The columns of the rows of the result set are determined by the query expression. The number of columns and the type and name characteristics of each column are known when the query expression is compiled and before its execution. This metadata information remains constant regardless of changes to the contents of the tables used in the query expression. The metadata for the JDBC ResultSet is in the form of a ResultSetMetaData object. Various methods of the ResultSetMetaData interface return different properties of each column of the ResultSet.

A result set may contain 0 or more rows. The rows are determined by the execution of the query expression.

The setMaxRows(int) method of JDBC Statement allows limiting the number of rows returned by the statement. This limit is conceptually applied after the result has been built, and the excess rows are discarded.

A cursor is either scrollable or not. Scrollable cursors allow accessing rows by absolute or relative positioning. No-scroll cursors only allow moving to the next row. The cursor can be optionally declared with the SQL qualifiers SCROLL, or NO SCROLL. The JDBC statement parameter can be specified as: TYPE_FORWARD_ONLY and TYPE_SCROLL_INSENSITIVE. The JDBC type TYPE_SCROLL_SENSITIVE is not supported by HSQLDB.

The default is NO SCROLL or TYPE_FORWARD_ONLY.

When a JDBC ResultSet is opened, it is positioned before the first row. Using the next() method the position is moved to the first row. While the ResultSet is positioned on a row, various getter methods can be used to access the columns of the row.

The result returned by some query expressions is updatable. HSQLDB supports core SQL updatability features, plus some enhancements from the SQL optional features.

A query expression is updatable if it is a SELECT from a single underlying base table (or updatable view) either directly or indirectly. A SELECT statement featuring DISTINCT or GROUP BY or FETCH, LIMIT, OFFSET is not updatable. In an updatable query expression, one or more columns are updatable. An updatable column is a column that can be traced directly to the underlying table. Therefore, columns that contain expressions are not updatable. Examples of updatable query expressions are given below. The view V is updatable when its query expression is updatable. The SELECT statement from this view is also updatable:

SELECT A, B FROM T WHERE C > 5
SELECT A, B FROM (SELECT * FROM T WHERE C > 10) AS TT WHERE TT.B <10
CREATE VIEW V(X,Y) AS SELECT A, B FROM T WHERE C > 0 AND B < 10
SELECT X FROM V WHERE Y = 5

If a cursor is declared with the SQL qualifier, FOR UPDATE OF <column name list>, then only the stated columns in the result set become updatable. If any of the stated columns is not actually updatable, then the cursor declaration will not succeed.

If the SQL qualifier, FOR UPDATE is used, then all the updatable columns of the result set become updatable.

If a cursor is declared with FOR READ ONLY, then it is not updatable.

In HSQLDB, if FOR READ ONLY or FOR UPDATE is not used then all the updatable columns of the result set become updatable. This relaxes the SQL standard rule that in this case limits updatability to only simply updatable SELECT statements (where all columns are updatable).

In JDBC, CONCUR_READ_ONLY or CONCUR_UPDATABLE can be specified for the Statement parameter. CONCUR_UPDATABLE is required if the returning ResultSet is to be updatable. If CONCUR_READ_ONLY, which is the default, is used, then even an updatable ResultSet becomes read-only.

When a ResultSet is updatable, various setter methods can be used to modify the column values. The names of the setter methods begin with "update". After all the updates on a row are done, the updateRow() method must be called to finalise the row update.

An updatable ResultSet may or may not be insertable-into. In an insertable ResultSet, all columns of the result are updatable and any column of the base table that is not in the result must be a generated column or have a default value.

In the ResultSet object, a special pseudo-row, called the insert row, is used to populate values for insertion into the ResultSet (and consequently, into the base table). The setter methods must be used on all the columns, followed by a call to insertRow().

Individual rows from all updatable result sets can be deleted one at a time. The deleteRow() is called when the ResultSet is positioned on a row.

