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ABSTRACT
SQL is a foundation technology for the study of information systems. This teaching note provides a free Internet-based Active X control that functions as an interactive SQL resource. The Active X control can be used to process/run SELECT SQL statements against the included database. The database contains four tables: orders, order details, inventory, and accounts receivable (i.e., customers). These tables provide a rich set of data for active learning of SQL concepts and terminology.
Keywords: SQL, Active X Control, SELECT Query, Active Learning
1. INTRODUCTION
SQL is the universal acronym for Structured Query Language. Structured Query Language (SQL) is the technology used to retrieve information from databases. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has published guidelines that have established SQL as the standard language for accessing and manipulating relational database management systems. SQL statements are used to perform data processing tasks such as selecting data for a report, selecting data as a an answer to a query, or updating data in a database. Commercial relational database management systems, including products of Oracle(TM) and Microsoft(TM), among others, use SQL. While proprietary database systems usually contain proprietary extensions of SQL that are only used on their particular systems, ANSI-standard SQL statements comprise the majority of available features.
2. INTERNET RESOURCES
There are a variety of Internet resources available to one who wishes to learn about SQL. Many of these resources are available at no cost to the user. These free resources fall into two general categories. The first category contains sites that offer only text. The second category contains sites that provide an interactive SQL processor that enables one to actually 'run' SQL statements and see the resulting output.
2.1 Text-Only Sites
Text-only...