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4. SQL
Contents

• Basic Queries in SQL (select statement)

• Set Operations on Relations
• Nested Queries
• Null Values
• Aggregate Functions and Grouping
• Data Definition Language Constructs
• Insert, Update, and Delete Statements
• Views (Virtual Tables)

Example Database

CUSTOMERS(FName, LName, CAddress, Account)

PRODUCTS(Prodname, Category)

SUPPLIERS(SName, SAddress, Chain)

orders((FName, LName) → CUSTOMERS, SName → SUPPLIERS,

Prodname → PRODUCTS, Quantity)

offers(SName → SUPPLIERS, Prodname → PRODUCTS, Price)

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Basic Structure

• SQL is based on set and relational operations with certain

modifications and enhancements.
In this course we focus on SQL (≈ SQL Standard) but also
do some PostgreSQL specifics later

• A typical SQL query has the form

select A1, A2, . . . , An
from r1, r2, . . . , rk
where P
– Ais represent attributes
– ris represent relations
– P is a predicate

• This query is equivalent to the relational algebra expression

πA1,A2,...,An (σP (r1 × r2 × . . . × rk ))

• The result of an SQL query is a relation (set of tuples) with a

schema defined through the attributes Ais.

• The select clause corresponds to the projection operation of

the relational algebra; it is used to list the attributes to be
output in a query result.
Find the name of all suppliers.
select SName from SUPPLIERS;
→ πSName(SUPPLIERS)

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Basic Structure (cont.)

• An asterisk “∗” in the select clause denotes all attributes

select ∗ from SUPPLIERS;

• SQL allows duplicate tuples in a relation as well as in query

results. Duplicates can be removed from query result using
keyword distinct
select distinct Account from CUSTOMERS;

• select clause can contain arithmetic expressions as well as

functions on attributes including attributes and constants.
select substr(SName,1,10) [as] ”Name”, Prodname, Price ∗ 100
from offers;

• The where clause corresponds to the selection operation of

the relational algebra. It consists of a predicate involving
attributes of the relations that appear in the from clause.
List the first and last name of customers having a
negative account.
select FName, LName
from CUSTOMERS
where Account < 0;

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Basic Structure (cont.)

• Logical connectives and, or, and not can be used to formulate

complex condition in where clause.
Which suppliers (SName) offer a MegaPC or a TinyMac?
select SName from offers
where Prodname = ’MegaPC’ or Prodname = ’TinyMac’;
=
ˆ . . . where Prodname in (’MegaPC’,’TinyMac’)

List the name of products that cost more than $10,000 and
less than $20,000.
select Prodname, Price from offers
where Price >= 10000 and Price <= 20000;
=
ˆ . . . where Price between 10000 and 20000

• The from clause corresponds to the Cartesian Product of the

relational algebra.
List all customer with the products they can order.
select ∗ from CUSTOMERS, PRODUCTS;

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Basic Structure (cont.)

List all customers who are living in Davis and who have ordered
at least 10 MegaPCs.
select CUSTOMERS.FName, CUSTOMERS.LName, Quantity
from CUSTOMERS, orders
where CAddress like ’%Davis%’
and CUSTOMERS.FName = orders.FName
and CUSTOMERS.LName = orders.LName
and Prodname = ’MegaPC’ and Quantity > 10;

πCUSTOMERS.FName, CUSTOMERS.LName, Quantity

(σCAddress like ’%Davis% ∧ Quantity>10 ∧ Prodname=’MegaPC’
(σCUSTOMERS.FName=orders.FName ∧ CUSTOMERS.LName=orders.LName
(CUSTOMERS × orders)))
Replace the last selection condition σ... by a natural join
(CUSTOMERS 1 orders)

List the name and address of suppliers that offer products.

Remove duplicates from the result and list the result ordered
by the supplier’s address.
select distinct SUPPLIERS.SName, SAddress
from SUPPLIERS, offers
where SUPPLIERS.SName = offers.SName
order by SAddress;

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Basic Structure (cont.)

• Using the rename operator (aliasing )

select distinct S.SName, SAddress
from SUPPLIERS S, offers O
where S.SName = O.SName;

List all information about customers together with information

about the suppliers they have ordered products from.
select C.∗, S.∗, O.∗
from CUSTOMERS C, orders O, SUPPLIERS S
where C.LName = O.LName and C.FName = O.FName
and O.SName=S.SName;

Equivalent expression in relational algebra:

((CUSTOMERS 1 orders) 1 SUPPLIERS)

List the name of customers who have an account greater or

equal than (some) other customers.
select C1.FName, C1.LName
from CUSTOMERS C1, CUSTOMERS C2
where (C1.FName <> C2.FName or
C1.LName <> C2.LName)
and C1.Account >= C2.Account;

+ query realizes a condition join!

