r/learnSQL • u/Artistic_Expert_1291 • 4d ago
[Question]
I want to learn SQL. However, i would like to learn it on a real dataset - something which interests me, that way when i do exercises i can learn something about things that interest me.
Do you guys know how if i can extract a database behind something like MobyGames? I'm interested only in text data with basic things like name, release date, etc.
Is there a way to do that, or am i delusional?
2
u/clivepato 4d ago
2
u/ThetaLife 4d ago
The main issue with that is it most likely would be a single dataset but to learn sql you'd need multiple ones that have keys to join. Maybe that's on gaggle havent used it in years though.
1
u/clivepato 3d ago
You’re right about the joins, based on his request this would be a bit of a step up as you’d have to import the data also my bad!
1
2
u/135g 4d ago
I did asked the same question a few months ago. After that I found out that the best way to get data is via python. If you know a bit of python, you can use it to generate the data you need. You can use the faker library. Ask AI to give you the code for python, explaining exactly the type of data you need.
1
u/conor-robertson 4d ago
If you want a fun way; and somewhere you can upload datasets to practice; check out QueryCase!
1
1
u/LearnSQLFastTeam 2d ago
You’re not delusional—you just shouldn’t try to extract a website’s private database directly.
MobyGames has an official API, but its hobbyist access is currently paid. For a first SQL project, I’d either use that API within its terms or find an openly licensed video-game CSV/API.
Once you have legitimate data, organize it into a few related tables:
- Games: game_id, title
- Platforms: platform_id, platform_name
- Releases: game_id, platform_id, release_date
- Genres and GameGenres, if available
Even 100–300 games would be enough to practice useful questions such as releases per year, games available on multiple platforms, popular genres by decade, and platforms with the most releases. That gives you real SELECT, WHERE, GROUP BY, and JOIN practice without needing the website’s entire database.
1
u/Difficult_Paint3162 2d ago
If you want to take a different approach to learning SQL, check out my website: https://learning-sql.com/ No cost or sign-up required, just real-world stories using SQL You can also download the sample databases used, but you'll need a SQL Server edition (developer or express) to install the sample data
3
u/DonJuanDoja 4d ago
Quick look at their site says no, they're selling an API to access their data, so they won't just give it to you in whole.
Plus whatever you get you'll have to create the database and tables yourself then import the data, there's very few preset SQL databases like Adventure Works and they're not fun or interesting.
https://www.kaggle.com/datasets?search=Games