Select Star SQL, an interactive book

Select Star SQL is a free interactive book at selectstarsql.com, written by Zi Chong Kao. There are no ads and no registration. Each chapter is meant to take about thirty minutes. You write SQL against a real-world dataset in the browser. The point is a mental model for queries, not a list of syntax.

What you work on

The main thread uses data around capital punishment in the United States. Chapters move from row operations, to aggregates, to GROUP BY, to joins. Later challenge questions use other public data, including Senate cosponsorship.

The dataset is chosen so the question matters. You are not counting toy rows. That is why I go back to it when I want to explain why a GROUP BY exists, not only how to type it.

How it runs

SQLite in the browser, on a static site. No backend for you to log into. The prose is Creative Commons; the code and data are public domain.

I treat it as a book you do, not a site you skim. If someone already has SELECT and needs joins to feel inevitable, this is the one I send.