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Set Operations

• The Oracle/SQL set operations union, minus (except), and

intersect correspond to the relational algebra operations
∪, −, and ∩.

• Each of the above operations automatically eliminates

duplicates. To retain duplicates for the union operator, one
has to use the corresponding multiset version union all.

• Examples:

Find all suppliers that offer a MegaPC or TinyMac.

(select SName from offers where Prodname = ’MegaPC’)
union
(select SName from offers where Prodname = ’TinyMac’);

Find all suppliers that offer both a MegaPC and a TinyMac.

(select SName from offers where Prodname = ’MegaPC’)
intersect
(select SName from offers where Prodname = ’TinyMac’);

Find all suppliers that offer a MegaPC but not a TinyMac.

(select SName from offers where Prodname = ’MegaPC’)
minus
(select SName from offers where Prodname = ’TinyMac’);

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Nested Subqueries

• So far, where clauses in examples only consist of simple

attribute and/or constant comparisons.

• SQL provides language constructs for the nesting of queries

using subqueries. A subquery is a select-from-where
expression that is nested within another query.

• Most common use of subqueries is to perform tests for set

membership, set comparisons, and set cardinality.

• Set valued subqueries in a where condition:

– <expression> [not] in (<subquery>)
– <expression> <comparison operator> any (<subquery>)
– <expression> <comparison operator> all (<subquery>)

• Set cardinality or test for (non-)existence:

– [not] exists (<subquery>)

• Subqueries in a where clause can be combined arbitrarily using

logical connectives.

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Examples of Set Valued Subqueries

• Give the name and chain of all suppliers located in Davis that
offer a MegaPC for less than $1,000.

select SName, Chain

from SUPPLIERS
where SName in (select SName from offers
where Prodname = ’MegaPC’
and Price < 1000)
and SAddress like ’%Davis%’;

+ This query can also be formulated using a join!

• Give the name and address of suppliers that don’t offer a

MegaPC.

select SName, SAddress

from SUPPLIERS
where SName not in (select SName from offers
where Prodname = ”MegaPC’);

+ If it is know that a subquery returns at most one value,

then one can use “=” instead of in.

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• Find the name and address of customers who have ordered a

product from Davis Lumber.

select ∗ from CUSTOMERS

where (FName, LName) in (select FName, LName
from orders
where SName = ’Davis Lumber’);

• Find all customers from Woodland who have an account

greater than any (some) customer in Davis.

select ∗ from CUSTOMERS

where Account > any (select Account
from CUSTOMERS
where CAddress like’%Davis%’)
and CAddress like ’%Woodland%’;

• Find customers who have ordered more than one MegaPC

from a supplier.
select ∗ from CUSTOMERS
where (FName, LName) = any
(select FName, LName
from orders
where Prodname = ’MegaPC’
and Quantity > 1);

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+ Note that = any is equivalent to in .

• List all customers who have an account greater than all

customers from Davis.
select ∗ from CUSTOMERS
where Account > all
(select Account from CUSTOMERS
where CAddress like’%Davis%’);

+ Note that <> all or != all is equivalent to not in .

• Give all suppliers (SName) who offer at least one product

cheaper than all other suppliers.
select SName from offers O1
where Price < all (select Price
from offers O2
where O1.Prodname = O2.Prodname
and O1.SName <> O2.SName);

• If a subquery refers to attributes of an outer query, the

subquery is called a correlated subquery. References to outer
relations and attributes typically occur through using aliases.

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Test for (non-)existence

• List all customers who have ordered a product from a supplier

in Davis.

select ∗ from CUSTOMERS C

where exists (select ∗
from orders O, SUPPLIERS S
where O.SName = S.SName
and O.FName = C.FName
and O.LName = C.LName
and SAddress like ’%Davis%’);

This query can also be formulated using a natural join

select distinct C.∗

from CUSTOMERS C, orders O, SUPPLIERS S
where O.SName = S.SName
and O.FName = C.FName and O.LName = C.LName
and SAddress like ’%Davis%’;

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• Give all products (Prodname, Category) for which no offer

exists.

select * from PRODUCTS P

where not exists (select ∗ from offers
where P.Prodname = Prodname);

+ attributes without preceding alias refer to relations listed in

the from
clause of the subquery where the attributes occur.

• Find all suppliers that offer a MegaPC, but no TinyMac.

select ∗ from SUPPLIERS S
where exists (select ∗ from offers
where SName=S.SName
and Prodname=’MegaPC’)
and not exists (select ∗ from offers
where SName=S.SName
and Prodname=’TinyMac’);

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Examples (cont.)

