You’ve heard the saying – Practice makes perfect! 

Perfection may be hard to reach but when learning a new skill, there’s just no substitute for getting in there and using it. It doesn’t matter if it’s a language, an instrument or fixing your car; hands-on practice is what really builds proficiency. Just reading about it won’t get you there.

“Self-Guided SQL: Build Your SQL Skills with SQLite”, is designed to help you do just that. Unlike many tutorials, practice comes first and theory is there to support it. Every lesson in the book is focused around actions that you will perform to actually use SQL and the SQLite database management software. Then there’s enough explanation to help you understand what you’re doing and carry you forward.

Beyond simply learning SQL and SQLite, I want to show you how to actually teach yourself a new technology skill. As a self-taught programmer and technical author, I know that it’s possible to pick up a new technology without spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on classroom instruction. "Self Guided SQL" will help you to add this important skill while investing only your own time and effort.

"Self-Guided SQL: Build Your SQL Skills with SQLite" is now in early release. While still in production, the advance edition is available at a lower price and readers will receive updates as they're released.

For more information, please visit the official book page at:

https://www.comeausoftware.com/self-guided-sql-sqlite/

Also, see the Github repository for downloads and sample code:

https://github.com/ajcomeau/SelfGuidedSQL/

February 13, 2025 update -

The latest version adds a chapter on SQL window functions. From the book - 

"A window function in SQLite is performed over a set of related records and provides a value for each record indicating its relative place within that set based on whatever function is needed. This can include aggregate functions such as SUM() but it's different from the examples you saw when using GROUP BY because those functions grouped many records together into one row within the query. Window functions maintain the records as separate rows and indicate their relation to each other."

This chapter includes examples of all the available window functions in SQLite including rankings, row numbers, preceding and subsequent values and cumulative distribution. As usual, the chapter includes exercises at the end to help you develop your skills with these features. Solutions are provided, along with all the SQL code from the book, on the project's Github page.

This release also completes the portion of the book on SQL SELECT statements. In upcoming releases, I'll be adding sections on UPDATE, INSERT and DELETE statements along with addition exercises and material. This book is still being offered as an early release edition so this is a great chance to get it at a reduced price!