- Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 24 Hours, Third Edition
- Table of Contents
- Copyright
- About the Authors
- Acknowledgments
- Tell Us What You Think!
- Introduction
- Part I: A SQL Concepts Overview
- Hour 1. Welcome to the World of SQL
- SQL Definition and History
- SQL Sessions
- Types of SQL Commands
- An Introduction to the Database Used in This Book
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Part II: Building Your Database
- Hour 2. Defining Data Structures
- What Is Data?
- Basic Data Types
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Hour 3. Managing Database Objects
- What Are Database Objects?
- What Is a Schema?
- A Table: The Primary Storage for Data
- Integrity Constraints
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Hour 4. The Normalization Process
- Normalizing a Database
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Hour 5. Manipulating Data
- Overview of Data Manipulation
- Populating Tables with New Data
- Updating Existing Data
- Deleting Data from Tables
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Hour 6. Managing Database Transactions
- What Is a Transaction?
- What Is Transactional Control?
- Transactional Control and Database Performance
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Part III: Getting Effective Results from Queries
- Hour 7. Introduction to the Database Query
- What Is a Query?
- Introduction to the <tt>SELECT</tt> Statement
- Examples of Simple Queries
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Hour 8. Using Operators to Categorize Data
- What Is an Operator in SQL?
- Comparison Operators
- Logical Operators
- Conjunctive Operators
- Negating Conditions with the <tt>NOT</tt> Operator
- Arithmetic Operators
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Hour 9. Summarizing Data Results from a Query
- What Are Aggregate Functions?
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Hour 10. Sorting and Grouping Data
- Why Group Data?
- The <tt>GROUP BY</tt> Clause
- <tt>GROUP BY</tt> Versus <tt>ORDER BY</tt>
- The <tt>HAVING</tt> Clause
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Hour 11. Restructuring the Appearance of Data
- The Concepts of ANSI Character Functions
- Various Common Character Functions
- Miscellaneous Character Functions
- Mathematical Functions
- Conversion Functions
- The Concept of Combining Character Functions
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Hour 12. Understanding Dates and Times
- How Is a Date Stored?
- Date Functions
- Date Conversions
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Part IV: Building Sophisticated Database Queries
- Hour 13. Joining Tables in Queries
- Selecting Data from Multiple Tables
- Types of Joins
- Join Considerations
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Hour 14. Using Subqueries to Define Unknown Data
- What Is a Subquery?
- Embedding a Subquery Within a Subquery
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Hour 15. Combining Multiple Queries into One
- Single Queries Versus Compound Queries
- Why Would I Ever Want to Use a Compound Query?
- Compound Query Operators
- Using an <tt>ORDER BY</tt> with a Compound Query
- Using <tt>GROUP BY</tt> with a Compound Query
- Retrieving Accurate Data
- Summary
- Workshop
- Q&A
- Part V: SQL Performance Tuning
- Hour 16. Using Indexes to Improve Performance
- What Is an Index?
- How Do Indexes Work?
- The <tt>CREATE INDEX</tt> Command
- Types of Indexes
- When Should Indexes Be Considered?
- When Should Indexes Be Avoided?
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Hour 17. Improving Database Performance
- What Is SQL Statement Tuning?
- Database Tuning Versus SQL Tuning
- Formatting Your SQL Statement
- Full Table Scans
- Other Performance Considerations
- Performance Tools
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Part VI: Using SQL to Manage Users and Security
- Hour 18. Managing Database Users
- Users Are the Reason
- The Management Process
- Tools Utilized by Database Users
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Hour 19. Managing Database Security
- What Is Database Security?
- How Does Security Differ from User Management?
- What Are Privileges?
- Controlling User Access
- Controlling Privileges Through Roles
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Part VII: Summarized Data Structures
- Hour 20. Creating and Using Views and Synonyms
- What Is a View?
- Creating Views
- Dropping a View
- What Is a Synonym?
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Hour 21. Working with the System Catalog
- What Is the System Catalog?
- How Is the System Catalog Created?