While using an updatable ResultSet to modify data, it is recommended not to change the same data using another ResultSet and not to execute SQL data change statements that modify the same data.

The sensitivity of the cursor relates to visibility of changes made to the data by the same transaction but without using the given cursor. While the result set is open, the same transaction may use statements such as INSERT or UPDATE, and change the data of the tables from which the result set data is derived. A cursor is SENSITIVE if it reflects those changes. It is INSENSITIVE if it ignores such changes. It is ASENSITIVE if behaviour is implementation dependent.

The SQL default is ASENSITIVE, i.e., implantation dependent.

In HSQLDB all cursors are INSENSITIVE. They do not reflect changes to the data made by other statements.

A cursor is holdable if the result set is not automatically closed when the current transaction is committed. Holdability can be specified in the cursor declaration using the SQL qualifiers WITH HOLD or WITHOUT HOLD.

In JDBC, hodability is specified using either of the following values for the Statement parameter: HOLD_CURSORS_OVER_COMMIT, or CLOSE_CURSORS_AT_COMMIT.

The SQL default is WITHOUT HOLD.

The JDBC default for HSQLDB result sets is WITH HOLD for read-only result sets and WITHOUT HOLD for updatable result sets.

If the holdability of a ResultSet is specified in a conflicting manner in the SQL statement and the JDBC Statement object, the JDBC setting takes precedence.

The autocommit property of a connection is a feature of JDBC and ODBC and is not part of the SQL Standard. In autocommit mode, all transactional statements are followed by an implicit commit. In autocommit mode, all ResultSet objects are read-only and holdable.

The JDBC settings, ResultSet.CONCUR_READONLY and ResultSet.CONCUR_UPDATABLE are the alternatives for read-only or updatability. The default is ResultSet.CONCUR_READONLY.

The JDBC settings, ResultSet.TYPE_FORWARD_ONLY, ResultSet.TYPE_SCROLL_INSENSITIVE, ResultSet.TYPE_SCROLL_SENSITIVE are the alternatives for both scrollability (navigation) and sensitivity. HyperSQL does not support ResultSet.TYPE_SCROLL_SENSITIVE. The two other alternatives can be used for both updatable and read-only result sets.

The JDBC settings ResultSet.CLOSE_CURSORS_AT_COMMIT and ResultSet.HOLD_CURSORS_OVER_COMMIT are the alternatives for the lifetime of the result set. The default is ResultSet.CLOSE_CURSORS_AT_COMMIT. The other setting can only be used for read-only result sets.

Examples of creating statements for updatable result sets are given below:

Connection c = newConnection();
Statement st;
c.setAutoCommit(false);
st = c.createStatement(ResultSet.TYPE_FORWARD_ONLY, ResultSet.CONCUR_UPDATABLE);
st = c.createStatement(ResultSet.TYPE_SCROLL_INSENSITIVE, ResultSet.CONCUR_UPDATABLE);

When a JDBC PreparedStatement or CallableStatement is used with an SQL statement that contains dynamic parameters, the data types of the parameters are resolved and determined by the engine when the statement is prepared. The SQL Standard has detailed rules to determine the data types and imposes limits on the maximum length or precision of the parameter. HyperSQL applies the standard rules with two exceptions for parameters with String and BigDecimal Java types. HyperSQL ignores the limits when the parameter value is set, and only enforces the necessary limits when the PreparedStatement is executed. In all other cases, parameter type limits are checked and enforce when the parameter is set.

In the example below the setString() calls do not raise an exception, but one of the execute() statements does.

// table definition: CREATE TABLE T (NAME VARCHAR(12), ...)
Connection c = newConnection();
PreparedStatement st = c.prepareStatement("SELECT * FROM T WHERE NAME = ?");
// type of the parameter is VARCHAR(12), which limits length to 12 characters
st.setString(1, "Eyjafjallajokull"); // string is longer than type, but no exception is raised here
set.execute(); // executes with no exception and does not find any rows
// but if an UPDATE is attempted, an exception is raised
st = c.prepareStatement("UPDATE T SET NAME = ? WHERE ID = 10");
st.setString(1, "Eyjafjallajokull"); // string is longer than type, but no exception is raised here
st.execute(); // exception is thrown when HyperSQL checks the value for update

All of the above also applies to setting the values in new and updated rows in updatable ResultSet objects.

