Transact-SQL Basics course - MS SQL Server
In this practical course you learn to work with Transact-SQL and Microsoft SQL Server: from simple queries to joins, groupings and editing your data.
NRTO quality markFree cancellation up to four weeks before the start, so feel free to book now.
- Writing your own queries in T-SQL and SQL Server
- Filtering, sorting, grouping and combining data
- Plenty of practice in Management Studio
- Small group, experienced database trainer
- Course book included, also as a reference work
You work with data in Microsoft SQL Server and want to be able to write your own queries. In this course you will learn the building blocks of T-SQL: from simple SELECT statements to joins, groupings and subqueries.
Description
Microsoft SQL Server is one of the most widely used database systems for database management, development and business intelligence. Transact-SQL is the SQL variant that Microsoft has added to it, with extra options for logical blocks and programming constructs.
You start with the basics: how a relational database works, what primary and foreign keys are, and how to retrieve data with SELECT. You then build up step by step to filtering, sorting, calculating and combining data from several tables.
The course is practice-oriented. You work extensively in Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and practise with realistic datasets. Theory and practice alternate continuously, so you apply what you have learned straight away.
Topics
Day 1: SQL basics and simple queries
- Basic principles: databases, data types, primary key and foreign key
- Introduction to Microsoft SQL Server and Management Studio
- Retrieving data with SELECT, FROM, TOP and DISTINCT
- Sorting with ORDER BY
- Filtering with WHERE, comparison operators and BETWEEN
- Advanced filtering with AND, OR, IN and NOT
- Working with wildcards (LIKE)
- Calculations and concatenation
Day 2: Advanced queries and T-SQL
- Functions: ROUND, LTRIM, RTRIM, DATEPART
- Summarising with COUNT, SUM, AVG, MAX and MIN
- Grouping with GROUP BY and HAVING
- Subqueries with IN
- Combining tables with INNER JOIN, LEFT OUTER JOIN and RIGHT OUTER JOIN
- Table aliases and advanced joins
- Combining queries with UNION
- Adding, modifying and deleting data (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE)
- Managing tables with CREATE, ALTER and DROP
- The added value of T-SQL over standard SQL
Result
After this course you understand how Microsoft SQL Server works and you know the difference between SQL and T-SQL. You independently write queries to retrieve, filter, sort and combine data from several tables. You apply functions and groupings to summarise data, and you can add, change and delete records. This allows you to get more value out of the data in your organisation.
Target audience
This course is intended for beginning users of Microsoft SQL Server who want to get started with T-SQL. Think of beginning database administrators and database managers, BI professionals, data analysts, report builders and software developers who want to be able to write their own queries.
Teaching method
You work in a small group under the guidance of an experienced database trainer. Theory alternates with demos and plenty of practical exercises in Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio. You are welcome to bring in examples from your own working practice. Before the course you will receive a course book with exercises, which you can also use afterwards as a reference work. The software and the course material are in English.
Prior knowledge
No specific prior knowledge is required. An affinity with data and logical thinking is useful, however.
Comments
Would you prefer a platform-independent SQL basics course? Then take our SQL Basics course.
Looking for a basic SQL course aimed specifically at Oracle? Then register for the SQL Basics Oracle course.
Practical information
- Number of days
- 2 days
- Course times
- from 10 am to 5 pm
- Teaching hours
- 12 hours
- Education level
- Suitable for all levels
- Preparation time
- None
- Included
- Course materials and lunch on site
- Certificate
- At the end of the course you will receive a certificate of attendance
- Cancel
- Free up to four weeks before the start (cancellation terms)
Language
The course is given in Dutch as standard. The trainer speaks English. English-language course materials can be used. If at least 3 participants register, the course can also be given entirely in English.
All start dates
2 training days. Confirmed dates first, then in order of date.
- Mon 19 & Tue 20 October 2026Certain to go ahead Eindhoven · 10:00–17:00 Enrol
- Mon 9 & Tue 10 November 2026Certain to go ahead The Hague · 10:00–17:00Free cancellation until 12 October Enrol
- Thu 19 & Fri 20 November 2026 Amsterdam · 10:00–17:00Free cancellation until 22 October Enrol
- Tue 22 & Wed 23 December 2026 Eindhoven · 10:00–17:00Free cancellation until 24 November Enrol
- Tue 16 & Wed 17 March 2027 Arnhem · 10:00–17:00Free cancellation until 16 February Enrol
- Tue 30 & Wed 31 March 2027 Groningen · 10:00–17:00Free cancellation until 2 March Enrol
- Tue 30 & Wed 31 March 2027 Zwolle · 10:00–17:00Free cancellation until 2 March Enrol
- Thu 3 & Fri 4 June 2027 Utrecht · 10:00–17:00Free cancellation until 6 May Enrol
- Mon 2 & Tue 3 August 2027 Rotterdam · 10:00–17:00Free cancellation until 5 July Enrol
No suitable start date? Send us a date request, and we'll look at the options together.
This course for your team?
Plan your own group on a date that suits you, at your office, at our premises or online. We tailor the content to your day-to-day work, and training a whole group is cheaper than individual bookings.
