Oracle SQL : The Essential Reference

by Kreines, David C.

• ISBN13: 9781565926974
• ISBN10: 1565926978
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-09-01
• Publisher: Oreilly & Associates Inc

Summary

SQL (Structured Query Language) is the heart of a relational database management system. It's the language used to query the database, to create new tables in the database, to update and delete database fields, and to set privileges in the database. Oracle SQL: The Essential Referenceis for everyone who needs to access an Oracle database using SQL--developers, DBAs, designers, and managers. SQL is based on research dating back to the late 1960s, but its first commercial release was in the RDBMS announced by the fledgling Oracle Corporation in 1979. Since that time, every other database vendor has adopted SQL, and ANSI and the ISO have made it a standard. Although vendors diverge in their extensions to SQL, the core language is standard across vendor boundaries. Despite SQL's long history and relative simplicity, few developers and database administrators are truly masters of SQL. The constant stream of vendor enhancements, the hard-won experience in tuning SQL for best performance, and the requirements of particular operational environments mean that there is always more to learn about SQL. Oracle SQL: The Essential Referencedelivers all the information needed to keep ahead of the learning curve on standard SQL and Oracle's extensions to it. This single, concise reference volume will hold its own against a stack of Oracle manuals and even yield insights and examples not available in those manuals. There are chapters on basic SQL elements (naming requirements, column types, pseudo-types, data conversion rules, operators); Data Definition Language (DDL) and Data Manipulation Language (DML); common language elements (constraints, storage clause, predicates); SQL functions; PL/SQL (including procedures, functions, and packages); SQL*Plus, and Oracle SQL optimization and tuning. The book covers Oracle 8 i,release 8.1.6.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Preface	xxvii
Elements of SQL	1	(31)
Lexical Conventions	2	(1)
Naming in SQL	3	(1)
Schema Objects	4	(2)
Datatypes	6	(7)
Data Conversion	13	(1)
Relational Operators	14	(6)
Structure of a SQL Statement	20	(4)
SQL Statements	24	(8)
Data Definition Statements	32	(74)
SQL DDL Statements by Task	32	(6)
SQL Statement Syntax	38	(68)
Data Manipulation and Control Statements	106	(27)
SQL DML and Control Statements by Task	106	(1)
SQL Statement Syntax	107	(26)
Common SQL Elements	133	(12)
SQL Functions	145	(59)
Aggregate Functions	146	(7)
Numeric Functions	153	(9)
Character Functions	162	(12)
Date Functions	174	(8)
Conversion Functions	182	(8)
Other Functions	190	(14)
SQL*Plus	204	(58)
Command-Line Syntax	204	(4)
SQL*Plus Editing Commands	208	(3)
Formatting SQL*Plus Output	211	(10)
Miscellaneous SQL*Plus Commands	221	(17)
SQL*Plus Variables and Related Commands	238	(3)
SQL*Plus System Variables	241	(21)
PL/SQL	262	(62)
The Structure of PL/SQL	263	(2)
Block Header	265	(1)
Declaration Section	265	(15)
Execution Section	280	(18)
Exception Section	298	(6)
Procedures and Packages	304	(14)
Triggers	318	(6)
SQL Statement Tuning	324	(37)
Using Explain Plan	325	(9)
Using Oracle's SQL Trace Facility	334	(11)
SQL*Plus Tuning Aids	345	(6)
Improving Query Performance	351	(10)
A. SQL Resources	361	(4)
Index	365