Key Terms

American National Standards Institute (ANSI) — One of two industry-accepted committees that sets
standards for SQL.

bridging table — A table created to eliminate a many-to-many relationship between two tables.

character — The basic unit of data. It can be a letter, number, or special symbol.

column — In a relational database, fields are commonly represented as columns and may be referred
to as "columns."

common column — A column that exists in two or more tables and contains equivalent data.

common field — A column that exists in two tables and is used to “join” two tables.

data redundancy — Refers to having the same data in different places within a database, which
wastes spaces and complicates database updates and changes.

database — A collection of interrelated files.

database management system (DBMS) — A generic term that applies to a software product that
allows users to interact with a database to create and maintain the structure of the database, and
then to enter, manipulate, and retrieve the data it stores.

entity — Any person, place, or thing with characteristics or attributes that will be included in a
database. In the E-R model, an entity is usually represented

as a square or rectangle.

Entity-Relationship (E-R) Model — A diagram that identifies the entities and data relationships in a
database. The model is a logical representation of the

physical system to be built.

field — One attribute or characteristic of a database entity.

file — A group of records about the same type of entity.

first-normal form (1NF) The first step in the normalization process in which repeating groups of data
are removed from database records.

foreign key — When a common column exists in two tables, it will usually be a primary key in one
table and will be called a foreign key in the second table.

lookup table — A table referenced by a foreign key constraint

normalization — A multistep process that allows designers to take the raw data about an entity and
evolve the data into a form that will reduce a

database’s data redundancy.

primary key — A field that serves to uniquely identify a record in a database table.

record — A collection of fields describing the attributes of one database element. In PL/SQL, a record
is a composite datatype that can assume the same

structure as the row being retrieved.

row — A group of column values for a specific occurrence of an entity. In a database, records are
commonly represented as rows.

second-normal form (2NF) — The second step in the normalization process in which partial
dependencies are removed from database records.

SQL*Plus — A tool enabling users to interact with the database. Through SQL*Plus, users can enter
SQL commands, set or alter environmental variables,

display the structure of tables, and execute interactive scripts.

structured query language (SQL) — The industry standard for interacting with a relational database.
It is a data sublanguage, and unlike a programming

language, it processes sets of data as groups and can navigate data stored within various tables.

third-normal form (3NF) — The third step in the normalization process in which transitive
dependencies are removed from database records.

unnormalized — Refers to database records that contain repeating groups of data (multiple entries
for a single column)

character field — A field composed of nonnumeric data. This field will not display a heading longer
than the width of the data stored in the field.

clause — Each section of a statement that begins with a keyword (SELECT clause, FROM clause,
WHERE clause, etc.).

column alias — Another name substituted for a column name. A column alias is created in a query
and displayed in the results.

concatenation — The combining the contents of two or more columns or character strings. Two
vertical bars, or pipes (||), instruct Oracle 12c to concatenate the output of a query.

keywords — Words used in a SQL query that have a predefined meaning to Oracle9i. Common
keywords include SELECT, FROM, and WHERE.

numeric column — A column composed of only numeric data. In output, the column will display the
entire column heading, regardless of the width of the field. (Also known as a numeric field.)

projection — Choosing specific column(s) in a SELECT statement.

query — A question posed to the database.

relational database management system (RDBMS) — A software program used to create a relational
database. It has functions that allow users to enter, manipulate, and retrieve data.

string literal — Alphanumeric data, enclosed within single quotation marks, that instructs the
software to interpret “literally” exactly what has been entered and to show it in the resulting display.

syntax — The basic structure, pattern, or rules, for an SQL statement. For an SQL statement to
execute properly, the correct syntax must be used.
data definition language (DDL) — Commands, basically SQL commands, that create or modify
database tables or other objects.

database object — A defined, self-contained structure in Oracle 12c. Database objects include tables,
sequences, indexes, and synonyms.

datatype — Identifies the type of data Oracle9i will be expected to store in a column.

schema — A collection of database objects owned by one user. By grouping objects according to the
owner, multiple objects can exist in the same database that have the same object name.

virtual column — A column value that is automatically generated based on the expression used to
define the column.

child table — A table having data that reference data within a parent table. Considered the “many”
side in a one-to-many relationship.

constraints — Rules that ensure the accuracy and integrity of data. Constraints prevent data that
violate these rules from being added to tables.