JDBC parameters can be set with any compatible type, as supported by the JDBC specification. For CLOB and BLOB types, you can use streams, or create instances of BLOB or CLOB before assigning them to the parameters. You can even use CLOB or BLOB objects returned from connections to other RDBMS servers. The Connection.createBlob() and createClob() methods can be used to create the new LOBs. For very large LOB's the stream methods are preferable as they use less memory.

For array parameters, you must use a java.sql.Array object that contains the array elements before assigning to JDBC parameters. The Connection.createArrayOf(...) method can be used to create a new object, or you can use an Array returned from connections to other RDBMS servers.

The methods of the JDBC ResultSet interface can be used to return values and to convert value to different types as supported by the JDBC specification.

When a CLOB and BLOB object is returned from a ResultSet, no data is transferred until the data is read by various methods of java.sql.CLOB and java.sql.BLOB. Data is streamed in large blocks to avoid excessive memory use.

Array objects are returned as instances of java.sql.Array.

Literals are used to express constant values. The general type of a literal is known by its format. The specific type is based on conventions.

unicode escape elements

unicode escape elements

<Unicode escape specifier> ::= [ UESCAPE <quote><Unicode escape character><quote> ]

<Unicode escape value> ::= <Unicode 4 digit escape value> | <Unicode 6 digit escape value> | <Unicode character escape value>

<Unicode 4 digit escape value> ::= <Unicode escape character><hexit><hexit><hexit><hexit>

<Unicode 6 digit escape value> ::= <Unicode escape character><plus sign> <hexit><hexit><hexit><hexit><hexit><hexit>

<Unicode character escape value> ::= <Unicode escape character><Unicode escape character>

<Unicode escape character> ::= a single character than a <hexit> (a-f, A-F, 0-9), <plus sign>, <quote>, <double quote>, or <white space>

character literal

character literal

<character string literal> ::= [ <introducer><character set specification> ] <quote> [ <character representation>... ] <quote> [ { <separator> <quote> [ <character representation>... ] <quote> }... ]

<introducer> ::= <underscore>

<character representation> ::= <nonquote character> | <quote symbol>

<nonquote character> ::= any character apart from the quote symbol.

<quote symbol> ::= <quote><quote>

<national character string literal> ::= N <quote> [ <character representation>... ] <quote> [ { <separator> <quote> [ <character representation>... ] <quote> }... ]

<Unicode character string literal> ::= [ <introducer><character set specification> ] U<ampersand><quote> [ <Unicode representation>... ] <quote> [ { <separator> <quote> [ <Unicode representation>... ] <quote> }... ] <Unicode escape specifier>

<Unicode representation> ::= <character representation> | <Unicode escape value>

The type of a character literal is CHARACTER. The length of the string literal is the character length of the type. If the quote character is used in a string, it is represented with two quote characters. Long literals can be divided into multiple quoted strings, separated with a space or end-of-line character.

Unicode literals start with U& and can contain ordinary characters and unicode escapes. A unicode escape begins with the backslash ( \ ) character and is followed by four hexadecimal characters which specify the character code.

Example of character literals are given below:

'a literal'  ' string seperated'  ' into parts'
'a string''s literal form with quote character'
U&'Unicode string with Greek delta \0394 and phi \03a6 letters'

binary literal

binary literal

<binary string literal> ::= X <quote> [ <space>... ] [ { <hexit> [ <space>... ] <hexit> [ <space>... ] }... ] <quote> [ { <separator> <quote> [ <space>... ] [ { <hexit> [ <space>... ] <hexit> [ <space>... ] }... ] <quote> }... ]

<hexit> ::= <digit> | A | B | C | D | E | F | a | b | c | d | e | f

The type of a binary literal is BINARY. The octect length of the binary literal is the length of the type. Case-insensitive hexadecimal characters are used in the binary string. Each pair of characters in the literal represents a byte in the binary string. Long literals can be divided into multiple quoted strings, separated with a space or end-of-line character.

