New book teaches readers how to tell data stories with PostgreSQL

SQL databases can be daunting but can also be very fun if you know how to use them. The information contained in a database can provide many insights to someone who knows how to properly query and manipulate the data. Practical SQL, 2nd Edition: A Beginner’s Guide to Storytelling with Data by Anthony DeBarros teaches readers how to do just that.

The content

DeBarros, currently a data editor at the Wall Street Journal, pulls from his practical experience in journalism to teach readers how to tell stories with data. The book consists of an introduction, 20 chapters, and several appendices. The introduction sets the tone for the book, explaining what the book is about and who it is for, and the 20 chapters teach lessons about various database topics. Chapter 1 is the traditional “how to set up your environment” chapter and covers how to install PostgreSQL on Windows, macOS, or Linux (specifically, Ubuntu). The following chapters cover the basics of working with SQL databases, like creating databases and tables, performing basic queries, understanding data types, importing and exporting data, and basic math and stats functions. The chapters then progress to more complex topics like joining tables and extracting, inspecting, and modifying data. By the time the reader reaches the book’s midpoint, they should have a solid understanding of how databases work.

The chapters in the second half of the book, starting with chapter 11, explore advanced topics.

• Chapter 11 covers statistical functions.
• Chapter 12 explains how to work with dates and time.
• Chapter 13 teaches advanced query techniques.
• Chapter 14 explores text mining features.
• Chapter 15 looks at analyzing spatial data using PostGIS.
• Chapter 16 explains how to work with JSON data.
• Chapter 17 shows how to use views, functions, and triggers.
• Chapter 18 discusses using PostgreSQL from the command line.
• Chapter 19 covers database maintenance.

The final chapter, Chapter 20: Telling Your Data’s Story, shifts away from the practical aspects of chapters one through 19 toward providing advice about telling stories using data. Again, Debarros pulls from his experience as a journalist to offer lessons about the whys, hows, and best practices of doing data journalism or data storytelling. If chapters one through 19 are the tools in the toolbox, chapter 20 is a sample blueprint that will inspire the reader to create their own project.

The exercises

There are SQL files and other supplemental resources for the exercises in each chapter in the book’s GitHub Repository, except for chapter 20, which has no activities. The repository also contains a file with solutions for each of the “try it yourself” end-of-chapter exercises.

The exercises throughout the book are all very interesting. While the earliest chapters are understandably basic (there are only so many ways to teach CREATE DATABASE and CREATE TABLE), they provide an excellent foundation for the more advanced topics later in the book. The advanced exercises use real-world data to give verisimilitude to the learning experience. The database of choice for Practical SQL, 2nd Edition is PostgreSQL, but the book makes some mentions of different databases when things might work differently. However, it is very much a PostgreSQL book, so that is something to keep in mind.

Final thoughts

Practical SQL, 2nd Edition is a well-written and informative book that can help someone begin to master SQL. Even more importantly, it is an extremely enjoyable book that will keep the reader engaged with interesting, thought-provoking exercises. Anyone interested in learning the ins and outs of PostgreSQL should consider picking up this book. The book’s only drawback is that it is a PostgreSQL book, not a database-agnostic book, so anyone trying to learn MySQL, MariaDB, or some other SQL-based database might want to choose a book that focuses on that particular database. The overall “Guide to Storytelling with Data” lessons are something a moderately experienced MySQL, MariaDB, etc. can apply to their database of choice, but this book is not the ideal first book for learning a non-PostgreSQL database. That one caveat emptor aside, I highly recommend Practical SQL, 2nd Edition to anyone wanting to learn PostgreSQL and how to tell stories with data.