Lecture 12

SQL: Data Manipulation

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Outline
 Purpose and importance of SQL.
 How to retrieve data from database using SELECT
and:

– Use compound WHERE conditions.

– Sort query results using ORDER BY.
– Use aggregate functions.
– Group data using GROUP BY and HAVING.
– Use subqueries.

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Objectives of SQL
 Ideally, database language should allow user to:
– create the database and relation structures;
– perform insertion, modification, deletion of
data from relations;
– perform simple and complex queries.
 Must perform these tasks with minimal user
effort and command structure/syntax must be
easy to learn.
 It must be portable.

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Objectives of SQL
 SQL is a transform-oriented language with 2 major
components:

– A DDL for defining database structure.

– A DML for retrieving and updating data.

 Until SQL:1999, SQL did not contain flow of control

commands. These had to be implemented using a
programming or job-control language, or interactively
by the decisions of user.

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Objectives of SQL
 SQL is relatively easy to learn:

– it is non-procedural - you specify what

information you require, rather than how to
get it;
– it is essentially free-format.

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Objectives of SQL
 Consists of standard English words:

1) CREATE TABLE Staff(staffNo VARCHAR(5),

lName VARCHAR(15),
salary DECIMAL(7,2));
2) INSERT INTO Staff VALUES (‘SG16’, ‘Brown’,
8300);
3) SELECT staffNo, lName, salary
FROM Staff
WHERE salary > 10000;

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Objectives of SQL
 Can be used by range of users including DBAs,
management, application developers, and other
types of end users.

 An ISO standard now exists for SQL, making it

both the formal and de facto standard language
for relational databases.

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History of SQL
 In 1974, D. Chamberlin (IBM San Jose
Laboratory) defined language called ‘Structured
English Query Language’ (SEQUEL).
 A revised version, SEQUEL/2, was defined in
1976 but name was subsequently changed to SQL
for legal reasons.

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History of SQL
 Still pronounced ‘see-quel’, though official
pronunciation is ‘S-Q-L’.
 IBM subsequently produced a prototype DBMS
called System R, based on SEQUEL/2.
 Roots of SQL, however, are in SQUARE
(Specifying Queries as Relational Expressions),
which predates System R project.

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History of SQL
 In late 70s, ORACLE appeared and was probably first
commercial RDBMS based on SQL.
 In 1987, ANSI and ISO published an initial standard for
SQL.
 In 1989, ISO published an addendum that defined an
‘Integrity Enhancement Feature’.
 In 1992, first major revision to ISO standard occurred,
referred to as SQL2 or SQL/92.
 In 1999, SQL:1999 was released with support for object-
oriented data management.
 In late 2003, SQL:2003 was released.

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Importance of SQL
 SQL has become part of application architectures
such as IBM’s Systems Application Architecture.
 It is strategic choice of many large and influential
organizations (e.g. X/OPEN).
 SQL is Federal Information Processing Standard
(FIPS) to which conformance is required for all
sales of databases to American Government.

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Importance of SQL
 SQL is used in other standards and even
influences development of other standards as a
definitional tool. Examples include:

– ISO’s Information Resource Directory System

(IRDS) Standard
– Remote Data Access (RDA) Standard.

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Writing SQL Commands
 SQL statement consists of reserved words and user-
defined words.

– Reserved words are a fixed part of SQL and must

be spelt exactly as required and cannot be split
across lines.
– User-defined words are made up by user and
represent names of various database objects such
as relations, columns, views.

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Writing SQL Commands
 Most components of an SQL statement are case
insensitive, except for literal character data.
 More readable with indentation and lineation:
– Each clause should begin on a new line.
– Start of a clause should line up with start of
other clauses.
– If clause has several parts, should each appear
on a separate line and be indented under start
of clause.

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Writing SQL Commands
 Use extended form of BNF notation:

- Upper-case letters represent reserved words.

- Lower-case letters represent user-defined words.
- | indicates a choice among alternatives.
- Curly braces indicate a required element.
- Square brackets indicate an optional element.
- … indicates optional repetition (0 or more).

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Literals
 Literals are constants used in SQL statements.

 All non-numeric literals must be enclosed in

single quotes (e.g. ‘London’).

 All numeric literals must not be enclosed in

quotes (e.g. 650.00).

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SELECT Statement
SELECT [DISTINCT | ALL]
{* | [columnExpression [AS newName]] [,...] }
FROM TableName [alias] [, ...]
[WHERE condition]
[GROUP BY columnList] [HAVING condition]
[ORDER BY columnList]

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SELECT Statement
FROM Specifies table(s) to be used.
WHERE Filters rows.
GROUP BY Forms groups of rows with same
column value.
HAVING Filters groups subject to some
condition.
SELECT Specifies which columns are to
appear in output.
ORDER BY Specifies the order of the output.

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SELECT Statement
 Order of the clauses cannot be changed.

 Only SELECT and FROM are mandatory.

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Example 5.1 All Columns, All Rows
List full details of all staff.

SELECT staffNo, fName, lName, address,

position, sex, DOB, salary, branchNo
FROM Staff;
 Can use * as an abbreviation for ‘all columns’:

SELECT *
FROM Staff;

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Example 5.1 All Columns, All Rows

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Example 5.2 Specific Columns, All Rows
Produce a list of salaries for all staff, showing only
staff number, first and last names, and salary.

SELECT staffNo, fName, lName, salary

FROM Staff;

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Example 5.2 Specific Columns, All Rows

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