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SQL: Visual QuickStart Guide, 1st Edition

Downloads

Most of the examples in SQL:Visual QuickStart Guide, 1st Edition, use the sample database books, described in "The Sample Database" in Chapter 2. If you want to run the examples, you'll need to create books in your DBMS. To do so, download the zip file sql_vqs_files.zip, expand it, and follow the instructions for your DBMS given in the appendix, "Creating the Sample Database."

Tips

• In Windows XP or Windows Vista, decompress zip files in Windows Explorer. In Mac OS X, double-click a zip file to decompress it. In Linux or Unix, use the gunzip or unzip command.
  
  
• After you decompress sql_vqs_files.zip, read the file readme.txt for a description of the distribution.
  
  
• If you're running a DBMS locally (that is, on your own computer) then you're the database administrator (DBA) and have all the privileges that you need. If you're connecting to a DBMS on a network server then ask your DBA for connection parameters and the privileges to create, query, update, and drop databases and tables.
  
  
• For information about setting your path to run command-line tools, see "Running SQL Programs" in Chapter 1.
  
  
• The instructions for creating the sample database explain how to use simple tools and settings. As you gain experience, you might want to switch to using the statement CREATE DATABASE to create new databases. CREATE DATABASE is a powerful but nonstandard SQL command, so its syntax and capabilities vary by DBMS; see your DBMS's documentation. (Microsoft Access doesn't support CREATE DATABASE but you can create Access databases programmatically by using Visual Basic for Applications.)