- What Is Contained in the System Catalog?
- Examples of System Catalog Tables by Implementation
- Querying the System Catalog
- Updating System Catalog Objects
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Part VIII: Applying SQL Fundamentals in Today's World
- Hour 22. Advanced SQL Topics
- Advanced Topics
- Cursors
- Stored Procedures and Functions
- Triggers
- Dynamic SQL
- Call-Level Interface
- Using SQL to Generate SQL
- Direct Versus Embedded SQL
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Hour 23. Extending SQL to the Enterprise, the Internet, and the Intranet
- SQL and the Enterprise
- Accessing a Remote Database
- Accessing a Remote Database Through a Web Interface
- SQL and the Internet
- SQL and the Intranet
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Hour 24. Extensions to Standard SQL
- Various Implementations
- Examples of Extensions from Some Implementations
- Interactive SQL Statements
- Summary
- Q&A
- Workshop
- Part IX: Appendixes
- Appendix A. Common SQL Commands
- SQL Statements
- SQL Clauses
- Appendix B. Using MySQL for Exercises
- Windows Installation Instructions
- Linux Installation Instructions
- Appendix C. Answers to Quizzes and Exercises
- Hour 1, "Welcome to the World of SQL"
- Hour 2, "Defining Data Structures"
- Hour 3, "Managing Database Objects"
- Hour 4, "The Normalization Process"
- Hour 5, "Manipulating Data"
- Hour 6, "Managing Database Transactions"
- Hour 7, "Introduction to the Database Query"
- Hour 8, "Using Operators to Categorize Data"
- Hour 9, "Summarizing Data Results from a Query"
- Hour 10, "Sorting and Grouping Data"
- Hour 11, "Restructuring the Appearance of Data"
- Hour 12, "Understanding Dates and Time"
- Hour 13, "Joining Tables in Queries"
- Hour 14, "Using Subqueries to Define Unknown Data"
- Hour 15, "Combining Multiple Queries into One"
- Hour 16, "Using Indexes to Improve Performance"
- Hour 17, "Improving Database Performance"
- Hour 18, "Managing Database Users"
- Hour 19, "Managing Database Security"
- Hour 20, "Creating and Using Views and Synonyms"
- Hour 21, "Working with the System Catalog"
- Hour 22, "Advanced SQL Topics"
- Hour 23, "Extending SQL to the Enterprise, the Internet, and the Intranet"
- Hour 24, "Extensions to Standard SQL"
- Appendix D. <tt>CREATE TABLE</tt> Statements for Book Examples
- <tt>EMPLOYEE_TBL</tt>
- <tt>EMPLOYEE_PAY_TBL</tt>
- <tt>CUSTOMER_TBL</tt>
- <tt>ORDERS_TBL</tt>
- <tt>PRODUCTS_TBL</tt>
- Appendix E. <tt>INSERT</tt> Statements for Data in Book Examples
- <tt>INSERT</tt> Statements
- Appendix F. Glossary
- Appendix G. Bonus Exercises
Examples of Extensions from Some Implementations
Both PL/SQL and Transact-SQL are considered fourth-generation programming languages. Both are procedural languages, whereas SQL is a non-procedural language. We will also briefly discuss another implementation of SQL called MySQL, which can be downloaded from the Internet.
The non-procedural language SQL includes statements such as the following:
- INSERT
- UPDATE
- DELETE
- SELECT
- COMMIT
- ROLLBACK
A SQL extension considered a procedural language includes all the preceding statements, commands, and functions of standard SQL. In addition, extensions include statements such as
- Variable declarations
- Cursor declarations
- Conditional statements
- Loops
- Error handling
- Variable incrementing
- Date conversions
- Wildcard operators
- Triggers
- Stored procedures
These statements allow the programmer to have more control over the way data is handled in a procedural language.
