[Gllug] Introductions to Databases

[Andrew Farnsworth]

John,
  I don't have any specific books in mind for you, however, I do have some
general advice.

1) Learn about how data is stored in a database from a users viewpoint.  This means:
     a) Tables
     b) Indexes
     c) Keys
     d) constraints

2) Learn SQL.  All (ok, not 100% but close) databases today will provide access
to the data and structure using the Structured Query Language (SQL) so by
learning SQL you will be well on your way.  Don't just learn the simple stuff,
delve into things like Inner/Outer joins, multiple nested selects, etc.

2) Learn about data normalization.  While many databases are non normalized or
are de-normalized for performance reasons, it is generally a good idea and you
will need to know about it.

3) Learn about stored procedures and triggers.  Most modern database systems
support stored procedures and they provide very powerful and fast data processing.

4) Learn about being a Database Administrator (DBA).  This is more important and
more involved than it sounds.  Even if you are going to develop for databases,
learning about DBA tools and techniques will make you a better developer and keep
you from making some simple mistakes you will have to go back and spend a lot of
time fixing.

5) Learn database specific programming.  SQLPlus for example is very useful for
Oracle and PostgreSQL.  MySQL also has it's own language.  These are generally
based on SQL and then extended to support database specific tasks and information
so learn SQL first.

Much of this information is available for free online.

Andrew
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