Koha How-To
Learn SQL - recap
During this year's Koha US conference, we presented on SQL basics and how to write reports for Koha's reports module. We focused specifically on creating queries from scratch to use within the 'Create from SQL' area!
One of the main points we made early on is that it is safe to use this tool; you can't delete your data from within the reports module! So making a mistake in the process of learning is totally fine without any risk to your collection or patrons.
There are many different ways to write reports that will give the same output! This is perhaps one of the trickiest things - there's room for creativity. Depending on how a report is written, it might be faster or slower than another version too.
Our goal is that our partners feel confident that they can do it! That their reports will work, and that even if they have to try over and over again, they WILL get the hang of it and learn this new language. It may take practice, but thankfully many have gone before us and shared their reports and tips!
We also briefly touched on the Reports+ plugin, as it can be used to run against a pre-written report and a list of values. More information about this tool may be found here:
https://github.com/bywatersolutions/koha-plugin-reports-plus
To view our presentation and slides
Learn SQL - Basics for Reporting in Koha
Links to helpful tools online
http://schema.koha-community.org/
https://wiki.koha-community.org/wiki/SQL_Reports_Library
Read more by Rocío Belén Dressler