Where Can I Get Free Databases to Practice SQL?

Looking for a Database for SQL Practice?

If you’re looking for SQL and database practice, then you’re in the right place. Today, you’ll hone your SQL skills and learn where to find open source databases to interact with them in a structured way.

In this article, we’ll walk you through some of the best sources to find open databases and explain how they can help you practice your SQL skills. So, if you’re ready to practice SQL with databases, let’s get started!

1. Microsoft

Practicing your SQL skills can be done with Microsoft’s AdventureWorks sample databases. By using this database, you can start by familiarizing yourself with the various products available from Microsoft such as Microsoft SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, and more. You can then practice your SQL skills and become comfortable with the syntax and commands used to manage and query data.

Once you are comfortable with the fundamentals, you can begin to explore the various features available in each product and experiment with different scenarios. As you become more proficient, you can also take professional certification exams to demonstrate your expertise in using Microsoft databases.

2. Kaggle

Kaggle is an online community of data scientists and machine learning practitioners who share and collaborate on datasets. There are over 50,000 datasets within this community, which are curated for specific topics or tasks.

Some of the free databases available on Kaggle include the popular Iris dataset, the Titanic dataset, the MNIST database of handwritten digits, and many more.

Furthermore, Kaggle also provides access to large datasets from various sources such as NASA, Google, and Microsoft that can be used for research and development purposes.

3. Mode

Mode can assist you in SQL with a wide range of sample databases that are designed to help users quickly get started with their data analysis projects. Additionally, Mode also provides an extensive library of SQL queries and tutorials that can be used to further explore the databases.

In the Mode SQL tutorial, you will work with housing units obtained from the United States Census. For example, you’ll practice your common SQL clauses like WHERE, SELECT, and LIKE. Finally, you’ll practice comparison and logical operators followed by intermediate and advanced topics.

4. BigQuery

BigQuery provides free public datasets that anyone can access and integrate into their own applications. The BigQuery datasets are hosted for free and can be used on the GCP platform.

Some of these datasets include Google Analytics sample data, US Census data, World Bank Open Data, and many more. BigQuery also offers a selection of sample tables to help developers get started with querying, exploring, and visualizing the data.

5. US Open Data Portal

The US Open Data Portal provides access to a number of free datasets related to topics such as economics, health, education, energy, environment, public safety, transportation, and more. Although most files are organized in CSVs, XML, and JSON format, it’s more of a DIY project to form your own database from raw data.

Additionally, you can access public portals from other government agencies including NASA, NOAA, USGS, and FEMA. These portals typically also offer tools for visualizing and analyzing data and tools for creating applications using the data.

Conclusion

In order to become proficient in SQL, you have to practice using databases from different sources. Fortunately, there are a wide variety of free databases available for use and practice.

We’ve walked you through some of the best places to find sample databases so you can practice your SQL skills. Are there any other sources for databases that we missed? Please let us know with a comment below.