• Give all pairs of suppliers that offer exactly the same products.

select distinct O1.SName, O2.SName

from offers O1, offers O2
where O1.SName < O2.SName
and not exists
(( (select Prodname
from offers
where SName = O1.SName)
minus
(select Prodname
from offers
where SName = O2.SName)
)
union
( (select Prodname
from offers
where SName = O2.SName)
minus
(select Prodname
from offers
where SName = O1.SName)
))
order by O1.SName, O2.SName;

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Null Values
• If permitted by the schema definition for a table (i.e., no not
null constraints), attributes can have null values.
• null =
ˆ unknown, non-existent, or non-applicable value
• Result of any arithmetic expression involving null is null
• Result of where clause condition is false if it evaluates to null.
and true false null or true false null
true true false null true true true true
null null false null null true null null
false false false false false true false null

not
true false
null null
false true

• Give all suppliers that are not associated with a chain.

select ∗ from SUPPLIERS where Chain is null;

List all customers who have a known account.

select ∗ from CUSTOMERS where Account is not null;

• All aggregate functions except count(∗) ignore tuples with

null values on the aggregate attribute(s).

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Aggregate Functions

• Aggregate functions operate on a multiset of values and return

a single value. Typical aggregate functions are min, max,
sum, count, and avg.
• For aggregate functions (and the following grouping), an
extension of relational algebra exists.

• Examples:
What is the total number of suppliers?
select count(SName) from SUPPLIERS;

How many different products are offered?

select count(distinct Prodname) from offers;

What is the minimum and maximum price for products

offered by Davis Lumber?
select min(Price), max(Price) from offers
where SName = ’Davis Lumber’;

What is the average price for a MegaPC?

select avg(Price) from offers
where Prodname = ’MegaPC’;

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Aggregate Functions (cont.)

What is the total price for the products ordered by the

customer Scott Tiger?

select sum(Price * Quantity)

from CUSTOMERS C, orders O, offers F
where C.FName=O.FName and C.LName = O.LName
and O.Prodname = F.Prodname
and O.SName = F.SName
and C.FName = ’Scott’ and C.LName = ’Tiger’;

Grouping

• Idea: Group tuples that have the same properties into groups,
and apply aggregate function to each group. Optionally,
consider only groups for the query result that satisfy a certain
group condition.

• Syntax in SQL:
select <attribute(s) [with aggregate function]>
from R1, R2, . . . , Rm
[where P ]
group by <grouping attribute(s)>
[having <condition on group>];

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Grouping

• Examples:
For each supplier, list the name of the supplier and the total
number of products the supplier offers.
select SName, count(Prodname)
from offers
group by SName;

For each customer, list the total quantity of orders.

select FName, LName, sum(Quantity)
from orders
group by FName, LName;

Note: attributes that appear in the select clause outside of

an aggregate function must appear in the group by clause !

List products that are offered by more than one supplier,

together with the minimum and maximum price of these
offers.
select Prodname, min(Price), max(Price)
from offers
group by Prodname
having count(∗) > 1;

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Grouping (cont.)

• A query containing a group by clause is processed in the

following way:
1. Select all rows that satisfy the condition specified in the
where clause.
2. From these rows form groups according to the group by
clause.
3. Discard all groups that do not satisfy the condition in the
having clause.
4. Apply aggregate function(s) to each group.
5. Retrieve values for the columns and aggregations listed in
the select clause.

• More examples:
List all suppliers from Davis that offer more than 10 products.

select O.SName, count(Prodname)

from SUPPLIERS S, offers O
where S.SName = O.SName and SAddress like ’%Davis%’
group by O.SName
having count(Prodname) > 10;

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Grouping (cont.)

• List the names of customers who have ordered products for

more than $10,000.

select C.FName, C.LName, sum(Quantity∗Price)

from CUSTOMERS C, orders O, offers F
where C.FName=O.FName and C.LName = O.LName
and O.Prodname = F.Prodname
and O.SName = F.SName
group by C.FName, C.LName
having sum(Quantity*Price) > 10000;

What is the minimum total quantity of all orders for a product?

select min(sum(Quantity))
from orders
group by Prodname;

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Data Definition Language (DDL)

Allows the specification of not only a set of relations but also
information about each relation, including
• The schema of a relation
• The domain of attributes
• Integrity constraints
• The set of indexes associated with a relation (later)
• The physical storage structure of a relation (later)

Data Types in SQL

• char(n), varchar2(n) (in SQL standard only varchar(n))

• number(m, n), real, int, smallint, . . .
• long, date

Creating a Table

• Syntax:
create table <name> (
<attribute 1> <data type> [not null] [unique]
[<attribute constraint>],
.........
<attribute n> <data type> [not null] [unique]
[<attribute constraint>],
[<table constraint(s)>]
);

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Integrity Constraints

• not null (do not allow null values)

• primary key <attribute> (as attribute constraint)

primary key (<list of attributes>) (as table constraint)

• unique <attribute> (as attribute constraint)

unique (<list of attributes>) (as table constraint)

• check <condition>
If <condition> only refers to one attribute
→ attribute constraint;
if <condition> includes more than one attribute of the relation
→ table constraint;
<condition> must be a simple condition that does not contain
queries or references to other relations!

