The SQL language comprises several elements that will be explained in more depth in subsequent chapters. These elements include the following:
- Queries that retrieve data based on specific criteria.
- Clauses that are components of statements or queries.
- Predicates that are logical conditions that evaluate to true or false. These help you to narrow down the results of your queries.
- Expressions that produce either scalar values or tables of columns and rows. Expressions are a part of predicates.
- Statements that are queries run against a database, comprised of clauses and, optionally, expressions and predicates.
- White space that is generally ignored in SQL statements and queries, making it easier to format for readability because ...