- Your date and location
- Tailored content
- Multiple groups or an academy are also possible
- More than 25 years' experience
What others say about this course
Transact-SQL Basics course - MS SQL Server: average of 8.6 from 4 reviews
“SQL Basics was an excellent course and immediately applicable in practice. The trainer is friendly, patient and open. He certainly knows his subject and enjoys being challenged by his participants.”
“This course teaches you in 2 days what SQL is, how you can use it and what the well-known mistakes are. The trainer is highly professional and has a great deal of knowledge of the subject.”
“I found the combination of short explanations and exercises very pleasant. The trainer has an agreeable way of conveying knowledge and weaves practical experience into the course material.”
“This basic course met my expectations. The trainer was knowledgeable and relaxed, with plenty of individual attention where needed.”
“Received a good explanation of all the basic principles within SQL and its various dialects. Highly recommended as a refresher course too!”
“I expected a basic course that covered writing queries from scratch from A to Z. The course did exactly that. A perfect match.”
“Very good course. Excellent trainer”
“Practical training course that lays a good foundation for further use and understanding of SQL.”
“I would recommend this course to people who have never worked with SQL before; it is perfectly suited to that.”
“The course is highly suitable for people who have never worked with SQL before. It explains clearly what SQL can do. This is a good basic course. If you already use SQL regularly, I would recommend an advanced course.”
“Learnit gave good thought to how the SQL Basics course on site should be set up. This was for a small group with different backgrounds and levels of basic knowledge. This was no problem at all for the course or the trainer. The structure is pleasant and the course moves along nicely. There is room to go into more depth, and a big advantage is that you do a lot yourself and discuss it afterwards.”
“The course is very instructive; in a short space of time you learn the skill of querying databases. The good atmosphere during the course stimulates creativity, which makes learning almost effortless. The course does not cost energy, it actually gives you energy!”
“I am positive. I now feel less like I am getting lost in queries made by others. Creating queries is not a requirement for my role, but making the occasional small adjustment to generate output is.”
“Attended the Report Builder course. Enthusiastic trainer who shared his expertise with us in a pleasant way. During the course day we were able to use good practice material, with a well-structured set-up. Learned a lot, excellent value with a useful presentation as reference material.”
“Valuable course with highly capable trainers, at a pleasant location.”
“A good course with good materials. I got a solid grasp of the SQL basics in two days. I would recommend doing some preparation beforehand so you pick up the topics better and faster. The trainer was open to questions and explained things well.”
“Enjoyable and instructive course with a good mix of theory and practice. The trainer presented it in a relaxed way and with humour, which made it all the more pleasant. Everything was well organised and I was able to apply what I had learned straight away!”
“Excellent course in which the complete basics are explained; the trainer can also discuss matters that fall outside the scope of the course.”
“Practical training course that lays a good foundation for further use and understanding of SQL.”
“A good course for anyone who wants to feel, in just 2 days, that they understand SQL and can start using it with confidence.”
“A pleasant, interactive course that gives you plenty of hand-outs to put into practice at work.”
“Enjoyable basic course, perfect location (Amsterdam, Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ).”
“Enjoyable and interesting course in which you get straight to work applying the material through related assignments that are discussed as a group afterwards.”
“Very good course for learning how to build basic queries. Clear book with good examples and a good structure. The trainer is highly knowledgeable. His way of explaining things held our attention. Clarifying explanations.”
"The trainer was very good and the course material was clear. The pace of the course was manageable and the exercises offered exactly the right amount of challenge."
“it is a very good foundation, so you can get started with SQL straight afterwards.”
“A course in an informal atmosphere, where personal contact comes first. This way everyone can take in the material at their own pace and there is plenty of room to achieve your goals.”
“Interesting and practical course. The trainer responded quickly to the feedback given, which made it feel even more like a tailor-made course!”
“Absolutely excellent, a pleasant and knowledgeable trainer. Good pace, plenty of variation between content and exercises. The course comes highly recommended!”
“You learn the basic commands for querying a database and combining tables. This tied in perfectly with the issues I come across in my daily work. I was lucky to be in a class where everyone took part with the same goals. As a result the pace was high and you didn't have to wait for other participants. It is a requirement to have some knowledge of application management and database querying, so that you can translate the content straight into daily practice.”
“It was a demanding course, covering an enormous amount in two days. It was a thoroughly enjoyable course!”
“I was very satisfied with the set-up and delivery of this course. A good balance was struck between participants working at different paces. The explanations were clear, with a good balance between doing exercises together and getting to work on exercises yourself.”
“Received a good explanation of all the basic principles within SQL and its various dialects. Highly recommended as a refresher course too!”
“Good trainer, plenty of course material. I achieved my initial objectives.”
“The content met my expectations. Gaining basic SQL knowledge. The trainer was very knowledgeable and also gave plenty of good tips.”
“This basic course met my expectations. The trainer was knowledgeable and relaxed, with plenty of individual attention where needed.”
“Very well organised course with room for your own input.”