• Foreign key (or referential integrity) constraints:

references <relation>[.<attribute>]
→ attribute constraint
foreign key <attributes> references <relation>[.<attributes>]
→ table constraint

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• Example
create table Students (
StID number(9) constraint Students pk primary key,
FName varchar2(50) not null,
LName varchar2(50) not null,
DOB date constraint dob check
check(DOB is not null
and to char(DOB) > ’01-JAN-01’),
Major char(5) constraint fk majors references Majors,
ZipCode integer constraint check zip
check(ZipCode is not null and
ZipCode between 1 and 99999),
City varchar2(50),
Street varchar2(50),
Started date not null,
constraint dates check check(DOB < Started),
constraint name add unique(FName, LName, DOB)
);

• As usual, different database systems (PostgreSQL, Oracle,

etc.) can differ in syntax and capabilities (cf. reference
manual).

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Modifications of the Database

I. Deletions:
• Syntax: delete from <relation> [where <condition>];
• Examples:
Delete all suppliers that don’t offer any product.
delete from SUPPLIERS
where SName not in (select SName from offers);

Delete all customers having an account less than the average

account of all customers.
delete from CUSTOMERS
where Account < (select avg(Account)
from CUSTOMERS);

Problem: Evaluating the condition after each deletion of

a customer tuple leads to a change of the
subquery result.

In SQL: First compute avg(Account) and identify tuples

from CUSTOMERS to delete; then delete those tuples
without recomputing avg(Account).

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II. Insertions
• Add the customer Scott Tiger (who is living in Davis).
insert into CUSTOMERS
values(’Scott’,’Tiger’,’Davis’,null);
=
ˆ insert into CUSTOMERS(FName, LName, CAddress,
Account)
values(’Scott’,’Tiger’,’Davis’,null);
or insert into CUSTOMERS(FName, LName, CAddress)
values(’Scott’,’Tiger’,’Davis’);

All suppliers are also customers.

insert into CUSTOMERS(FName, LName, CAddress, Account)
select ’-’, SName, SAddress, 0 from SUPPLIERS;

III. Updates
• Increase the Account of the customer Scott Tiger by $5,000,
and change his address to Woodland.
update CUSTOMERS
set Account = Account+5000, CAddress = ’Woodland’
where LName=’Tiger’ and FName=’Scott’;
• Set Clark Kent’s account to the account of Scott Tiger.
update CUSTOMERS
set Account = (select Account from CUSTOMERS
where LName=’Tiger’ and FName=’Scott’)
where FName=’Clark’ and LName=’Kent’;

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Views
• Offer a flexible mechanism to hide certain data from the view
of a certain user or application; used to realize external schema
definitions in the three level schema architecture
• Syntax of a view definition:
create view <name>[(<list of attribute names>)]
as <query>;
• The result set of a view is materialized only when the view is
queried ⇒ only the definition of a view requires space

• Examples:
create view PC SUPPLS as
select SName, SAddress, Chain
from SUPPLIERS S
where exists (select ∗ from offers
where SName = S.SName
and Prodname = ’MegaPC’);

create view GOOD CUSTS(CName, CFName) as

select LName, FName
from CUSTOMERS C
where 10000 < (select sum(Price ∗ Quantity)
from orders O, offers R
where O.SName=R.SName
and O.FName=C.FName
and O.LName=C.LName
and O.Prodname=R.Prodname) ;

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Modifications of a View
• Consider the view
CUST ORDERS(FName, LName, Prodname, SName,
Quantity)
defined as
select C.FName, C.LName, Prodname, SName, Quantity
from CUSTOMERS C, orders O
where C.FName=O.FName and C.LName=O.LName;

• View Update Problem: Insert, delete, and update operations

on a view must be translated into respective operations of the
underlying relations.
+ No problem if there is only one relation underlying the view
definition.

Delete the customer Scott Tiger from CUST ORDERS.

Possibility A: delete Scott Tiger from CUSTOMERS
Possibility B: delete Scott Tiger from orders

• Rules: In Oracle SQL no insert, update, or delete

modifications on views are allowed that use one of the following
constructs in the view definition:
– Joins
– Aggregate function such as sum, min, max etc.
– set-valued subqueries (in, any, all) or test for existence
(exists)
– group by clause or distinct clause

Dept. of Computer Science UC Davis 4. SQL