SQL in Access and SQL in MS SQL Server

Question

I have heard that SQL is mostly the same from program to program, but there are some differences. I am wondering if there are any differences in SQL between Access (2007 if it matters) and MS SQL Server? I wonder because I regularly use Access and want to learn SQL from a book, and I wonder if a book using MS SQL Server will serve my purposes? I am considering "Access 2007 Pure SQL" and "Beginning SQL Joes 2 Pros", the second of which uses MS SQL Server. Thanks for any help!

Answer 1

There's multiple differences, even down to simple things like the string concatenation operator. Access uses &, SQL Server uses +. SQL is like English. There's British English, Canadian English, American English, Australian English, etc... Multiple dialects, mostly but not totally compatible with each other.

That's not to say that things are totally imcompatible - learning SQL on any DBMS is of use, because the core concepts of relational databases remain the same regardless of which DBMS you're on. It's just how you interface with them that's different.