🗂️ Master SQL from Scratch – A Step-by-Step Roadmap with Visual Guide & Progress Tracker

This structured roadmap is designed to guide developers from beginners to intermediate learners through mastering SQL step by step.

It breaks down key concepts into three milestones: Fundamentals, Intermediate Concepts, and Advanced Techniques, each with focused units and hands-on exercises.

Whether you're aiming to improve your backend skills, work with databases, or prepare for technical interviews, this roadmap provides a clear and practical learning path.

A visual roadmap with progress tracking is also available to help you stay organized and motivated.

Milestone 01: SQL Fundamentals

Goal: Build a strong foundation in SQL by understanding relational databases, basic queries, and essential operations.

Unit 01: Introduction to SQL and Databases

Goal: Understand the basics of relational databases and SQL syntax.

• What is SQL and its importance
• Relational database concepts
• SQL data types and constraints
• Creating and dropping databases
• Creating and dropping tables
• Practical exercise: Create a simple database with multiple tables and define appropriate data types and constraints.

Unit 02: Basic Data Manipulation

Goal: Learn to insert, update, and delete data within tables.

• INSERT INTO statement
• UPDATE statement
• DELETE statement
• TRUNCATE vs DELETE
• Practical exercise: Populate your tables with sample data and perform update and delete operations.

Unit 03: Simple Queries and Filtering

Goal: Retrieve data using SELECT statements with various clauses.

• SELECT statement basics
• WHERE clause for filtering
• Logical operators (AND, OR, NOT)
• Comparison operators (=, <>, >, <, BETWEEN, IN, LIKE)
• ORDER BY clause
• Practical exercise: Write queries to retrieve specific data based on conditions and sort the results.

Unit 04: Functions and Expressions

Goal: Utilize built-in SQL functions for data processing.

• Aggregate functions (COUNT, SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX)
• String functions (UPPER, LOWER, LENGTH, SUBSTRING)
• Date functions (NOW, DATE_PART, AGE)
• Mathematical functions (ROUND, CEIL, FLOOR)
• Practical exercise: Apply various functions to manipulate and analyze data in your tables.

Milestone 02: Intermediate SQL Concepts

Goal: Enhance your SQL skills by learning about joins, subqueries, and data grouping techniques.

Unit 01: Joining Tables

Goal: Combine data from multiple tables using different types of joins.

• INNER JOIN
• LEFT (OUTER) JOIN
• RIGHT (OUTER) JOIN
• FULL (OUTER) JOIN
• CROSS JOIN
• Practical exercise: Write queries that join multiple tables to retrieve comprehensive datasets.

Unit 02: Grouping and Aggregating Data

Goal: Summarize data using GROUP BY and HAVING clauses.

• GROUP BY clause
• HAVING clause for filtering groups
• Combining GROUP BY with aggregate functions
• Practical exercise: Generate summary reports, such as total sales per region or average scores per class.

Unit 03: Subqueries and Nested Queries

Goal: Use subqueries to perform complex data retrievals.

• Subqueries in SELECT, FROM, and WHERE clauses
• Correlated vs non-correlated subqueries
• EXISTS and NOT EXISTS operators
• Practical exercise: Create queries that utilize subqueries to filter and compute data.

Unit 04: Set Operations and Views

Goal: Perform operations on multiple query results and create virtual tables.

• UNION and UNION ALL
• INTERSECT
• EXCEPT
• Creating and managing views
• Practical exercise: Combine results from different queries and create views for simplified data access.

Milestone 03: Advanced SQL Techniques

Goal: Master advanced SQL features, including indexing, transactions, and performance optimization.

Unit 01: Indexing and Performance Tuning

Goal: Improve query performance through indexing and analysis.

• Understanding indexes and their types
• Creating and dropping indexes
• Analyzing query performance with EXPLAIN
• Optimizing queries for better performance
• Practical exercise: Add indexes to your tables and compare query performance before and after indexing.

Unit 02: Transactions and Concurrency Control

Goal: Manage data integrity and consistency using transactions.

• ACID properties
• BEGIN, COMMIT, and ROLLBACK statements
• Isolation levels (READ COMMITTED, SERIALIZABLE, etc.)
• Handling concurrent transactions
• Practical exercise: Implement transactions to ensure data consistency during complex operations.

Unit 03: Stored Procedures and Triggers

Goal: Automate tasks and enforce rules using procedural SQL.

• Creating and executing stored procedures
• Creating and managing triggers
• Use cases for procedures and triggers
• Practical exercise: Develop stored procedures and triggers to automate data validation and logging.

Unit 04: Advanced Query Techniques

Goal: Explore complex query constructs for sophisticated data analysis.

• Common Table Expressions (CTEs)
• Recursive queries
• Window functions (ROW_NUMBER, RANK, LEAD, LAG)
• Pivoting data
• Practical exercise: Write advanced queries using CTEs and window functions to analyze data trends.

🎯 Stay on Track with Visual Progress Version
To help you stay focused and consistent in your learning journey, use this Visual SQL Roadmap with Progress Tracking