples. 1:05
    There are countless ways to use data stored in databases. 1:08
    To get information out of a database, 1:12
    you need a special purpose programming language called SQL. 1:15
    You often hear it pronounced "sequel". 1:19
    The acronym SQL stands for Structured Query Language. 1:21
    Reading data from a database is known as querying. 1:26
    There are many databases that understand SQL, 1:30
    such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, MS SQL, Oracle and SQLite. 1:35
    Each of these databases can be read or 1:41
    queried using the SQL programming language. 1:44
    There are other types of databases that use more specialized methods, 1:47
    such as MongoDB, CouchBase and Redis. 1:52
    These other databases don't fit into the same family of databases, 1:56
    they are known as NoSQL Databases. 2:00
    If you land SQL once, you can use it across all of these databases. 2:04
    There are differences in a few areas, but 2:10
    the SQL we'll be learning can be universally used across all of these. 2:12
    In this course, we'll be learning the SQL programming language to write simple 2:17
    queries that retrieve information from a database. 2:21
    The ability to use SQL is becoming an ever more sought after skill. 2:25
    We'll use interactive exercises and quizzes to practice and 2:29
    cement what you learn in these videos, so you can come away with a fundamental 2:32
    understanding of both databases and the SQL language. 2:37

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