11.521/523 - Lab #2 In-Class Notes:
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Overview of all 6 Labs before Spring Break:
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#1 - [Last week] Intro to SQL and data exchange
with Oracle, MS-Access, Excel, ArcGIS

#2 - Exploring Land Use Patterns in East Boston
Relational Queries and Map-Database-Spreadsheet Interaction
Also, practice MS-Access and SQL*Plus query construction 
(and test SQL compatibility)

#3 - Accumulating and Sharing Local Knowledge
Relational lookup tables to correct miss-spellings and share
changes to official 'read only' datasets.

#4 - Exploring Land Value Patterns in East Boston
More complex queries and analyses using Model Builder

#5 - Exploring Land Value Patterns in East Boston
Using raster modeling to create a land value surface

#6 - Modeling Metro Development using Community Viz
Examining Boston's MetroFuture model with Community Viz addin

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LAB #2: Today's lab exercise (due in 9 days)
 PART 1: Practice SQL queries with MS-Access and Oracle
-- All 7 'toy' parcel tables are in Oracle with same name
as in MS-Access
-- Use your individual Oracle account or the 'parcels' account
-- Start with MS-Access (lab-1 examples) or Oracle (SQL examples 
in the 'SQL help' section of the class SQLnotes) and switch 
back and forth
-- Be sure to understand the syntax for joining two or more
tables and for aggregating rows based on values in one (or more) 
columns (via a 'group by' expression).
-- When constructing SQL queries, pay attention to how missing 
values are handled and avoid dividing by zero.

-- If you are not familiar with MS-Access or SQL, Part I can
take a while.  If so, start the mapping in Part II before 
finishing all 10 queries in Part I.

 PART 2: Mapping East Boston Land Use
-- You need to manipulate the data in MS-Access first
-- This part uses only ArcMap and MS-Access

 PART 3: 3D Mapping of East Boston using ArcScene
-- Copy/paste layers from Part 2
-- Get familiar with 3D interface

 PART 4: Excel exploration of East Boston parcel data
-- Optional - plot a scattergram of land value per square
foot by lotsize for parcels with <= 12000 square feet (a quarter acre).
-- We will do more with Excel/ArcGIS/RDBMS later

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SQL Help, tools, and tutorials

There are many useful SQL aids on the Web.  
(1) Google searches can assist with SQL syntax, Oracle error messages, etc. 
(2) SQLzoo.net is an example of simple interactive SQL tutorials:
http://sqlzoo.net/  Try the 'quick reference' SQL examples on the left
but beware of slight variations in SQL syntax (e.g, how tables are joined)
(3) SQuirreL SQL is a popular open source client that provides a graphical
interface alternative to the command-line SQL*Plus application.
http://squirrel-sql.sourceforge.net