PostgreSQL Functions Playbook
Course info
Course info
Description
At the core of a database developer's skill set is a solid knowledge of Structured Query Language, often called by its acronym, SQL. Most database vendors strive to implement as many of the ANSI SQL standards as possible, including the functions defined in that standard. PostgreSQL does a better job than some others in its adherence to the standard, including the ANSI SQL functions.
In this course, PostgreSQL Functions Playbook, you will learn both sets of functions and how they can be used to write simpler, more effective queries. First, you'll have a quick review of the most common data types and how to use functions to build, convert, and format them to get started. Then, you will explore the many other functions and operators that work on those types for a wide variety of purposes. Finally, you'll discover how to use system functions to extract data about the system itself. When you are finished with this course, you'll have a foundational knowledge of PostgreSQL functions as well as the ANSI functions it implements, that will help you move forward as a database developer, both in PostgreSQL and other database systems.
Software required: You will need access to a running PostgreSQL database with populated tables and an IDE to use for editing and running queries. The demos in the course use an instance of PostgreSQL running in a docker container and Azure Data Studio for the IDE but you are free to use a PostgreSQL database and IDE of your choice.
About the author
Gerald is a multiple-year of the Microsoft MVP award, Gerald has led introductory classes in Python and SQL for industry-sponsored events at Ryerson University, Toronto and the University of Toronto (his alma mater).
More from the author
Section Introduction Transcripts
Course Overview
Hi everyone. My name is Gerald Britton. Welcome to my course, The PostgreSQL Functions Playbook. I'm a Pluralsight author and database specialist, working on database design and development among lots of other things. In this course, we're going to explore many of the built-in functions available with current PostgreSQL releases. While there won't be time to cover every function, there are hundreds of them, we will cover important ones that you can use right away and point you to resources for some of the less frequently used functions. Some of the major topics that we will cover include ANSI standard SQL functions and PostgreSQL extensions, functions to use with specific data types with special attention paid to converting between those types and text strings, functions that work across most data types, including window and aggregation functions, functions to limit the result sets for efficient queries, and system information and administration functions. By the end of this course, you'll know a good set of important functions that you can use right away. Before beginning this course, you should be familiar with writing queries in SQL in general and some knowledge of the PostgreSQL version of SQL. And by the time you complete this course, you should feel comfortable diving into other database topics with courses on Writing your own functions in PostgreSQL, General database design, Database performance monitoring and tuning. Well I hope you'll join me on this journey to learn the world of Postgres functions with the PostgreSQL Functions Playbook course here, at Pluralsight.