X'1abACD34' 'Af'

bit literal

bit literal

<bit string literal> ::= B <quote> [ <bit> ... ] <quote> [ { <separator> <quote> [ <bit>... ] <quote> }... ]

<bit> ::= 0 | 1

The type of a binary literal is BIT. The bit length of the bit literal is the length of the type. Digits 0 and 1 are used to represent the bits. Long literals can be divided into multiple quoted strings, separated with a space or end-of-line character.

B'10001001' '00010'

numeric literal

numeric literal

<signed numeric literal> ::= [ <sign> ] <unsigned numeric literal>

<unsigned numeric literal> ::= <exact numeric literal> | <approximate numeric literal>

<exact numeric literal> ::= <unsigned integer> [ <period> [ <unsigned integer> ] ] | <period> <unsigned integer>

<sign> ::= <plus sign> | <minus sign>

<approximate numeric literal> ::= <mantissa> E <exponent>

<mantissa> ::= <exact numeric literal>

<exponent> ::= <signed integer>

<signed integer> ::= [ <sign> ] <unsigned integer>

<unsigned integer> ::= <digit>...

The type of an exact numeric literal without a decimal point is INTEGER, BIGINT, or DECIMAL, depending on the value of the literal (the smallest type that can represent the value is the type).

The type of an exact numeric literal with a decimal point is DECIMAL. The precision of a decimal literal is the total number of digits of the literal. The scale of the literal is the total number of digits to the right of the decimal point.

The type of an approximate numeric literal is DOUBLE. An approximate numeric literal always includes the mantissa and exponent, separated by E.

12
34.35
+12E-2

boolean literal

boolean literal

<boolean literal> ::= TRUE | FALSE | UNKNOWN

The boolean literal is one of the specified keywords.

datetime and interval literal

datetime and interval literal

<datetime literal> ::= <date literal> | <time literal> | <timestamp literal>

<date literal> ::= DATE <date string>

<time literal> ::= TIME <time string>

<timestamp literal> ::= TIMESTAMP <timestamp string>

<date string> ::= <quote> <unquoted date string> <quote>

<time string> ::= <quote> <unquoted time string> <quote>

<timestamp string> ::= <quote> <unquoted timestamp string> <quote>

<time zone interval> ::= <sign> <hours value> <colon> <minutes value>

<date value> ::= <years value> <minus sign> <months value> <minus sign> <days value>

<time value> ::= <hours value> <colon> <minutes value> <colon> <seconds value>

<interval literal> ::= INTERVAL [ <sign> ] <interval string> <interval qualifier>

<interval string> ::= <quote> <unquoted interval string> <quote>

<unquoted date string> ::= <date value>

<unquoted time string> ::= <time value> [ <time zone interval> ]

<unquoted timestamp string> ::= <unquoted date string> <space> <unquoted time string>

<unquoted interval string> ::= [ <sign> ] { <year-month literal> | <day-time literal> }

<year-month literal> ::= <years value> [ <minus sign> <months value> ] | <months value>

<day-time literal> ::= <day-time interval> | <time interval>

<day-time interval> ::= <days value> [ <space> <hours value> [ <colon> <minutes value> [ <colon> <seconds value> ] ] ]

<time interval> ::= <hours value> [ <colon> <minutes value> [ <colon> <seconds value> ] ] | <minutes value> [ <colon> <seconds value> ] | <seconds value>

<years value> ::= <datetime value>

<months value> ::= <datetime value>

<days value> ::= <datetime value>

<hours value> ::= <datetime value>

<minutes value> ::= <datetime value>

<seconds value> ::= <seconds integer value> [ <period> [ <seconds fraction> ] ]

<seconds integer value> ::= <unsigned integer>

<seconds fraction> ::= <unsigned integer>

<datetime value> ::= <unsigned integer>

The type of a datetime or interval type is specified in the literal. The fractional second precision is the number of digits in the fractional part of the literal. Details are described in the SQL Language chapter

DATE '2008-08-08'
TIME '20:08:08'
TIMESTAMP '2008-08-08 20:08:08.235'

INTERVAL '10' DAY
INTERVAL -'08:08' MINUTE TO SECOND

References are identifier chains, which can be a single identifiers or identifiers chains composed of single identifiers chained together with the period symbol.

identifier chain

identifier chain

<identifier chain> ::= <identifier> [ { <period> <identifier> }... ]

<basic identifier chain> ::= <identifier chain>

A period-separated chain of identifiers. The identifiers in an identifier chain can refer to database objects in a hierarchy. The possible hierarchies are as follows. In each hierarchy, elements from the start or the end can be missing, but the order of elements cannot be changed.

catalog, schema, database object

catalog, schema, table, column

correlation name, column

Examples of identifier chain are given below:

SELECT MYCAT.MYSCHEMA.MYTABLE.MYCOL FROM MYCAT.MYSCHEMA.MYTABLE
DROP TABLE MYCAT.MYSCHEMA.MYTABLE CASCADE
ALTER SEQUENCE MYCAT.MYSCHEMA.MYSEQUENCE RESTART WITH 100

column reference

column reference

<column reference> ::= <basic identifier chain> | MODULE <period> <qualified identifier> <period> <column name>

Reference a column or a routine variable.

SQL parameter reference

SQL parameter reference

<SQL parameter reference> ::= <basic identifier chain>

Reference an SQL routine parameter.

contextually typed value specification

contextually typed value specification

<contextually typed value specification> ::= <null specification> | <default specification>

<null specification> ::= NULL

<default specification> ::= DEFAULT

Specify a value whose data type or value is inferred from its context. DEFAULT is used for assignments to table columns that have a default value, or to table columns that are generated either as an IDENTITY value or as an expression. NULL can be used only in a context where the type of the value is known. For example, a NULL can be assigned to a column of the table in an INSERT or UPDATE statement, because the type of the column is known. But if NULL is used in a SELECT list, it must be used in a CAST statement.

Value expression is a general name for all expressions that return a value. Different types of expressions are allowed in different contexts.

value expression primary

value expression primary

<value expression primary> ::= <parenthesized value expression> | <nonparenthesized value expression primary>

<parenthesized value expression> ::= <left paren> <value expression> <right paren>

<nonparenthesized value expression primary> ::= <unsigned value specification> | <column reference> | <set function specification> | <scalar subquery> | <case expression> | <cast specification> | <next value expression> | <routine invocation>

Specify a value that is syntactically self-delimited.

value specification

value specification

<value specification> ::= <literal> | <general value specification>

<unsigned value specification> ::= <unsigned literal> | <general value specification>

<target specification> ::= <host parameter specification> | <SQL parameter reference> | <column reference> | <dynamic parameter specification>

<simple target specification> ::= <host parameter specification> | <SQL parameter reference> | <column reference> | <embedded variable name>

<host parameter specification> ::= <host parameter name> [ <indicator parameter> ]

<dynamic parameter specification> ::= <question mark>

Specify one or more values, host parameters, SQL parameters, dynamic parameters, or host variables.

row value expression

row value expression

<row value expression> ::= <row value special case> | <explicit row value constructor>

<row value predicand> ::= <row value special case> | <row value constructor predicand>

<row value special case> ::= <nonparenthesized value expression primary>

<explicit row value constructor> ::= <left paren> <row value constructor element> <comma> <row value constructor element list> <right paren> |

