SQL in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition

SQL in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition

by Kevin Kline
Released November 2008
Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ISBN: 9780596518844

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Book description

For programmers, analysts, and database administrators, SQL in a Nutshell is the essential reference for the SQL language used in today's most popular database products. This new edition clearly documents every SQL command according to the latest ANSI standard, and details how those commands are implemented in Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Oracle 11g, and the MySQL 5.1 and PostgreSQL 8.3 open source database products. You'll also get a concise overview of the Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) model, and a clear-cut explanation of foundational RDBMS concepts -- all packed into a succinct, comprehensive, and easy-to-use format. This book provides:

  • Background on the Relational Database Model, including current and previous SQL standards
  • Fundamental concepts necessary for understanding relational databases and SQL commands
  • An alphabetical command reference to SQL statements, according to the SQL2003 ANSI standard
  • The implementation of each command by MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server
  • An alphabetical reference of the ANSI SQL2003 functions, as well as the vendor implementations
  • Platform-specific functions unique to each implementation

Beginning where vendor documentation ends, SQL in a Nutshell distills the experiences of professional database administrators and developers who have used SQL variants to support complex enterprise applications. Whether SQL is new to you, or you've been using SQL since its earliest days, you'll get lots of new tips and techniques in this book.

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Table of contents

  1. Preface
    1. Why This Book?
    2. Who Should Read This Book?
    3. How This Book Is Organized
    4. How to Use This Book
    5. Resources
    6. Changes in the Third Edition
    7. Conventions Used in This Book
    8. Using Code Examples
    9. How to Contact Us
    10. Safari® Books Online
    11. Acknowledgments
      1. Kevin E. Kline’s Acknowledgments
      2. Daniel Kline’s Acknowledgments
      3. Brand Hunt’s Acknowledgments
  2. 1. SQL History and Implementations
    1. The Relational Model and ANSI SQL
      1. Codd’s Rules for Relational Database Systems
        1. Data structures (rules 1, 2, and 8)
        2. NULLs (rule 3)
        3. Metadata (rules 4 and 10)
        4. The language (rules 5 and 11)
        5. Views (rule 6)
        6. Set operations (rules 7 and 12)
      2. Codd’s Rules in Action: Simple SELECT Examples
    2. History of the SQL Standard
      1. What’s New in SQL2006
      2. What’s New in SQL2003 (SQL3)
      3. Levels of Conformance
      4. Supplemental Features Packages in the SQL3 Standard
      5. SQL3 Statement Classes
    3. SQL Dialects
  3. 2. Foundational Concepts
    1. Database Platforms Described in This Book
      1. Categories of Syntax
        1. Identifiers
        2. Naming conventions
        3. Identifier rules
      2. Literals
      3. Operators
        1. Arithmetic operators
        2. Assignment operators
        3. Bitwise operators
        4. Comparison operators
        5. Logical operators
        6. Unary operators
        7. Operator precedence
        8. System delimiters and operators
      4. Keywords and Reserved Words
    2. SQL2003 and Platform-Specific Datatypes
      1. MySQL Datatypes
      2. Oracle Datatypes
      3. PostgreSQL Datatypes
      4. SQL Server Datatypes
    3. Constraints
      1. Scope
      2. Syntax
      3. PRIMARY KEY Constraints
      4. FOREIGN KEY Constraints
      5. UNIQUE Constraints
      6. CHECK Constraints
  4. 3. SQL Statement Command Reference
    1. How to Use This Chapter
    2. SQL Platform Support
    3. SQL Command Reference
  5. 4. SQL Functions
    1. Types of Functions
      1. Deterministic and Nondeterministic Functions
      2. Aggregate and Scalar Functions
      3. Window Functions
    2. ANSI SQL Aggregate Functions
    3. ANSI SQL Window Functions
      1. ANSI SQL2003’s Window Syntax
      2. Oracle’s Window Syntax
      3. SQL Server’s Window Syntax
      4. Partitioning
      5. Ordering
      6. Grouping or Windowing
      7. List of Window Functions
    4. ANSI SQL Scalar Functions
      1. Built-in Scalar Functions
      2. CASE and CAST Functions
      3. Numeric Scalar Functions
      4. String Functions and Operators
    5. Platform-Specific Extensions
      1. MySQL-Supported Functions
      2. Oracle-Supported Functions
      3. PostgreSQL-Supported Functions
      4. SQL Server-Supported Functions
  6. A. Shared and Platform-Specific Keywords
  7. Index
  8. About the Author
  9. Colophon
  10. Copyright

Product information

  • Title: SQL in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition
  • Author(s): Kevin Kline
  • Release date: November 2008
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9780596518844