Database Systems:

Design, Implementation, and

Management
Tenth Edition

Chapter 1
Introduction to Structured Query
Language (SQL)
 Objectives

In this chapter, students will learn:

• The basic commands and functions of SQL
• How to use SQL for data administration (to
create tables and indexes)
• How to use SQL for data manipulation (to add,
modify, delete, and retrieve data)
• How to use SQL to query a database for useful
information

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 Introduction to SQL

• SQL functions fit into two broad categories:

– Data definition language
– Data manipulation language
• Basic command set has vocabulary of fewer
than 100 words
• American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
prescribes a standard SQL
• Several SQL dialects exist

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 Data Definition Commands

• The database model

– In this chapter, a simple database with these
tables is used to illustrate commands:
• CUSTOMER
• INVOICE
• LINE
• PRODUCT
• VENDOR
– Focus on PRODUCT and VENDOR tables

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 Creating the Database

• Two tasks must be completed:

– Create database structure
– Create tables that will hold end-user data
• First task:
– RDBMS creates physical files that will hold
database
– Differs substantially from one RDBMS to another

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 Creating the Database (cont’d.)

• Authentication
– DBMS verifies that only registered users are
able to access database
– Log on to RDBMS using user ID and password
created by database administrator

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 The Database Schema

• Schema
– Group of database objects that are related to
each other
• CREATE SCHEMA AUTHORIZATION
{creator};
– Command is seldom used directly

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 Data Types

• Data type selection is usually dictated by nature

of data and by intended use
• Supported data types:
– Number, Integer, Smallint, Decimal
– Char, Varchar,
– Date, Time, Timestamp
– Real, Double, Float
– Interval day to hour
– Many other types
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 Creating Table Structures

• Use one line per column (attribute) definition

• Use spaces to line up attribute characteristics
and constraints
• Table and attribute names are capitalized
• NOT NULL specification
• UNIQUE specification

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 Creating Table Structures (cont’d.)

• Primary key attributes contain both a NOT

NULL and a UNIQUE specification
• RDBMS will automatically enforce referential
integrity for foreign keys
• Command sequence ends with semicolon

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 SQL Constraints

• NOT NULL constraint

– Ensures that column does not accept nulls
• UNIQUE constraint
– Ensures that all values in column are unique
• DEFAULT constraint
– Assigns value to attribute when a new row is
added to table
• CHECK constraint
– Validates data when attribute value is entered
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 SQL Indexes

• When primary key is declared, DBMS

automatically creates unique index
• Often need additional indexes
• Using CREATE INDEX command, SQL indexes
can be created on basis of any selected
attribute
• Composite index
– Index based on two or more attributes
– Often used to prevent data duplication
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 Data Manipulation Commands

• INSERT
• SELECT
• COMMIT
• UPDATE
• ROLLBACK
• DELETE

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 Adding Table Rows

• INSERT
– Used to enter data into table
– Syntax:
• INSERT INTO columnname
VALUES (value1, value2, … , valueN);

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 Adding Table Rows (cont’d.)

• When entering values, notice that:

– Row contents are entered between parentheses
– Character and date values are entered between
apostrophes
– Numerical entries are not enclosed in
apostrophes
– Attribute entries are separated by commas
– A value is required for each column
• Use NULL for unknown values

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 Saving Table Changes

• Changes made to table contents are not

physically saved on disk until:
– Database is closed
– Program is closed
– COMMIT command is used
• Syntax:
– COMMIT [WORK];
• Will permanently save any changes made to
any table in the database
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 Listing Table Rows

• SELECT
– Used to list contents of table
– Syntax:
SELECT columnlist
FROM tablename;
• Columnlist represents one or more attributes,
separated by commas
• Asterisk can be used as wildcard character to
list all attributes
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 Updating Table Rows

• UPDATE
– Modify data in a table
– Syntax:
UPDATE tablename
SET columnname = expression [, columnname =
expression]
[WHERE conditionlist];
• If more than one attribute is to be updated in
row, separate corrections with commas

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 Restoring Table Contents

• ROLLBACK
– Undoes changes since last COMMIT
– Brings data back to prechange values
• Syntax:
ROLLBACK;
• COMMIT and ROLLBACK only work with
commands to add, modify, or delete table rows

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 Deleting Table Rows

• DELETE
– Deletes a table row
– Syntax:
DELETE FROM tablename
[WHERE conditionlist ];
• WHERE condition is optional
• If WHERE condition is not specified, all rows
from specified table will be deleted

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 Inserting Table Rows with a
SELECT Subquery
• INSERT
– Inserts multiple rows from another table (source)
– Uses SELECT subquery
– Subquery: query embedded (or nested or inner)
inside another query
– Subquery executed first
– Syntax:
INSERT INTO tablename SELECT columnlist
FROM tablename;

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 SELECT Queries

• Fine-tune SELECT command by adding

restrictions to search criteria using:
– Conditional restrictions
– Arithmetic operators
– Logical operators
– Special operators

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 Selecting Rows with
Conditional Restrictions
• Select partial table contents by placing
restrictions on rows to be included in output
– Add conditional restrictions to SELECT
statement, using WHERE clause
• Syntax:
SELECT columnlist
FROM tablelist
[ WHERE conditionlist ] ;

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 Selecting Rows with
Conditional Restrictions (cont’d.)
• Using comparison operators on dates
– Date procedures are often more software-
specific than other SQL procedures
• Using computed columns and column aliases
– SQL accepts any valid expressions (or formulas)
in the computed columns
– Alias
• Alternate name given to a column or table in any
SQL statement

