What are the best SQL books for advanced developers?

1 SQL Cookbook

SQL Cookbook by Anthony Molinaro is a practical and comprehensive guide that covers a wide range of SQL problems and solutions. The book is organized by topic, such as aggregating data, working with dates and times, generating reports, querying hierarchical data, and optimizing performance. Each chapter contains clear explanations, examples, and exercises that illustrate how to use SQL to solve real-world challenges. The book covers various SQL dialects, such as Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and DB2.

2 SQL Performance Explained

SQL Performance Explained by Markus Winand is a concise and accessible book that teaches you how to optimize your SQL queries for speed and efficiency. The book focuses on the most important aspect of SQL performance: indexing. You will learn how indexes work, how to design them, how to use them, and how to avoid common mistakes. The book also covers other topics, such as execution plans, joins, sorting, paging, and caching. The book is based on the standard SQL:2011 and applies to all major SQL databases.

3 SQL Antipatterns

SQL Antipatterns by Bill Karwin is a valuable and insightful book that shows you how to avoid and fix common SQL mistakes and bad habits. The book identifies 25 antipatterns, such as using enums instead of foreign keys, abusing null values, storing comma-separated lists, and duplicating logic in the database and the application. For each antipattern, the book explains why it is harmful, how to recognize it, how to refactor it, and how to prevent it. The book is suitable for both beginners and experts who want to improve their SQL skills and code quality.

4 SQL Queries for Mere Mortals

SQL Queries for Mere Mortals by John L. Viescas and Michael J. Hernandez is a classic and comprehensive book that teaches you how to write effective and accurate SQL queries. The book starts with the basics of SQL and relational theory, and then progresses to more advanced topics, such as subqueries, joins, set operations, grouping, filtering, and functions. The book uses a step-by-step approach that helps you understand the logic and structure of SQL queries. The book also includes hundreds of examples, exercises, and tips that cover various SQL dialects and platforms.