Neon’s PostgreSQL Tutorial is one of the cleanest step-by-step guides for learning SQL on Postgres, especially if you’re coming from another stack. It walks you from the very first SELECT through joins, set operations, subqueries, and table management, with concise examples you can run against a sample database.

In this post, I’ll give you a guided tour of that tutorial and show you a few patterns you can immediately apply in your own projects.

Getting Set Up with Neon and PostgreSQL

Neon’s tutorial assumes you have PostgreSQL installed and that you can connect with psql or a GUI such as pgAdmin. They also provide a sample database so you can follow along without inventing your own tables.

Typical setup flow:

1. Install PostgreSQL for your OS (Windows, macOS, or Linux)
2. Connect to the server using psql or pgAdmin
3. Load the sample database Neon uses so your results match theirs

Once you have that, you’re ready to work through the SQL sections.

Basic SELECT and Filtering

The first part of Neon’s tutorial focuses on querying a single table with SELECT, FROM, WHERE, ORDER BY, and basic filtering. This pattern is the backbone of almost every report: pick your columns, choose a table, filter, then sort.

Here’s a typic/code pro

SELECT
  first_name,
  last_name,
  email
FROM
  customers
WHERE
  state = 'TX'
ORDER BY
  last_name,
  first_name;

SELECT
  first_name,
  last_name,
  email
FROM
  customers
WHERE
  state = 'TX'
ORDER BY
  last_name,
  first_name;

Joining Tables

After single-table queries, Neon moves into joins—INNER JOIN, LEFT JOIN, RIGHT JOIN, and FULL OUTER JOIN. The joins tutorial explains these visually, which makes it easier to understand what you’ll get back.

A typical INNER JOIN example:

Why Neon’s Tutorial Is Worth Your Time

From my perspective as a PostgreSQL professional, Neon’s PostgreSQL Tutorial is valuable for several reasons:

First, it’s structured logically: setup → basic queries → joins → sets → subqueries → table management → advanced topics. Each page focuses on one concept with runnable SQL, which maps well to how developers actually learn.

Second, the examples are production-grade enough to translate directly into app queries and reporting scripts. You’re not learning toy SQL—you’re learning patterns you’ll use every day.

Third, the tutorial covers the full spectrum from absolute beginner to intermediate PostgreSQL user. If you’re teaching a team, onboarding new developers, or refreshing your own SQL fundamentals, pointing them at Neon’s tutorial and pairing it with your own examples is an efficient way to get everyone up to speed.

Check out the full tutorial at neon.com/postgresql/tutorial and start building your PostgreSQL skills today.