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This SQL Syntax Reference page shows the syntax for each feature described in the SQL Tutorial. Itprovides a Quick Reference to SQL.

For a further description of SQL functionality, please click the links at the far left on this page.

SQL Basics SQL Administration SQL Advanced

SQL SELECTSQL WHERE

SQL INSERT

SQL UPDATE

SQL DELETESQL CREATE DATABASE

SQL DROP DATABASE

SQL CREATE TABLESQL ALTER TABLE

SQL DROP TABLE

SQL CREATE INDEXSQL DROP INDEX

SQL ADD FOREIGN KEY

SQL DROP FOREIGN KEYSQL CREATE VIEW

SQL DROP VIEW

SQL CONCAT

SQL SUBSTRINGSQL TRIM

SQL AND & OR

SQL INSQL BETWEEN

SQL LIKE

SQL DISTINCTSQL GROUP BY

SQL AGGREGATE

SQL HAVING

SQL ORDER BYSQL JOIN

SQL OUTER JOIN

SQL Syntax and Conventions

SQL statements are represented as text.

SQL statements have keywords that must be spelled following rules. The keywords can be upper or

lower case - SQL is not case sensitive. By convention and to improve readability, this tutorial spellsSQL keywords in upper case.

SQL statements are independent of text lines. A single SQL statement can be placed on one text line or

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on multiple. In addition, multiple SQL statements can be combined on a single text line. By convention

and to improve readability, this tutorial does not put more than one SQL statement on a single text line.

Further, SQL statements are often broken into multiple lines.

A SQL statements may be terminated by a semi-colon or the word 'GO'. This tutorial leaves these

terminators out. Please supply as needed.

SQL BASICS

SQL SELECT Syntax

SELECT

FROM

SQL WHERE Clause Syntax

WHERE

Each condition tests column(s) using comparison operator(s). The following basic comparisonoperators are supported:

Operator Description

=Equal

Not Equal>

Greater Than

=

Greater Than Or Equal

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INSERT INTO ( )

VALUES ()

SQL UPDATE Syntax

UPDATE

SET = WHERE

SQL DELETE Syntax

DELETE FROM WHERE

SQL ADMINISTRATION

SQL CREATE DATABASE Syntax

CREATE DATABASE

SQL DROP DATABASE Syntax

DROP DATABASE

SQL CREATE TABLE Syntax

CREATE TABLE (

)

The number of characters that can make up SQL table names and column names varies by DBMS. Inmany cases the limit is 30 characters. The leading character of the name must be alphabetic - not a

number or special character. The name of a new table can not duplicate the name of an existing table

and should not be the same as a SQL reserved word. The underscore character can be used to improvereadability. The same column name can not be repeated within a table. List elements are seperated by

commas.

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Here are some example datatypes:

SQL Datatype Description

integer(size)int(size)

smallint(size)

tinyint(size) Integersdecimal(size,decimals)

numeric(size,decimals) Numbers with decimals

char(size) Fixed length character stringvarchar(size) Variable length character string

date A date in yyyymmdd format

SQL ALTER TABLE Syntax

ALTER TABLE ADD

ALTER TABLE

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ALTER COLUMN

ALTER TABLE DROP COLUMN

SQL DROP TABLE Syntax

DROP (

SQL CREATE INDEX Syntax

CREATE INDEX ON (

,

,)

CREATE UNIQUE INDEX ON (

,

,

)

The number of characters that can make up SQL names for tables, columns and indexes varies by

DBMS. In many cases the limit is 30 characters. The leading character of the name must be alphabetic -not a number or special character. The name of a new index can not duplicate the name of an existing

index for the same table and should not be the same as a SQL reserved word. The underscore character

can be used to improve readability. List elements are seperated by commas.

SQL DROP INDEX Syntax

DROP INDEX .

SQL ADD FOREIGN KEY Syntax

ALTER TABLE

ADD FOREIGN KEY

( , )

REFERENCES

( ,

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)

The number of characters that can make up SQL names for tables, columns and foreign keys varies byDBMS. In many cases the limit is 30 characters. The leading character of the name must be alphabetic -

not a number or special character. The name of a new foreign key can not duplicate the name of an

existing foreign key for the database and should not be the same as a SQL reserved word. To make theforeign key unique it is common practice to include the table and column name as part of the foreign

key name. The underscore character can be used to improve readability. List elements are seperated by

commas.

SQL DROP FOREIGN KEY Syntax

ALTER TABLE

DROP FOREIGN KEY

SQL CREATE VIEW Syntax

CREATE VIEW (

,

) AS

The number of characters that can make up SQL names for tables, columns and views varies by

DBMS. In many cases the limit is 30 characters. The leading character of the name must be alphabetic -not a number or special character. The name of a new view can not duplicate the name of an existing

view or table and should not be the same as a SQL reserved word. The underscore character can be

used to improve readability. List elements are seperated by commas.

SQL DROP VIEW Syntax

DROP VIEW .