Database Systems:

Design, Implementation, and

Management
Ninth Edition

Chapter 7
Introduction to Structured Query Language
(SQL)
 Objectives
2

In this chapter, students will learn:

 The basic commands and functions of SQL

 How to use SQL for data administration (to create

tables, indexes, and views)

 How to use SQL for data manipulation (to add,

modify, delete, and retrieve data)

 How to use SQL to query a database for useful

information

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 (Contents of topic 7, according to the syllabus)
3

 Introduction to SQL
 Data definition commands
 Data manipulation commands
 Select queries
 Advanced data definition commands
 Virtual tables: creating a View
 Joining database tables

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Introduction to SQL
4

 SQL functions fit into two broad categories:

 Data definition language
 Data manipulation language
 Basic command set has vocabulary of fewer than
100 words
 American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
prescribes a standard SQL
 Several SQL dialects exist

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Data Definition Commands
5

 The database model

 In this chapter, a simple database with these tables is
used to illustrate commands:
 CUSTOMER
 INVOICE
 LINE
 PRODUCT
 VENDOR
 Focus on PRODUCT and VENDOR tables

Database Systems, 9th Edition

6 Database Systems, 9th Edition
 Creating the Database
7

 Two tasks must be completed:

 Create database structure
 Create tables that will hold end-user data
 First task:
 RDBMS creates physical files that will hold database
 Differs substantially from one RDBMS to another

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 The Database Schema
8

 Authentication
 DBMS verifies that only registered users are able to
access database
 Log on to RDBMS using user ID and password created
by database administrator
 Schema
 Group of database objects that are related to each other

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Data Types
9

 Data type selection is usually dictated by nature of

data and by intended use
 Supported data types:
 Number(L,D), Integer, Smallint, Decimal(L,D)
 Char(L), Varchar(L), Varchar2(L)
 Date, Time, Timestamp
 Real, Double, Float
 Interval day to hour
 Many other types

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Creating Table Structures
10

 Use one line per column (attribute) definition

 Use spaces to line up attribute characteristics and
constraints
 Table and attribute names are capitalized
 NOT NULL specification
 UNIQUE specification

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Creating Table Structures (cont’d.)
11

 Primary key attributes contain both a NOT NULL

and a UNIQUE specification
 RDBMS will automatically enforce referential
integrity for foreign keys
 Command sequence ends with semicolon

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 SQL Constraints
12

 NOT NULL constraint

 Ensures that column does not accept nulls
 UNIQUE constraint
 Ensures that all values in column are unique
 DEFAULT constraint
 Assigns value to attribute when a new row is added to
table
 CHECK constraint
 Validates data when attribute value is entered
Database Systems, 9th Edition
 SQL Indexes
13

 When primary key is declared, DBMS

automatically creates unique index
 Often need additional indexes
 Using CREATE INDEX command, SQL indexes
can be created on basis of any selected attribute
 Composite index
 Index based on two or more attributes
 Often used to prevent data duplication

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Data Manipulation Commands
14

 INSERT
 SELECT
 COMMIT
 UPDATE
 ROLLBACK
 DELETE

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Adding Table Rows
15

 INSERT
 Used to enter data into table
 Syntax:
 INSERTINTO columnname
VALUES (value1, value2, … , valueN);

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Adding Table Rows (cont’d.)
16

 When entering values, notice that:

 Row contents are entered between parentheses
 Character and date values are entered between
apostrophes
 Numerical entries are not enclosed in apostrophes
 Attribute entries are separated by commas
 A value is required for each column
 Use NULL for unknown values

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Saving Table Changes
17

 Changes made to table contents are not physically

saved on disk until:
 Database is closed
 Program is closed
 COMMIT command is used
 Syntax:
 COMMIT [WORK];
 Will permanently save any changes made to any
table in the database
Database Systems, 9th Edition
 Listing Table Rows
18

 SELECT
 Used to list contents of table
 Syntax:
 SELECT columnlist
 FROM tablename;

 Columnlist represents one or more attributes,

separated by commas
 Asterisk can be used as wildcard character to list
all attributes

