Where to learn SQL for Free
In this article, we will discuss how to learn SQL for free. Yes, there are many courses out there that teach programming languages. Some are excellent, but the problem that I have faced is that many of these courses are outdated. Or they are often taught by non-professional teachers, who may be fun and enthusiastic, and also good at what they do, but who do not always properly teach concepts from the base with proper teaching methods. Often they skip intermediate steps and get you stuck (which may be a good learning experience but also frustrating). On the other hand, if you want, you can always find a good, inexpensive course at Udemy. Again choose the most recent course as many of the platforms they work on keep updating. if you are tired of troubleshooting for days for 1 minute of course materials, consider researching dates and teacher responses to questions. The most updated courses I have found online are the classes taught by LinkedIn Learning, formerly Lynda.com. To self-teach for free, let’s start with the very basic:
W3 offers courses online at https://www.w3schools.com/. What is W3? If you are new to IT and the World Wide Web, the W3C is the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that creates web standards for people who build and use websites. They are the ultimate authority. One of the consortium’s goals is to create consistency, especially in using web coding. Whenever I get stuck or do not understand a concept (I am a slow learner), I clarify on the W3 School.
First of all, before looking for a course, make sure that the course is targeted to your Data Science Needs. Some courses teach concepts that do not have specific objectives. To start out your SQL learning experience I would go to https://www.w3schools.com/sql/ and go down their list of concepts and practice materials. It is very basic but for many of us, having a good base is primordial. If you are learning SQL for Data Science, make sure that you learn the database concepts as a priority. As an alternative to W3 Schools, Khan Academy is the way to go: https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-programming/sql
Khan Academy offers many introductory courses. I haven’t used Khan for SQL yet. However, their courses are basic, fun but sometimes a little bit too boxed in with little room to allow creativity in order to try things on your own. Khan Academy is awesome to learn or brush up on almost any topic imaginable. From History to Python, you can really learn any concept. I have used Khan to brush up on my Algebra and I loved the way the course slowly takes you to more complex levels while covering all the bases.
This very simple site dedicated to SQL offers very simple tutorials: SQLtutorial.org
Other Sites to learn SQL:
https://www.sqlcourse.com/ offers a beginner class and an advanced course. It is taught by a group called TechnologyAdvice, a group that creates opportunities for IT companies and individuals. From what I can tell from basic research is that they have a nice win-win type business model.
https://sqlbolt.com/ offers a SQL course on their very understated interface, the same goes for https://sqlbolt.com
