My advice is: don't write complicated SQL.
The best thing I learned about SQL is that it can do an awful lot of clever stuff but that the vast majority of the time you really don't need it. Learn the basics. Shrug the rest off.
The best thing I learned about SQL is that it can do an awful lot of clever stuff but that the vast majority of the time you really don't need it. Learn the basics. Shrug the rest off.
I understand that SQL is pseudo-relational, but it’s as good as you’re going to get if you want something you can use for actual workloads.
The relational model is superior as complexity grows (although arguably the deductive model is even better), but the tablational model is superior for simple line-of-business stuff, so pick your poison. Like with all things engineering, there is never one perfect solution that satisfies everything. If, like the earlier comment suggested, you keep your SQL simple then you'll be fine.