Transact-SQL
Transact-SQL is a procedural language, which means you tell the database the hows and wheres of finding and manipulating data. SQL is non-procedural, and the database decides the hows and wheres of selecting and manipulating data. Some highlights of Transact-SQL's capabilities include declaring local and global variables, cursors, error handling, triggers, stored procedures, loops, wildcard operators, date conversions, and summarized reports.
An example Transact-SQL statement follows:
IF (SELECT AVG(COST) FROM PRODUCTS_TBL) > 50 BEGIN PRINT "LOWER ALL COSTS BY 10 PERCENT." END ELSE PRINT "COSTS ARE REASONABLE." END
This is a very simple Transact-SQL statement. It states that if the average cost in the PRODUCTS_TBL table is greater than 50, the text " LOWER ALL COSTS BY 10 PERCENT ." will be printed. If the average cost is less than or equal to 50, the text "COSTS ARE REASONABLE." will be printed. |
Notice the use of the IF...ELSE statement to evaluate conditions of data values. The PRINT command is also a new command. These additional options are not even a drop in the bucket of Transact-SQL capabilities.
PL/SQL
PL/SQL is Oracle's extension to SQL. Like Transact-SQL, PL/SQL is a procedural language. PL/SQL is structured in logical blocks of code. There are three sections to a PL/SQL block, two of which are optional. The first section is the DECLARE section and is optional. The DECLARE section contains variables, cursors, and constants. The second section is called the PROCEDURE section. The PROCEDURE section contains the conditional commands and SQL statements. This section is where the block is controlled. The PROCEDURE section is mandatory. The third section is called the EXCEPTION section. The EXCEPTION section defines how the program should handle errors and user-defined exceptions. The EXCEPTION section is optional. Highlights of PL/SQL include the use of variables, constants, cursors, attributes, loops, handling exceptions, displaying output to the programmer, transactional control, stored procedures, triggers, and packages.
An example PL/SQL statement follows:
DECLARE CURSOR EMP_CURSOR IS SELECT EMP_ID, LAST_NAME, FIRST_NAME, MID_INIT FROM EMPLOYEE_TBL; EMP_REC EMP_CURSOR%ROWTYPE; BEGIN OPEN EMP_CURSOR; LOOP FETCH EMP_CURSOR INTO EMP_REC; EXIT WHEN EMP_CURSOR%NOTFOUND; IF (EMP_REC.MID_INIT IS NULL) THEN UPDATE EMPLOYEE_TBL SET MID_INIT = 'X' WHERE EMP_ID = EMP_REC.EMP_ID; COMMIT; END IF; END LOOP; CLOSE EMP_CURSOR; END;
There are two out of three sections being used in this example: the DECLARE section and the PROCEDURE section. First, a cursor called EMP_CURSOR is defined by a query. Second, a variable called EMP_REC is declared, whose values have the same data type (%ROWTYPE) as each column in the defined cursor. The first step in the PROCEDURE section (after BEGIN) is to open the cursor. After the cursor is opened, you use the LOOP command to scroll through each record of the cursor, which is eventually terminated by END LOOP. The EMPLOYEE_TBL table should be updated for all rows in the cursor. If the middle initial of an employee is NULL, the update sets the middle initial to 'X'. Changes are committed and the cursor is eventually closed. |
MySQL
MySQL is a multi-user, multi-threaded SQL database client/server implementation. MySQL consists of a server daemon, a terminal monitor client program, and several client programs and libraries. The main goals of MySQL are speed, robustness, and ease of use. MySQL was originally designed to provide faster access to very large databases.
MySQL can be downloaded from http://www.mysql.com. To install a MySQL binary distribution, you need GNU gunzip to uncompress the distribution and a reasonable TAR to unpack the distribution. The binary distribution file will be named mysql- VERSION - OS .tar.gz, where VERSION is the version ID of MySQL, and OS is the name of the operating system.
An example query from a MySQL database follows:
mysql> SELECT CURRENT_DATE(),VERSION(); +----------------+-----------+ | current_date() | version() | +----------------+-----------+ | 1999-08-09 | 3.22.23b | +----------------+-----------+ 1 row in set (0.00 sec) mysql>