“Challenging, particularly because it could be adjusted on the spot to the level of the participants.”
"At Learnit they keep learning from their own lessons. What a great course!"
“The content was good. We had requested a course to learn the new functions / changes in SQL Server 2012. So we largely determined the content ourselves. The trainer picked this up well and clearly explained per topic what had changed / was new and how to deal with it, and gave examples for each topic.”
“Excellent course with plenty of depth added to the basic material by a professional trainer.”
“The course is interactive. Within two days you have a clear picture of the possibilities of SQL”
“Good set-up, sound structure, recommended.”
“A good course if you have no knowledge of SQL yet. You can put what you have learned to use straight away.”
"The content of the course is very good; you get a clear picture of how the material can be applied within your own organisation. Enjoyable exercises and an excellent trainer who teaches in an inspiring way."
“Excellent SQL Server course with a clear structure.”
“If you would like to learn the basics of SQL, this course really comes recommended.”
“Good balance between presentation and doing exercises yourself. Good variation in the difficulty of the exercises, there were a few nice challenging ones among them. The trainer had a great deal of knowledge and explained clearly how to tackle a problem in a structured way.”
“A useful and practical course for anyone who wants to master the SQL fundamentals.”
"The course was delivered at a good pace, allowing the participants to keep up well. It was not a large group, so there was plenty of room for the individual. The material was in a logical order, so that as you progressed through the course the basics kept being repeated, which made them stick."
Training formats
Classroom
2 days€ 1100,-- Pleasant venue with a good trainer
- Small groups
- Inspiring and motivating
In-company
Bespoke trainingOn request- 100% for your group
- Bespoke training
- At your place or ours
Workshop
Up to 4 hours for groupsOn request- Suitable for events
- Interactive and inspiring
- Large groups too
Private training
At our place or yoursOn request- 100% just for you
- Achieve a lot in little time
- Whenever you want
Frequently asked questions
Can I cancel free of charge?
Yes. Up to four weeks before the first day of the course you can cancel free of charge, without giving a reason. You then receive a credit note or, if you have already paid, a refund. If you cancel later, you pay part of the course fee: 25% between four and two weeks before the start, 75% in the two weeks before it and 100% in the final week. Moving to another start date is free of charge up to two weeks before the start, after that 50%. Sending a colleague in your place is always possible. Read the cancellation terms.
What is Transact-SQL and how does it differ from standard SQL?
Transact-SQL (T-SQL) is Microsoft's SQL variant for SQL Server. It contains all the standard SQL commands such as SELECT, INSERT and JOIN, and adds extra capabilities for logical blocks, variables, error handling and procedural programming. This allows you to run more complex logic directly in the database with T-SQL.
Do I need prior knowledge to take this course?
No, you do not need any specific prior knowledge of SQL or databases. An affinity with data and logical thinking is useful, however, as you will be working with queries and relationships between tables.
Who is this T-SQL course intended for?
The course is intended for beginning users of Microsoft SQL Server. Think of data analysts, BI professionals, junior database managers and administrators, report builders and software developers who want to be able to write their own queries.
Which software is used during the course?
You work with Microsoft SQL Server and SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). The software and the course material are in English; the explanations are in Dutch.
What exactly will I learn during the?
Day one focuses on the basics: SELECT statements, filtering, sorting and simple calculations. Day two goes deeper into functions, grouping, subqueries, joins between tables, UNION and data manipulation with INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE. You also manage tables with CREATE, ALTER and DROP.
Do I receive a certificate on completion?
Yes, on completion you will receive the Learnit certificate of participation. This demonstrates that you have completed the Transact-SQL Basics course.
Is this course also suitable as a stepping stone to advanced SQL?
Yes. After this basic course you will have mastered the building blocks you need for follow-up courses on advanced T-SQL, database development or business intelligence with SQL Server.
Can I also take this course in-company?
Yes, in addition to the scheduled courses you can also follow this course in-company, on location or online. We then tailor the content and examples to the working practice within your organisation. Request a quotation for the options.
Do you work with your own data during the course or with practice databases?
During the course you practise with prepared exercise databases, so that all participants start from the same point. You can raise questions about your own situation or dataset, so that the trainer can show you how you would build a comparable query in your own practice.
What is the difference between an INNER JOIN and an OUTER JOIN?
An INNER JOIN returns only those rows for which a match exists in both tables. A LEFT OUTER JOIN returns all rows from the left-hand table, even if there is no match in the right-hand table. A RIGHT OUTER JOIN does the same, but from the right-hand table. Both joins are covered extensively during the course.
Is there any support after the course if I run into a problem?
During the course you receive a course book with exercises that you can then use as a reference work. For more in-depth questions you can take a follow-up course or request a bespoke programme.
How much does the Transact-SQL Basics course cost?
You can find the current price at the top right of this course page, along with the schedule, location and delivery format. For in-company or bespoke courses we are happy to provide a quotation on request.
Mon 19 & Tue 20 October 2026 in Eindhoven
This date already has enough participants. Free cancellation up to four weeks before the start, so you can secure a place now.