Information Modeling and Relational Databases, 2nd Edition

13.1. SQL: The Bigger Picture

In the previous chapter we looked at SQL statements that retrieve data (select...) and modify data (insert..., update..., delete...). This set of statements is traditionally known as the data manipulation language(DML). We now turn our attention to other aspects of SQL. We’ll look at statements used to define the various elements of a database schema, which uses a subset of SQL that is traditionally known as the data definition language(DDL).

Tables are, of course, fundamentally important to any schema, but we’ll also discuss several other types of database object and the roles that they play in the realization of a conceptual schema. In particular, database objects such as views and triggersare often used to implement ...