Oracle SQL: the Essential Reference

Contents of This Book

This book contains the following chapters:

Chapter 1 outlines general elements and requirements of the SQL language, including: structure, naming standards, characteristics of various datatypes, relational operators, and so on.

Chapter 2 presents each of the SQL statements used for definition or modification of database objects. I have included a brief explanation of what each statement does, along with structured syntax, definitions of syntax elements as required, and a short example illustrating use.

Chapter 3 is similar in structure to Chapter 2, but lists the SQL statements used to manipulate data and control sessions in the database.

Chapter 4 presents portions of the SQL language that are applicable to multiple types of SQL statements. The clauses shown in this chapter are referenced by the statements presented in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3.

Chapter 5 summarizes the rich array of SQL functions available for use in Oracle. For convenience they are grouped by purpose; for example, all character string manipulation functions are presented together.

Chapter 6 presents Oracle's standard interface to the SQL language. SQL*Plus is such an integral part of Oracle that no programmer can do without it. This chapter provides a summary of the use of this product that I hope conveys the power of SQL*Plus.^[2]

^[2] The information presented in this chapter is only the tip of the iceberg. For more information about SQL*Plus, see Jonathan Gennick's Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive ...