SQL for Beginners with Microsoft SQL Server Database

Learn to write SQL select statements to pull data from a table, choosing specific columns or using * to fetch all columns in the Adventure Works database, with schema-qualified names.

Learn to limit query results by selecting a fixed number of records with top n or by selecting a percentage of rows, enabling faster analysis on large tables.

Learn to narrow down records in sql server using the where clause, applying operators (=, >, <, >=, <=, between) and combining criteria with and/or to refine results.

Learn how to use the like operator in the where clause to pattern match, including starts with, ends with, contains, and hyphen patterns with percent wildcard in Adventure Works data.

Master using the in clause to filter multiple values in a where clause, replacing long or chains with a clean set of values in SQL Server.

Learn to sort SQL query results with the order by clause, using ascending or descending order and multi-column sorting on the purchase order detail table.

Discover how to return unique records in SQL by using distinct in the select statement, including single and multiple columns.

Master joining multiple tables in Adventure Works sql server database to build a complete result set for analysis by linking person, email address, and person phone on business entity id.

Learn how to use aliases in SQL to simplify queries, improve readability, and rename columns and tables with practical examples from the AdventureWorks database.

Learn to aggregate data with SQL using count, min, and max, including group by and aliases. Explore practical examples like counting records, non-null values, and per-customer totals.

Learn to calculate the sum of subtotals and the average order value in SQL Server, grouping by customer id and aliasing results as total order value and average order value.

Null values affect aggregations in SQL by being excluded from calculations; in a sales table with order value, min 10, max 30, sum 60, average 20.

Learn to filter by aggregated counts using having after grouping by customer id. Count orders per customer and apply thresholds like less than 2 or greater than 2.

Learn how to combine data from multiple columns and strings in SQL Server by concatenating first name and last name into a full name, using plus sign syntax and concat.

Master extracting characters from a string in SQL Server using left, substring, and right functions. See how to pull initials from last names and explore varying start positions and lengths.

Calculate string length with the len function and locate a character position using charindex in SQL Server, demonstrated on an email address column.

Insert new records into a table using SQL Server, specifying columns and values with an auto-generated identity id. Use getdate for the modified date and verify via a select.

Update records in a SQL table using the update statement and set clause, with a precise where clause to target a single row and optionally update multiple columns.

Delete records from a table with a delete statement and a where clause that targets a unique key. Validate with a prior select to avoid wiping unintended rows.

Learn how outer joins pull all records from one table and matching records from another, leaving blanks when no match; compare left and right joins with customer and department data.

Anticipate new lectures as this course expands, with updates added as they become available, and stay tuned for messages from the instructor.