SQL Syllabus

SQL Syllabus

A day-by-day log of learning SQL on Microsoft SQL Server. Every query was run in SQL Server Management Studio against the AdventureWorks2022 sample database, with a screenshot of the real result and a plain-English explanation.

Learner
Noor Tayyaba Batool
Role
Data Engineering Intern
Progress
Weeks 1–2 · 10 days · 280 queries

Week 1: SQL Basics

Day 1

SELECT, columns, DISTINCT, aliases

Get AdventureWorks running, then read data with SELECT: every column, chosen columns, DISTINCT, arithmetic, aliases and string concatenation.

Tue 29 September 2026 · 25 queries with screenshots Day 2

WHERE, every operator, NULL, LIKE

Filter rows with any condition an interviewer could name, and never be surprised by NULL again.

Wed 30 September 2026 · 44 queries with screenshots Day 3

ORDER BY, TOP, OFFSET-FETCH, functions

Control the order and size of results, and reshape values with string and date functions.

Thu 1 October 2026 · 33 queries with screenshots Day 4

Aggregate functions

Answer any how-many, how-much, highest, lowest, average question in one query, and know exactly how each function treats NULL.

Fri 2 October 2026 · 31 queries with screenshots Day 5

Joins

Combine any two to four tables correctly, and know from the row count alone whether your join is right.

Mon 5 October 2026 · 28 queries with screenshots Day 6

GROUP BY, HAVING, subqueries, CASE

Write the report queries a manager asks for by name, and know the order SQL runs your clauses in.

Tue 6 October 2026 · 29 queries with screenshots Day 7

Mock assessment

Answer 20 assessment questions in 60 minutes, notes closed, SSMS only. Pass mark 16 of 20; a query that runs but returns wrong rows is wrong.

Wed 7 October 2026 · 22 queries with screenshots

Week 2: Reporting SQL

Day 8

Window functions

Rank, number, total and compare rows without GROUP BY collapsing them. The single biggest jump from "knows SQL" to "writes reports".

Thu 8 October 2026 · 22 queries with screenshots Day 9

INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, MERGE, transactions

Change data without fear, because you always know how to undo it.

Fri 9 October 2026 · 24 queries with screenshots Day 10

Tables, constraints, views, temp tables

Build the tables a pipeline loads into, and make them refuse bad data.

Mon 12 October 2026 · 22 queries with screenshots

How to read each day

  1. Query: the exact SQL that was run, with syntax highlighting.
  2. What this query does: a step-by-step explanation, plus a 📍 note for the key lesson.
  3. Screenshot: the query and its result in SSMS, with the row count in the status bar. Click any screenshot to enlarge it.

Tools installed for the course: SQL Server Management Studio 22, SQL Server Express, Visual Studio 2022 with SSIS, and Power BI Desktop.