FILTER database user guide

This guide is meant to provide resources for users of the database of Finnic oral folk poetry developed within the FILTER project funded by the Academy of Finland. The guide is supposed to be self-contained, so that no prior knowledge about databases or programming is required. Parts 1-2 are general introductions meant for users without a computer science background, while parts 3-4 are specific to the FILTER database.

• Part 1 provides a general introduction to relational databases and software used to interact with them.
• Part 2 is a tutorial of the query language SQL. It is selective: instead of a complete reference, it only provides the information necessary for read-only usage of the FILTER database (e.g. instructions for creating/modifying tables are omitted).
• Part 3 explains the structure of the FILTER database.
• Part 4 provides a catalogue of SQL queries that can be executed on the database. The queries can serve as both ready solutions to common problems and instructive examples.