Why you should learn SQL

#1

Post by arkj » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 4:25 AM UTC

Why you should learn SQL
executeprogram.com

Re: Why you should learn SQL

#2

Post by simonw » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 5:34 AM UTC

Of all of the skills I started to pick up twenty years ago, SQL and Bash are the two that have continued to serve me well for my entire career.

Re: Why you should learn SQL

#3

Post by tanin » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 5:44 AM UTC

I've built a desktop app that enables you to load CSV files and perform SQL on the CSVs.

I imagine it would be handy for anyone who starts learning SQL because you don't need to setup the database or use command-line.

If you are interested, please try it out: https://superintendent.app

Re: Why you should learn SQL

#4

Post by zeta0134 » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 5:48 AM UTC

I use SQL, or something like it, on pretty much any project that needs to store any significant amount of data. Easily the most bang for my buck out of any of the skills I picked up in high school.

Even if it's not SQL proper, you should learn a query language of some sort and get used to the idea of asking an engine to help you sort and filter your data in a consistent way. Once you have that mental model down, you'll find you can migrate between the SQL-likes and the SQL-not-so-likes comfortably, and pick the best tool for the job at hand.

Re: Why you should learn SQL

#5

Post by rmnclmnt » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 5:52 AM UTC

tanin wrote: post #3

I've built a desktop app that enables you to load CSV files and perform SQL on the CSVs. I imagine it would be handy for anyone who starts learning SQL because you don't need to setup the database or use command-line. If you are interested, please try it out: https://superintendent.app

So it’s a visual wrapper around SQLite?

Re: Why you should learn SQL

#6

Post by asutekku » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 5:54 AM UTC

Even as a PM, SQL is one of my most valuable skills. I can handle trivial tasks myself without bothering data analyst and speed up the processes by a lot

Re: Why you should learn SQL

#7

Post by eurasiantiger » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 5:55 AM UTC

SQL is going to eventually die because of its three-pronged relationship model that implies query-time complexity. Learn it if you want, but especially backend and analytics people would be better off learning Gremlin or Cypher.

Edit: downvoting this is not going to make it untrue.

Re: Why you should learn SQL

#8

Post by Hypergraphe » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 5:55 AM UTC

The point of this article is more on the importance of data integrity in databases than on SQL itself.

Re: Why you should learn SQL

#9

Post by tanin » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 5:56 AM UTC

rmnclmnt wrote: post #5

tanin wrote: post #3

I've built a desktop app that enables you to load CSV files and perform SQL on the CSVs. I imagine it would be handy for anyone who starts learning SQL because you don't need to setup the database or use command-line. If you are interested, please try it out: https://superintendent.app

So it’s a visual wrapper around SQLite?

Yes! with few additionalfunctionality added (e.g. regex, parse_date, tsv).

Initially, I wanted it for myself because I used Excel a lot but I never loaded CSVs into a database (dunno why). Using SQL is much more convenient than Excel's formula.

Re: Why you should learn SQL

#10

Post by abhinav22 » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 5:57 AM UTC

SQL is an important skill to have, in particular one should learn about database normalization and the normal forms - very important stuff!