SQL is one of the key development languages. It allows you to develop data-driven websites. There are many aspects of SQL and not all developers are aware of them. We have prepared 10 extremely important tips that will help everyone understand this topic in detail.

1. Use the right language

“There are many languages ​​available for development. In the process of creating sites, you should correctly determine the most effective one, suitable for a specific situation. Most developers do not plan ahead and create simple code with 100 lines of data. In the future, the database will grow, and when the number of rows reaches 10,000, problems will begin,” admits Jodocus Bertha, a software developer from Ivory Research.

2. Take care of your code protection

The information in the database is very valuable. This is what leads to frequent attacks on them. Developers sometimes do not take into account the fact that the code has vulnerabilities. This is causing excitement for both developers and clients. Today, a specialist bears great responsibility for data security and can be brought to legal proceedings in case of negligent work.

3. Have a clear understanding of unification

Writing SQL select statements for one table is a fairly straightforward task. Modern business requirements dictate the work on more complex queries. For example, “find all orders for each customer and display products for each order.” For this example, at least three tables are created: order_line, orders table, and customers table. As an SQL expert, it is clear that tables need to be concatenated to solve a problem. This option requires two connections.?

4. Be aware of your data types

Every single column of a table in SQL is characterized by a related data type. The developer can choose from popular types such as VarChar, Text, Date, and Integer. Many other types are also available to work with.

During development, you should check everything carefully to ensure that the data type is correct. For numeric values, the numeric type must be selected, variables of the DATE type must be selected for dates.

5. Get busy writing compatible code

There are standards for every programming language. Developers should be familiar with this issue, especially with regard to SQL. After going through the ISO and ANSI standardization process, new language versions were introduced. The last option is the 2008 language. If we talk about the standard, then here you should definitely study the 1999 version. This particular variant contains triggers, recursive queries, and support for PL / SQL and T-SQL. In addition, there are some new features in this issue that are worth knowing about.

The developer must be aware of the usefulness of code that conforms to standards. This process is important for two basic reasons: maintainability and cross-platform standardization. This process takes into account the fact that the website will be up and running for many years and will successfully handle upcoming updates.

The second underlying reason is cross-platform standardization. Prevention of this scenario between Microsoft, Oracle, etc. is based precisely on SQL standards.

6. Use data normalization

The ability to organize the contents of a database is called normalization. The decrease in efficiency, speed and the appearance of inaccuracies is a consequence of the lack of normalization. There is a whole series of specific instructions for normalization, prepared by leading developers in the field. It has only 5 levels of this process (they are also called “forms”). The minimum level of normalization is typical for the first form, the maximum for the fifth.

7. Get busy defining object names

Often this rule is not followed by specialists. The fully qualified name of the database object is DATABASE.schema.TABLE. Having a full name removes ambiguity. Specialists who are just starting their professional development path are often deprived of access to schemas and multiple databases. This fact is the reason for the appearance of problems in the future. If the user has access to several databases and schemas, then having a direct indication of the required object becomes fundamental.

8. Indexing: knowing the basics and getting the gist

The data structure that speeds up operations on tables is called a database index. A technician can use multiple columns of data from a table to create indexes. This allows you to speed up random searches and open the way to ordered records.

The special role of indexing can be traced when working with large tables. It is worth remembering that with the prospect of growing smaller tables, they should also be indexed. This procedure is not needed if the growth of tables is not planned.

9. Correct resolution

Handling database permissions correctly becomes more important when it comes to multiple users. Most databases have an admin user. There is no point in running prompts as an administrator when you have the intention of allowing junior developers and users to access credentials. There are general permissions topics, but they have a direct relationship with the DBMS.

Security management depends on the correct management of user permissions. In addition, it provides a framework for accelerating the development process and protects data integrity.

10. You definitely need to know the limitations of your DBMS

Any database is a pretty powerful tool in the hands of a developer. It is worth knowing that such a toolkit has a certain list of limiting factors. When working with MySQL, Oracle, and SQL Server, the developer must be aware of the unique constraints. The main ones are the maximum number of tables and the allowed size of the database. There are other restrictions that you should definitely be familiar with. It is not uncommon for a development specialist to accidentally choose a DBMS solution when working with his project. His mistake is that he does not take into account the increasing demands on his database and does not plan for its growth.

11. Extra skills

A good programmer doesn’t just write quality code and has knowledge in this area. This is a versatile person who should know much more. In addition, speaking about this area, it is assumed that specialists should negotiate with stakeholders and speak at conferences.

Thus, one of the key skills of developers is competent communication. This means that you must have clear and rich speech. Therefore, sooner or later, you will be faced with the need to hone this skill. This can be done in several ways. You can start studying on your own in language courses or go to a language school. Which method is best for you is up to you. However, we recommend that you consider the possibilities and take a comprehensive approach to train. This will provide a significant competitive advantage over other developers.

Conclusion

We’ve compiled detailed information about SQL and, based on it, have come up with 10 essential best practices for development professionals. Do not forget that the topic of using SQL is very capacious and there are many more methods and nuances of working with them. Each developer can collect for themselves the most relevant tips for working in this area and successfully use them in their work. This approach allows not only to better cover the tasks and processes of the project, but also guarantees the flawless operation of the site in the long term. Development is an exciting and always unexpected process in some aspects. Keep in mind that developer-written code supports the entire infrastructure of the Internet and propels it towards success.