SQL is the language of data. Every application of consequence stores its data in a relational database, and SQL is how you talk to that database. Learn SQL once and the skill stays relevant across decades, technologies, and industries.
This course covers both the language itself and the design principles behind well-structured databases. You will write queries against a real practice schema and learn how to think about data the way professional database engineers do.
What you’ll learn
- Read and write SQL queries: SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE
- Design normalized relational schemas with primary and foreign keys
- Master JOINs to combine data from multiple tables
- Use aggregates, GROUP BY, and HAVING for analytics
- Optimize queries with indexes and EXPLAIN plans
Who is this for
Aimed at developers, analysts, and anyone who works with data in spreadsheets and is hitting the limits. Backend engineers who want to deepen their database skills, BI analysts moving beyond Excel, and product managers who want to query data themselves will all benefit.
Prerequisites
- Basic familiarity with tables and spreadsheets
- A computer where you can install PostgreSQL or MySQL (or use a cloud sandbox)
Course outcomes
You will be able to write queries that aggregate, join, and analyze multi-table data sets, design schemas that scale gracefully, and read execution plans to diagnose slow queries. These skills transfer directly to any SQL dialect — Postgres, MySQL, SQL Server, BigQuery, or Snowflake.