In this introductory lesson, you will review SQL and database terms and concepts. You will also install SQL Server Express and SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) to use throughout the course in the learn-by-doing practices. And, you will use SQL code scripts to create a practice database in SQL Server.

In this lesson, you will learn about join statements and how to join queries make it possible to retrieve data from more than one table. You'll also practice how to write well-designed join queries that retrieve result-sets that meet your requirements.

Databases can contain massive amounts of data. Learning how to filter the rows that will limit the result-set is extremely important. In this lesson, you will explore various ways to write SQL queries that retrieve a filtered result-set that meets defined criteria.

Because of the size of databases, it is important to design SQL queries that retrieve results-sets with data that is organized. In this lesson, you will practice designing queries that group similar data and summarize result-sets. You will explore aggregate functions and how they can be used in producing result-sets that can be used for data analysis.

Subqueries are SQL queries that are written inside another SQL query. Subqueries are used to perform intricate requirements on complex data subsets to retrieve specific data from the database. You will practice writing various subqueries using the practice database.

This lesson is about maintaining the database and data. You will practice using SQL code to modify and add table structures and add new data records. You will also learn about writing SQL queries to modify and delete tables structures and data. Understanding how to write queries to modify, add, and delete is important in order to maintain a database and data that are accurate and up to date.

Unions are used to retrieve data from more than one table. Instead of returning columns from different tables, a union SQL query combines rows for columns that are the same datatype. In this lesson, you will practice writing SQL queries that retrieve data from multiple tables with specific requirements.

SQL built-in functions are useful when applied in the right situations. In this lesson, you will work with string and date functions and write SQL queries to retrieve result-sets that manipulate and display data that may be easier to read and understand.

User-defined functions are called stored procedures. A stored procedure is a query that is written, saved, and ready to be reused whenever needed. In this lesson, you will practice defining, writing, saving, and executing stored procedures.

Indexes are important to database performance. Views are used to simplify access and to secure accessibility to the data. In this lesson, these concepts will be explored and examined as you practice defining and creating SQL queries.

A trigger is a user-defined stored procedure that is used for maintaining the database. Once a trigger has been defined and is implemented in the database, it is automatically executed when applicable. In this lesson, you will practice defining, writing, and saving triggers.

Understanding the database and its parts is a necessary component of learning SQL. It is difficult to develop and write efficient and well-designed queries without knowing the database and table structures. This last lesson presents SQL queries that retrieve database information. You will also explore the SSMS to make use of its functions as you continue your SQL journey.