I am by no means an SQL guru – there are many people far more skilled in SQL than I am. But I like to think I write well structured and clean SQL that is maintainable and performs well. Sadly, all to often I find poorly thought out SQL written in hard to read styles and with little respect for the language and it’s power.
SQL is not easy to write well but it is easy to write. Unfortunately, many developers think it is easy and place minimal emphasis on improving their skills beyond what they first learned. In the PeopleSoft market in particular, I have met many developers who are extremely skilled in (say) PeopleCode but all too often their SQL is poorly constructed. I’d describe it as “baby SQL”.
I’ll write a longer article with some tips and style guides for SQL at some point, but the message here is:
Respect SQL, Learn it, Embrace it’s strengths and it will reward you.