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Updating Table Rows
19

 UPDATE
 Modify data in a table
 Syntax:
UPDATE tablename
SET columnname = expression [, columnname =
expression]
[WHERE conditionlist];
 If more than one attribute is to be updated in row,
separate corrections with commas

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Restoring Table Contents
20

 ROLLBACK
 Undoes changes since last COMMIT
 Brings data back to prechange values
 Syntax:
 ROLLBACK;
 COMMIT and ROLLBACK only work with
commands to add, modify, or delete table rows

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Deleting Table Rows
21

 DELETE
 Deletes a table row
 Syntax:
DELETE FROM tablename
[WHERE conditionlist ];
 WHERE condition is optional
 If WHERE condition is not specified, all rows from
specified table will be deleted

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Inserting Table Rows with a
SELECT Subquery
22

 INSERT
 Inserts multiple rows from another table (source)
 Uses SELECT subquery
 Subquery: query embedded (or nested or inner)
inside another query
 Subquery executed first
 Syntax:
INSERT INTO tablename SELECT columnlist FROM
tablename;

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 SELECT Queries
23

 Fine-tune SELECT command by adding

restrictions to search criteria using:
 Conditional restrictions
 Arithmetic operators
 Logical operators
 Special operators

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Selecting Rows with
Conditional Restrictions
24

 Select partial table contents by placing restrictions

on rows to be included in output
 Add conditional restrictions to SELECT statement,
using WHERE clause
 Syntax:
SELECT columnlist
FROM tablelist
[ WHERE conditionlist ] ;

Database Systems, 9th Edition

25 Database Systems, 9th Edition
 Arithmetic Operators:
The Rule of Precedence
26

 Perform operations within parentheses

 Perform power operations
 Perform multiplications and divisions
 Perform additions and subtractions

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Logical Operators: AND, OR, and NOT
27

 Searching data involves multiple conditions

 Logical operators: AND, OR, and NOT
 Can be combined
 Parentheses enforce precedence order
 Conditions in parentheses are always executed first
 Boolean algebra: mathematical field dedicated to
use of logical operators
 NOT negates result of conditional expression

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Special Operators
28

 BETWEEN: checks whether attribute value is

within a range
 IS NULL: checks whether attribute value is null
 LIKE: checks whether attribute value matches
given string pattern
 IN: checks whether attribute value matches any
value within a value list
 EXISTS: checks if subquery returns any rows

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Advanced Data Definition Commands
29

 All changes in table structure are made by using

ALTER command
 Three options:
 ADD adds a column
 MODIFY changes column characteristics
 DROP deletes a column
 Can also be used to:
 Add table constraints
 Remove table constraints
Database Systems, 9th Edition
 Changing a Column’s Data Type
30

 ALTER can be used to change data type

 Some RDBMSs do not permit changes to data
types unless column is empty

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Changing a Column’s Data Characteristics
31

 Use ALTER to change data characteristics

 Changes in column’s characteristics are permitted
if changes do not alter the existing data type

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Adding a Column
32
Dropping a Column
 Use ALTER to add column
 Do not include the NOT NULL clause for new column
 Use ALTER to drop column
 Some RDBMSs impose restrictions on the deletion of
an attribute

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Advanced Data Updates
33

 UPDATE command updates only data in existing

rows
 If relationship between entries and existing
columns, can assign values to slots
 Arithmetic operators are useful in data updates
 In Oracle, ROLLBACK command undoes changes
made by last two UPDATE statements

Database Systems, 9th Edition

34 Database Systems, 9th Edition
 Copying Parts of Tables
35

 SQL permits copying contents of selected table

columns
 Data need not be reentered manually into newly
created table(s)
 First create the table structure
 Next add rows to new table using table rows from
another table

Database Systems, 9th Edition

36 Database Systems, 9th Edition
 Adding Primary and Foreign Key Designations
37

 When table is copied, integrity rules do not copy

 Primary and foreign keys are manually defined on new
table
 User ALTER TABLE command
 Syntax:
ALTER TABLE tablename ADD PRIMARY
KEY(fieldname);
 For foreign key, use FOREIGN KEY in place of
PRIMARY KEY

