I’m interested in learning VBA or SQL. I don’t really know much about these but was looking into taking some training classes in the Boston area. Does anyone know some good providers? Are these training programs worth it or should I try to train myself? Thanks
SQL’s more data retrieval (typically found in reporting functions). SQL can be hard to learn on your own if you don’t have access to a database and query software (most books will provide access to sample database for examples, but you still need the software). If you do, then SQL’s by far the easiest of the two. I have a great book, “Sams teach yourself SQL in 10 minutes.” It’s heavily recommended by all and honestly, it’s the quickest most straight forward way to get all the basics 95% of users will ever need plus some. SQL can literally be learned in about 2-5 hours with no real background and through repetitive use, swapping chunks of code with people you’ll be breezing through it with your eyes closed in no time. Select… From… Where… VBA is more for building complex models and manipulating data. I find VBA more fun, yet also slightly more challenging. Upside, anyone with Excel can dig in and start learning. Not sure of a book recommendation, but as always, resist the urge to get the most complex manual and always start with the simplest manual you can find. Through trial and error you can self teach yourself in a day or two the basics of VBA. Although I think to become really proficient takes a longer learning curve than SQL as there’s just so much more possibility and flexibility within VBA. It’s kind of awe inspiring. Right away you’re going to want to learn the difference between absolute and relative references in VBA and when to apply each. Easiest way to dig in is to record as much of the macro as possible using the record function, then edit the code so you can learn functions you may not have known about from Excel and learn how minor tweaks impact the logic through trial and error.
^what he said.
Thanks black swan, I’ll definitely get that SQL book. I am really more interested in VBA (have tweaked some macros to do what I wanted but have never made my own). I currently have a mac laptop as my home computer which I don’t believe is able to be used to build macros. Do you think learning VBA is useful enough that it would be worth getting a PC to learn on?
How old’s the mac? I think I heard VBA’s back in ms suite 2011 for macs? Could be wrong tho, also don’t know about functionality
You could also try running windows and ms suite for pc on bootcamp on your mac, another cheap option is to use a computer at a school library or work for like an hour every few days. Sounds like you’re already halfway there with VBA tho. 90+% of vba code is just recorded macros written up on steroids, almost noone builds from scratch…takes too long
- Using excel on macs is also an awful experience. I’m not sure i would want to make it more difficult for myself.
Don’t get a whole new comp, that’s crazy talk. Worst case scenario you grasp the basics, tell everyone you’re a pro and make sure you work your butt of to self fulfill the prophecy
i like how you think black swan
The Sam’s SQL book is good (and short). I also have the Head First SQL book, which is really good if you are going to be designing databases (as opposed to just querying them). BTW, I love the Head First series for anything computery. The books are written in a slightly wacky style, but 1) it keeps them interesting/entertaining, and 2) I think it actually does a better job of getting the key issues into one’s head (they try to get at the “why” questions as well as the “how” questions in programming). VBA is probably more useful in a variety of contexts, and if you have a good grasp of VBA, I would think that it would demonstrate the ability to learn what you need in SQL. Learning VBA is a bigger project than learning SQL. I would think you could learn most lot about what you’d need for SQL in less than a week (of concentrated effort), whereas VBA would take more like a month.
bchadwick, do you have a recommendation for a VBA book by any chance?
I have “VB & VBA in a Nutshell”, which is a great reference book, but it is not a tutorial. You’ll need somethign that walks you through stuff. I’m actually going through “Access 2003 for Dummies” (2003, because that’s what we’re still using here), and I find that - although having the yellow book on my desk makes me feel like a dummy - it’s very well written, and I’m able to get set up on the software quickly. Now that’s not a VBA book, but I it shows that the Dummies series can be good. I see on Amazon that the Excel VBA programming for Dummies book is written by John Walkenbach, who is definitely a well known and well respected author in the VBA community. I am not really a VBA person. I code in R and Java more often than VBA, but I did take a course on VBA for Finance at NYU (along with Keys from AF), which is where I got my base knowledge. I believe another book by Walkenbach was the recommended purchase for that course. Every year or so I need to remind myself of the syntax for VBA stuff, since it’s easy to forget if you don’t do it often.
I emailed one of my old professors asking him to recco a book about VBA and he ended up asking me if I’d be interested in a part time position in his IT consulting firm where I’d basically end up getting paid to learn VBA. It’s more focused on VBA for Access though. Black Swan- Do you have any experience using VBA in Access?
Erlang
comp_sci_kid Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Erlang Ew, no. Python maybe. I don’t really understand the question. You’re basically asking if you should learn how to use a hammer or a screwdriver without saying what you want to build.
Nothing specific. Just want to learn something new.
justin88 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > comp_sci_kid Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Erlang > > Ew, no. Python maybe. > > I don’t really understand the question. You’re > basically asking if you should learn how to use a > hammer or a screwdriver without saying what you > want to build. Python is sooo yesterday 
I’ll second the Walkenbach rec. Surf Amazon a bit; he has a 1000+ page book that lets you go a lot more in depth for just a few $$ more than the Dummies book. perhaps it’s this: http://www.amazon.com/Excel-Power-Programming-Spreadsheets-Bookshelf/dp/0470044012/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294877921&sr=8-1
Actually, if you’re just looking to kill some time: this is perhaps a lot more focused way to spend the time: http://www.amazon.com/Financial-Modeling-3rd-Simon-Benninga/dp/0262026287/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294878100&sr=1-9 A lot of the examples are VBA-based, and they’re salient and interesting, compared to anything you’d find in a generic VBA book.
old school gangstaz use fortran