Exercise 0: The Setup

This book will use SQLite3 as a training tool. SQLite3 is a complete database system that has the advantage of requiring almost no setup. You just download a binary and work it like most other scripting languages. Using this, you'll be able to learn SQL without getting stuck in the administrivia of administering a database server.

Installing SQLite3 is easy:

• Either go to their downloads page and grab the binary for your platform. Look for "Precompiled Binaries for X" with X being your operating system of choice.

• Use your operating system's package manager to install it. If you're on Linux, then you know what that means. If you're on OSX then first go get a package manager and then use it to install sqlite3.

When you've installed it, then make sure you can start up a command line and run it. Here's a quick test for you to try:

$ sqlite3 test.db
SQLite version 3.7.8 2011-09-19 14:49:19
Enter ".help" for instructions
Enter SQL statements terminated with a ";"
sqlite> create table test (id);
sqlite> .quit

Then look to see that the test.db file is there. If that works, then you're all set. You should make sure that your version of SQLite3 is the same as the one I have here: 3.7.8. Sometimes things won't work right with older versions.