SQL for sensitive souls, not dummies

Structured Query Language, the standard language for relational databases, isn't really for dummies. SQL is for sensitive, intelligent folk who like nothing better than using a powerful but elegant tool to prod and probe at a well-designed database. It's perhaps best, pedagogically speaking, to teach SQL by starting with the SELECT statement and the richness and naturalness of the data retrieval it can do. Taylor, however, teaches SQL from the bottom up, trying the reader's patience a little. It doesn't help that he's no humorist; surprisingly for a Dummies book, the only real joke is where he compares some database response times to "pouring molasses on a cold day in Vermont". Taylor's chapter on protecting database data, explaining COMMIT, ROLLBACK, "deferred constraints" and "isolation levels" is excellent and he's also good on ODBC (the standard means of communication between applications and database management systems). In an interesting discussion of modern web-based databases, Taylor points out that Web programmers and database/SQL programmers are often distinct breeds, leading to a heavy demand for Web-based database development tools. SQL, essential as it is, is just one of the skills you need.