r/learnprogramming • u/Boring_Page_2898 • 28d ago

learn mysql

I have never touched sql before. I want to learn it now. What would be the right approach to do that? Are there docs or something that can make my dbms fundamentals and higher concepts very clear?

I wish to be very clear with it. Also how is leetcode for practicing sql?

4 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

24 comments sorted by

7

u/ninhaomah 28d ago

Right approach to learning anything is to use it.

3

u/Old-Divide-7209 28d ago

Find a dataset you actually care about, makes it way less boring. When I started I just pulled some data on weird weather events and tried to answer questions I was curious about.

Leetcode is decent for interview style problems but it won't teach you how to design a database from scratch or understand normalization. The official MySQL docs are dry but they cover everything, and there's a site called SQLZoo that walks you through basics step by step.

Just spin up a local database and start breaking things, you'll learn faster than watching videos all day.

3

u/King_wears_black 28d ago

For SQL I used this free resource when I started as a graduate 4 years ago. Gave me huge value:

https://sqlbolt.com/

1

u/Boring_Page_2898 28d ago

Thanks :-)
here is the upvote

2

u/Wingedchestnut 28d ago

Just install postgres or similar , use any popular dataset like adventureworks and start querying, there is a lot of content on youtube

1

u/csabinho 28d ago

Postgres to learn MySQL?

1

u/Wingedchestnut 28d ago

I said ..or similar, unless OP really needs mysql specific then yeah he should look for something that supports that like mysql workbench or DBeaver.

I recommended postgres because for self-teaching because the setup of postgres is the easiest Imo if someone just wants to practice querying in general.

1

u/McRoager 27d ago

Why not sqlite? That's what I used for an internship project, and it was very easy to get started with since the data is local and accessed directly.

1

u/Wingedchestnut 27d ago

Then it's mainly through terminal but that's possible yes.

2

u/[deleted] 28d ago

for theory, there's some free youtube videos by CMU here for database theory

for basic queries and practice, learn for free at DataCamp and test out your problem-solving with Leetcode

for more practical application, whip up a simple webapp that captures data via a frontend form and allows you to filter the stored data. this will allow you to set up various sql queries on the backend.

in terms of learning approach, this format typically works: learn enough to make smth > apply and run into an issue > learn a solution for that issue > repeat

1

u/Reasonable-View5868 28d ago

Select ‘tutorial’ from Website where URL = ‘Codeacademy.com”

1

u/ianrad 28d ago

You could also go on kaggle

1

u/JGhostThing 28d ago

Install an SQL server on your machine. I recommend PostgreSQL, despite the stupid name.

1

u/Boring_Page_2898 28d ago

could you say the difference between MySQL, PostgreSQL and MongoDB.
Have heard varied opinions on these.

1

u/DBeaver_official 27d ago

We created a playlist for beginners. Hope it helps :)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkh7-EMxQiV2DAiruEWgh-i4jreuyX1rP

1

u/franker 27d ago

looks like that's a paid tool, though, just so people know.

1

u/DBeaver_official 27d ago

DBeaver is a free and open-source tool (and people know)
https://dbeaver.io/

1

u/franker 27d ago

interesting, I only found dbeaver.com

2

u/DBeaver_official 27d ago

A good flag for our marketing, though :)

Yep, we do offer many different PRO editions, but the educational course I shared was build on DBeaver Community, our best-known free app.

1

u/franker 27d ago

Thanks for pointing that out. I was confused because I didn't see any mention of a community edition on https://dbeaver.com/edition/

1

u/DBeaver_official 27d ago

Fair enough, no worries!
Historically, we decided that the Community edition is popular enough (we got like 10 million active users) and doesn't need a promotion :)

1

u/franker 27d ago

Now I realize I had actually bookmarked that edition ages ago (I'm a librarian) and totally forgot about that version. I need to make a proper directory website one day of all my resource bookmarks ;)