Constraints include PRIMARY KEY, FOREIGN KEY, UNIQUE, CHECK, NOT NULL.

data dictionary — Oracle 12c stores all information about database objects in this "dictionary."
Stored information includes objects' names, types, structures, owners, and the identity of users who
have access to each object.

referential integrity — When a user refers to something that exists in another table, the REFERENCES
keyword is used to identify the table and column that must already contain the data being entered.

data manipulation language (DML) — Commands used to modify data. Changes to data made by
DML commands are not accessible to other users until the data is committed.

exclusive lock — When DDL operations are performed, Oracle 12c places this lock on a table so that
no other user can alter the table or place a lock on it. See table locks.

shared lock — A table lock that lets other users access portions of a table but not alter the structure
of table. See table locks.

substitution variable — Instructs Oracle 12c to use a substituted value in place of a specific variable
at the time a command is executed. Used to make SQL statements or PL/SQL blocks interactive.

table locks — When DML commands are issued, Oracle 12c implicitly “locks” the row or rows being
affected so that no other user can change the same data.

transaction — A series of DML statements is considered to be one transaction. In Oracle 12c, a

transaction is simply a series of statements that have been issued and not committed. The duration
of a transaction is defined by when a COMMIT implicitly or explicitly occurs.

transaction control — Data control statements that either save modified data or undo uncommitted
changes made in error.
application cluster environment — A high-volume work environment in which multiple users
simultaneously request data from a database.

data dictionary — Oracle stores all information about database objects in this "dictionary." Stored
information includes objects' names, types, structures, owners, and the identity of users who have
access to each object.

database object — A defined, self-contained structure in Oracle. Database objects include tables,
sequences, indexes, and synonyms.

dynamic view — Used to access statistics relating to the database’s performance. See view.

function-based index — Can be used when a query is based on a calculated value or a function. See
index.

index — A separate database object that stores frequently referenced values so they can be quickly
located. An index can either be created implicitly by Oracle 12c or explicitly by a user.

private synonym —An alias used by an individual to reference objects owned by that individual. See
synonym.

public synonym — An alias that can be used by others to access an individual’s database objects. See
synonym.

sequence — A database object that generates sequential integers that can be used for an
organization’s internal controls. A sequence can also serve as a primary key for a table.

synonym — An alternative name given to a database object with a complex name. Synonyms can be
either private or public.

authentication — The process of validating the identity of computer users.

coding scheme — When a DBA creates a user account, the user's identity is set by using a code; the
"scheme" of the code often consists of the user’s first initial followed by last name. Used widely in
industry for part numbers, customer numbers, etc.

hackers — A slang term generally applied to computer criminals who gain illegal access to
information systems.

object privileges — Allow users to perform DML or retrieval operations on the data contained within
database objects.

privileges — Allow database access to users. Oracle 12c has system privileges and object privileges.

role — A group, or collection, of privileges. In most organizations, roles correlate to users' job duties.

system privileges — Allow access to the Oracle 12c database and let users perform DDL operations
such as CREATE, ALTER, and DROP on database objects. An object privilege combined with the
keyword ANY is also considered a system privilege.

comparison operator — A search condition that indicates how data should relate to a given search
value (equal to, greater than, less than, etc.). Common comparison operators include >, <, >=, and <=
condition — A portion of an SQL statement that identifies what must exist, or a requirement that
must be met. When a query is executed, any record meeting the given condition will be returned in
query results.

equality operator — A search condition that evaluates data for exact, or equal, values. The equality
operator symbol is the equal sign (=).

logical operators — Used to combine two or more search conditions. The logical operators include
AND and OR. The NOT operator reverses the meaning of search conditions.

NULL value — Means no value has been stored in that particular field. A NULL value indicates the
absence of data, not a blank space.

primary sort — When only one column is specified in the ORDER BY clause, data is ordered, or
sorted, based on the data organization within the specified column.

secondary sort — When two or more columns are specified in the ORDER BY clause, data in the
second column (or additional columns) provide an alternative field on which to order data if an exact
match occurs between two or more rows in the first, or primary, sort.

wildcard characters — Symbols used to represent one or more alphanumeric characters. The
wildcard characters in Oracle 12c are the percent sign (%) and the underscore symbol ( _ ). The
percent sign is used to represent any number of characters; the underscore represents one character.