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Deleting a Table from the Database
38

 DROP
 Deletes table from database
 Syntax:
DROP TABLE tablename;
 Can drop a table only if it is not the “one” side of
any relationship
 Otherwise, RDBMS generates an error message
 Foreign key integrity violation

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Additional SELECT Query
39
Keywords
 Logical operators work well in the query
environment
 SQL provides useful functions that:
 Count
 Find minimum and maximum values
 Calculate averages, etc.
 SQL allows user to limit queries to:
 Entries having no duplicates
 Entries whose duplicates may be grouped
Database Systems, 9th Edition
 Ordering a Listing
40

 ORDER BY clause is useful when listing order is

important
 Syntax:
SELECT columnlist
FROM tablelist
[WHERE conditionlist]
[ORDER BY columnlist [ASC | DESC]];
 Ascending order by default

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Listing Unique Values
41

 DISTINCT clause produces list of only values that

are different from one another
 Example:
SELECT DISTINCT V_CODE
FROM PRODUCT;
 Access places nulls at the top of the list
 Oracle places it at the bottom
 Placement of nulls does not affect list contents

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Aggregate Functions
42

 COUNT function tallies number of non-null values

of an attribute
 Takes one parameter: usually a column name
 MAX and MIN find highest (lowest) value in a
table
 Compute MAX value in inner query
 Compare to each value returned by the query
 SUM computes total sum for any specified attribute
 AVG function format is similar to MIN and MAX

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Grouping Data
43

 Frequency distributions created by GROUP BY

clause within SELECT statement
 Syntax:
SELECT columnlist
FROM tablelist
[WHERE conditionlist]
[GROUP BY columnlist]
[HAVING conditionlist]
[ORDER BY columnlist [ASC | DESC] ] ;

Database Systems, 9th Edition

44 Database Systems, 9th Edition
 Virtual Tables: Creating a View
45

 View is virtual table based on SELECT query

 Create view by using CREATE VIEW command
 Special characteristics of relational view:
 Name of view can be used anywhere a table name is
expected
 View dynamically updated
 Restricts users to only specified columns and rows
 Views may be used as basis for reports

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Joining Database Tables
46

 Joining tables is the most important distinction

between relational database and other DBs
 Join is performed when data are retrieved from
more than one table at a time
 Equality comparison between foreign key and primary
key of related tables
 Join tables by listing tables in FROM clause of
SELECT statement
 DBMS creates Cartesian product of every table

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Joining Tables with an Alias
47

 Alias identifies the source table from which data

are taken
 Alias can be used to identify source table
 Any legal table name can be used as alias
 Add alias after table name in FROM clause
 FROM tablename alias

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Recursive Joins
48
Outer Joins
 Alias is especially useful when a table must be
joined to itself
 Recursive query
 Use aliases to differentiate the table from itself
 Two types of outer join
 Left outer join
 Right outer join

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Summary
49

 SQL commands can be divided into two overall

categories:
 Data definition language commands
 Data manipulation language commands
 The ANSI standard data types are supported by all
RDBMS vendors in different ways
 Basic data definition commands allow you to create
tables, indexes, and views

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Summary (cont’d.)
50

 DML commands allow you to add, modify, and

delete rows from tables
 The basic DML commands:
 SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, COMMIT,
and ROLLBACK
 SELECT statement is main data retrieval
command in SQL

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Summary (cont’d.)
51

 WHERE clause can be used with SELECT,

UPDATE, and DELETE statements
 Aggregate functions
 Special functions that perform arithmetic computations
over a set of rows
 ORDER BY clause
 Used to sort output of SELECT statement
 Can sort by one or more columns
 Ascending or descending order

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Summary (cont’d.)
52

 Join output of multiple tables with SELECT

statement
 Join performed every time you specify two or more
tables in FROM clause
 If no join condition is specified, DBMX performs
Cartesian product
 Natural join uses join condition to match only rows
with equal values in specified columns
 Right outer join and left outer join select rows with
no matching values in other related table
Database Systems, 9th Edition