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 Arithmetic Operators:
The Rule of Precedence
• Perform operations within parentheses
• Perform power operations
• Perform multiplications and divisions
• Perform additions and subtractions

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 Logical Operators: AND, OR, and NOT

• Searching data involves multiple conditions

• Logical operators: AND, OR, and NOT
• Can be combined
– Parentheses enforce precedence order
• Conditions in parentheses are always executed
first
• Boolean algebra: mathematical field dedicated
to use of logical operators
• NOT negates result of conditional expression
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 Special Operators

• BETWEEN: checks whether attribute value is

within a range
• IS NULL: checks whether attribute value is null
• LIKE: checks whether attribute value matches
given string pattern
• IN: checks whether attribute value matches any
value within a value list
• EXISTS: checks if subquery returns any rows

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 Advanced Data Definition Commands

• All changes in table structure are made by

using ALTER command
• Three options:
– ADD adds a column
– MODIFY changes column characteristics
– DROP deletes a column
• Can also be used to:
– Add table constraints
– Remove table constraints
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 Changing a Column’s Data Type

• ALTER can be used to change data type

• Some RDBMSs do not permit changes to data
types unless column is empty

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 Changing a Column’s Data
Characteristics
• Use ALTER to change data characteristics
• Changes in column’s characteristics are
permitted if changes do not alter the existing
data type

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 Adding a Column
Dropping a Column
• Use ALTER to add column
– Do not include the NOT NULL clause for new
column
• Use ALTER to drop column
– Some RDBMSs impose restrictions on the
deletion of an attribute

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 Advanced Data Updates

• UPDATE command updates only data in

existing rows
• If relationship between entries and existing
columns, can assign values to slots
• Arithmetic operators are useful in data updates
• In Oracle, ROLLBACK command undoes
changes made by last two UPDATE statements

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 Copying Parts of Tables

• SQL permits copying contents of selected table

columns
– Data need not be reentered manually into newly
created table(s)
• First create the table structure
• Next add rows to new table using table rows
from another table

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 Adding Primary and Foreign Key
Designations
• When table is copied, integrity rules do not
copy
– Primary and foreign keys are manually defined
on new table
• User ALTER TABLE command
– Syntax:
• ALTER TABLE tablename ADD PRIMARY
KEY(fieldname);
– For foreign key, use FOREIGN KEY in place of
PRIMARY KEY
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 Deleting a Table from the Database

• DROP
– Deletes table from database
– Syntax:
• DROP TABLE tablename;
• Can drop a table only if it is not the “one” side
of any relationship
– Otherwise, RDBMS generates an error message
– Foreign key integrity violation

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 Additional SELECT Query Keywords

• Logical operators work well in the query

environment
• SQL provides useful functions that:
– Count
– Find minimum and maximum values
– Calculate averages, etc.
• SQL allows user to limit queries to:
– Entries having no duplicates
– Entries whose duplicates may be grouped
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 Ordering a Listing

• ORDER BY clause is useful when listing order

is important
• Syntax:
SELECT columnlist
FROM tablelist
[WHERE conditionlist]
[ORDER BY columnlist [ASC | DESC]];
• Ascending order by default

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 Listing Unique Values

• DISTINCT clause produces list of only values

that are different from one another
• Example:
SELECT DISTINCT V_CODE
FROM PRODUCT;
• Access places nulls at the top of the list
– Oracle places it at the bottom
– Placement of nulls does not affect list contents

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 Aggregate Functions
• COUNT function tallies number of non-null
values of an attribute
– Takes one parameter: usually a column name
• MAX and MIN find highest (lowest) value in a
table
– Compute MAX value in inner query
– Compare to each value returned by the query
• SUM computes total sum for any specified
attribute
• AVG function format is similar to MIN and MAX
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 Grouping Data

• Frequency distributions created by GROUP BY

clause within SELECT statement
• Syntax:
SELECT columnlist
FROM tablelist
[WHERE conditionlist]
[GROUP BY columnlist]
[HAVING conditionlist]
[ORDER BY columnlist [ASC | DESC] ] ;
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 Joining Database Tables

• Joining tables is the most important distinction

between relational database and other DBs
• Join is performed when data are retrieved from
more than one table at a time
– Equality comparison between foreign key and
primary key of related tables
• Join tables by listing tables in FROM clause of
SELECT statement
– DBMS creates Cartesian product of every table

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 Joining Tables with an Alias

• Alias identifies the source table from which data

are taken
• Alias can be used to identify source table
• Any legal table name can be used as alias
• Add alias after table name in FROM clause
– FROM tablename alias

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 Recursive Joins

• Alias is especially useful when a table must be

joined to itself
– Recursive query
– Use aliases to differentiate the table from itself

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 Summary

• SQL commands can be divided into two overall

categories:
– Data definition language commands
– Data manipulation language commands
• The ANSI standard data types are supported by
all RDBMS vendors in different ways
• Basic data definition commands allow you to
create tables and indexes

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 Summary (cont’d.)

• DML commands allow you to add, modify, and

delete rows from tables
• The basic DML commands:
– SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE,
COMMIT, and ROLLBACK
• SELECT statement is main data retrieval
command in SQL

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 Summary (cont’d.)

• WHERE clause can be used with SELECT,

UPDATE, and DELETE statements
• Aggregate functions
– Special functions that perform arithmetic
computations over a set of rows
• ORDER BY clause
– Used to sort output of SELECT statement
– Can sort by one or more columns
– Ascending or descending order
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 Summary (cont’d.)

• Join output of multiple tables with SELECT

statement
– Join performed every time you specify two or
more tables in FROM clause
– If no join condition is specified, DBMX performs
Cartesian product
• Natural join uses join condition to match only
rows with equal values in specified columns

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