Cartesian join — Links table data so each record in the first table is matched with each individual
record in the second table. Also called a Cartesian product or cross join.

column alias — Another name substituted for a column name. A column alias is created in a query
and displayed in the results.

column qualifier — Indicates the table containing a referenced column.

common column — A column that exists in two or more tables and contains equivalent data.

equality joins — Links table data in two (or more) tables having equivalent data stored in a common
column. These joins might also be called equijoins, inner joins, or simple joins.

inner joins — Joins that display data if there were a corresponding record in each table queried.
Equality joins, non-equality joins, and self-joins are all classified as inner joins.

non-equality join — Links data in two tables that do not have equivalent rows of data.

outer join — Links data in tables that do not have equivalent rows. An outer join can be created in
either the WHERE clause with an outer join operator (+) or by using the OUTER JOIN keywords.

outer join operator — The plus (+) symbol enclosed in parentheses, used in an outer join operation.

self-join — Links data within a table to other data within the same table. A self-join can be created
with a WHERE clause or by using the JOIN keyword with the ON clause.

set operators — Combine the results of two (or more) SELECT statements. Valid set operators in
Oracle are UNION, UNION ALL, INTERSECT, and MINUS.
table alias — A temporary name for a table, given in the FROM clause. Table aliases are used to
reduce memory requirements or the number of keystrokes needed when specifying a table
throughout the SQL statement.

argument — Values listed within parentheses in a function.

case conversion functions — Allow a user to temporarily alter the case of data stored in a column or
character string.

character functions — Used to change the case of characters or manipulate characters.

function — A named PL/SQL block or predefined block of code that accepts zero or more input
parameters and returns one value.

Julian date — Represents the number of days that have passed between a specified date and
January 1, 4712, b.c.

manipulation functions — Allow the user to control data (e.g., determine the length of a string,
extract portions of a string) to yield a desired query output.

single-row functions — Return one row of results for each record processed.

dimension — Term used to describe any category used in analyzing data, such as time, geography,
and product line.

group functions — Process groups of rows, returning only one result per group of rows processed.
Also called multiple-row functions and aggregate functions.

normal distribution — When a large number of data values are obtained for statistical analysis, they
tend to cluster around some “average” value. This dispersion of values is called normal distribution.

standard deviation — A calculation used to determine how closely individual values are to the mean,
or average, of a group of numbers.

statistical group functions — Perform basic statistical calculations for data analysis. Oracle functions
include standard deviation and variance.

correlated subquery — A subquery that references a column in the outer query. The outer query
executes the subquery once for every row in the outer query.

multiple-column subquery — A nested query that returns more than one column of results to the
outer query. It can be listed in the FROM, WHERE, or HAVING clause.

multiple-row subquery — Nested queries that return more than one row of results to the parent
query. They are most commonly used in WHERE and HAVING clauses and require multiple-row
operators.

single value — The output of a single-row subquery.

single-row subquery — A nested subquery that can return to the outer query only one row of results
that consists of only one column. The output of a single-row subquery is a single value.
uncorrelated subquery — A subquery that follows this method of processing: the subquery is
executed, then the results of the subquery are passed to the outer query, and finally the outer query
is executed.

inline view — A temporary view of underlying database tables that exists only while a command is
being executed. It is not a permanent database object and cannot be referenced again by a
subsequent query.

key-preserved table — A table that contains the primary key that a view uses to uniquely identify
each record displayed by the view.

materialized view — Stores the data retrieved by the view query

non-key-preserved table — Does not uniquely identify the records in a view.

pseudotables — Created to present a particular “view” of a database’s contents. Does not actually
store data but is referenced like a table in SQL statements.

“TOP-N” analysis — When an inline view and a pseudocolumn ROWNUM are merged together to
create a temporary list of records in a sorted order, and then the top “n,” or number of records, are
retrieved.

views — Display data in the underlying base tables. Views are used to provide a shortcut for users
not having SQL training or to restrict users’ access to sensitive data. Views are database objects, but
they do not store data