SQL Basics Course

Lesson 1 • Popular Relational Database Systems

Surveys widely used database platforms and their distinguishing features. Helps students choose an environment and understand syntax variations.

Lesson 2 • Setting Up a Practice Environment

Guides students through installing or accessing a SQL environment. Ensures every student can execute queries before the next chapter.

Lesson 3 • Overview of SQL and Its Uses

Introduces SQL as a declarative language for managing structured data. Connects SQL capabilities to real-world data tasks professionals perform.

Lesson 1 • Filtering Rows with WHERE

Introduces conditional filtering to return only relevant rows. Directly extends basic SELECT by adding row-level control.

Lesson 2 • Limiting and Offsetting Result Sets

Explains how to restrict the number of rows returned and skip rows. Prepares students for pagination patterns used in applications.

Lesson 3 • Basic SELECT and FROM Clauses

Teaches the minimum syntax required to retrieve columns from a table. Forms the template every subsequent query in the course builds upon.

Lesson 4 • Sorting Results with ORDER BY

Covers ascending and descending sort on one or multiple columns. Teaches students to present data in a meaningful, predictable order.

Lesson 1 • Numeric Functions and Arithmetic

Teaches rounding, absolute value, modulo, and other numeric operations. Enables calculated fields and data validation within queries.

Lesson 2 • Handling NULL Values

Explains NULL semantics and functions that manage missing data safely. Prevents common logic errors caused by misunderstanding NULL behavior.

Lesson 3 • SQL Data Types Explained

Covers numeric, character, date/time, and Boolean types and their storage implications. Grounds later function usage in correct type awareness.

Lesson 4 • Date and Time Functions

Covers extracting date parts, calculating intervals, and formatting timestamps. Equips students to answer time-based business questions.

Lesson 1 • Conditional Logic with CASE

Introduces CASE expressions for inline conditional branching in SELECT and WHERE. Enables categorization and conditional output without procedural code.

Lesson 2 • Pattern Matching with LIKE

Teaches wildcard-based text search using LIKE and ILIKE. Enables flexible string filtering without exact value knowledge.

Lesson 3 • Set Membership with IN and NOT IN

Covers testing column values against a discrete list of options. Replaces verbose OR chains and improves query readability.

Lesson 1 • Ordering and Limiting Grouped Results

Applies ORDER BY and LIMIT to aggregated result sets for ranked summaries. Produces top-N and bottom-N reports from grouped data.

Lesson 2 • Grouping Rows with GROUP BY

Teaches how to partition rows into groups before applying aggregates. Connects aggregate functions to meaningful categorical breakdowns.

Lesson 3 • Core Aggregate Functions

Covers COUNT, SUM, AVG, MIN, and MAX for computing summary statistics. Establishes the building blocks for all grouped analysis in the chapter.

Lesson 1 • Understanding Join Concepts

Explains how joins match rows across tables using key relationships. Provides the conceptual model students need before writing join syntax.

Lesson 2 • INNER JOIN for Matching Rows

Covers INNER JOIN syntax to return only rows with matches in both tables. The most common join type, used as the baseline for comparison.

Lesson 3 • Outer Joins for Unmatched Rows

Teaches LEFT, RIGHT, and FULL OUTER JOIN to preserve unmatched rows. Enables queries that reveal missing or optional relationships in data.

Lesson 4 • Self Joins and Cross Joins

Introduces joining a table to itself and generating all row combinations. Covers specialized patterns needed for hierarchical and combinatorial queries.

Lesson 1 • Scalar and Row Subqueries

Covers subqueries that return a single value or row for use in expressions. Introduces the concept of nesting queries within a larger statement.

Lesson 2 • EXISTS and NOT EXISTS

Introduces semi-join and anti-join patterns using EXISTS. Provides an efficient alternative to IN for correlated existence checks.

Lesson 3 • Subqueries in FROM and WITH

Teaches derived tables in FROM and Common Table Expressions using WITH. Improves query readability and enables reuse of intermediate result sets.

Lesson 1 • Inserting Rows into Tables

Covers single-row and multi-row INSERT syntax with explicit column lists. Establishes safe data entry practices from the first DML statement.

Lesson 2 • Creating and Altering Tables

Introduces CREATE TABLE, ALTER TABLE, and DROP TABLE for schema management. Connects DDL operations to the data model students have been querying.

Lesson 3 • Deleting Rows from Tables

Covers DELETE with WHERE and the destructive nature of unfiltered deletes. Teaches verification and rollback strategies to prevent data loss.

Lesson 4 • Transactions and Data Integrity

Explains COMMIT, ROLLBACK, and SAVEPOINT for atomic, safe data changes. Ensures students understand how to group DML statements into reliable units.