Section 1: SQL Introduction

Section 1: SQL Introduction#

Welcome to the SQL Handbook!

In this learning guide, you’ll be using MySQL and MySQL Workbench to explore, manipulate, and analyze data. Along the way, you will learn how to:

✅ Install and navigate MySQL Workbench to manage databases efficiently
✅ Import datasets and create tables to organize your data
✅ Write SQL queries to extract, filter, and summarize data
✅ Save queries and export tables or results for further use
✅ Apply basic data analysis techniques to uncover trends and insights
✅ Document work in a clear and structured format for sharing and reporting

This guide includes exercises using both a dataset you create and an external dataset you will import to practice your SQL skills.

If you have any questions while going through this guide, feel free to email the author, Pranav Rajeev

Structured Query Language (SQL) is the standard language used to manage and analyze data stored in relational databases. It lets you do things like:

  • Retrieve data

  • Manipulate data

  • Analyze data

  • Prepare data for dashboards, reports or further analysis

A Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) is software that stores, organizes and retrieves data in a relational form. SQL is the language you use to communicate with and manage RDBMS’s. The five most common are MySQL, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle Database and SQLite. The main differences between these come down to features, syntax/functions and cost.

For this handbook, we’ll look at MySQL because:

  • It’s beginner friendly but still powerful

  • It’s free and easy to install

  • Most concepts learned in MySQL can be applied to others with minor syntax changes