Take your time, relax, read all directions carefully and show me your best work. When you get to the queries, give me anything you can; I'll give you partial credit for anything useful you include. Th

Intro to Database Management

Resource Sheet

If you wish to continue experimenting with and learning about databases and SQL Queries, consider trying the following resources, most of which are free.

I use the term “servers” loosely because you can run all of these on your personal computer in order to learn, to practice and—in some cases—to use for actual production data work.

The same database we used for class, but you can install it locally on your computer. The interface will definitely be different but the implementation of the SQL language will be the same. You’ll need the MySQL Community Server but consider using the MySQL Shell (especially if you will be working with Python and SQL) or the MySQL Workbench to write the actual queries.

• https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/

“SQL Server” usually refers to Microsoft SQL Server. They make a free edition available called SQL Server Express that will allow you to create and work with databases up to 10 GB. That should be more than enough for practice and even some business use. It’s available for Windows or Linux, but not MacOS.

• https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sql-server/sql-server-downloads

You may not realize it but if you installed Microsoft Office on your Windows computer, you probably already have a database installed called Microsoft Access. It’s part of the business editions of Microsoft Office for Windows. The Mac editions don’t include Access. Although it usually helps you build your queries visually, it’s using the same SQL commands and structures we explored in this class. You can even write or edit SQL queries manually if you prefer. Sometimes that’s the only way to get what you need from the data.

Oracle is also one of the most recognized names in the DB world and they too make an “Express” edition available for free. It’s also available for Windows or Linux, but not MacOS.

• https://www.oracle.com/database/technologies/appdev/xe.html

These database servers exist in the cloud so you can connect to them from virtually anywhere you have internet access.

While we used a tiny portion of Amazon Web Service in Cloud9, there is so much more available. Their RDS Service allows you to create and experiment with MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, SQL Server and other databases systems. You can get more details and sign up for a free AWS account for 12 months at:

• https://aws.amazon.com/free

You can use your Sacred Heart email account to sign up for a free Azure account. You can use many Azure services (including database services) free for one year. Some services are always free.

• https://portal.azure.com

Start with the text for this class. I chose it because it’s well-written, easy to read and focuses on the real-world database requests you’re likely to face in your careers. Read some of the chapters we didn’t cover. Go deeper into some of those we did; there’s a lot more in there than we had time to address in this class. And don’t forget the database samples and diagrams. They’re on the downloads tab at:

• http://www.informit.com/title/9780134858333

MySQL has a comprehensive set of documentation both for the version of MySQL that we used (5.6), the current version (8.x) and everything in between. Check it out at:

• https://dev.mysql.com/doc/

This website has a great quick reference but also pretty in-depth reference for the SQL standard as opposed to just the MySQL version that we used in class. It’s easy to navigate, searchable and very friendly. And it’s useful for other languages too, such as Python.

• https://www.w3schools.com/sql/sql_quickref.asp