ROW <left paren> <row value constructor element list> <right paren> | <row subquery>

Specify a row consisting of one or more elements. A comma separated list of expressions, enclosed in brackets, with the optional keyword ROW. In SQL, a row containing a single element can often be used where a single value is expected.

set function specification

set function specification

<set function specification> ::= <aggregate function> | <grouping operation>

<grouping operation> ::= GROUPING <left paren> <column reference> [ { <comma> <column reference> }... ] <right paren>

Specify a value derived by the application of a function to an argument. Early releases of HyperSQL 2.0 do not support <grouping operation> .

COALESCE

coalesce expression

<coalesce expression> := COALESCE <left paren> <value expression> { <comma> <value expression> }... <right paren>

Replace null values with another value. The coalesce expression has two or more instances of <value expression>. If the first <value expression> evaluates to a non-null value, it is returned as the result of the coalesce expression. If it is null, the next <value expression> is evaluated and if it evaluates to a non-non value, it is returned, and so on.

The type of the return value of a COALESCE expression is the aggregate type of the types of all the <value expression> instances. Therefore, any value returned is implicitly cast to this type. HyperSQL also features built-in functions with similar functionality.

NULLIF

nullif expression

<nullif expression> := NULLIF <left paren> <value expression> <comma> <value expression> <right paren>

Return NULL if two values are equal. If the result of the first <value expression> is not equal to the result of the second, then it is returned, otherwise NULL is returned. The type of the return value is the type of the first <value expression>.

SELECT i, NULLIF(n, 'not defined') FROM t

CASE

case specification

<case specification> ::= <simple case> | <searched case>

<simple case> ::= CASE <case operand> <simple when clause>... [ <else clause> ] END

<searched case> ::= CASE <searched when clause>... [ <else clause> ] END

<simple when clause> ::= WHEN <when operand list> THEN <result>

<searched when clause> ::= WHEN <search condition> THEN <result>

<else clause> ::= ELSE <result>

<case operand> ::= <row value predicand> | <overlaps predicate part 1>

<when operand list> ::= <when operand> [ { <comma> <when operand> }... ]

<when operand> ::= <row value predicand> | <comparison predicate part 2> | <between predicate part 2> | <in predicate part 2> | <character like predicate part 2> | <octet like predicate part 2> | <similar predicate part 2> | <regex like predicate part 2> | <null predicate part 2> | <quantified comparison predicate part 2> | <match predicate part 2> | <overlaps predicate part 2> | <distinct predicate part 2>

<result> ::= <result expression> | NULL

<result expression> ::= <value expression>

Specify a conditional value. The result of a case expression is always a value. All the values introduced with THEN must be of the same type.

An (simple) example of the CASE statement is given below. It returns 'Britain', 'Germany', or 'Other country' depending on the value of dialcode'

CASE dialcode WHEN 44 THEN 'Britain' WHEN 49 THEN 'Germany' ELSE 'Other country' END

The case statement can be far more complex and involve several conditions.

CAST

cast specification

<cast specification> ::= CAST <left paren> <cast operand> AS <cast target> <right paren>

<cast operand> ::= <value expression> | <implicitly typed value specification>

<cast target> ::= <domain name> | <data type>

Specify a data conversion. Data conversion takes place automatically among variants of a general type. For example numeric values are freely converted from one type to another in expressions.

Explicit type conversion is necessary in two cases. One case is to determine the type of a NULL value. The other case is to force conversion for special purposes. Values of data types can be cast to a character type. The exception is BINARY and OTHER types. The result of the cast is the literal expression of the value. Conversely, a value of a character type can be converted to another type if the character value is a literal representation of the value in the target type. Special conversions are possible between numeric and interval types, which are described in the section covering interval types.

The examples below show examples of cast with their result:

CAST (NULL AS TIMESTAMP)
CAST ('   199  ' AS INTEGER) = 199
CAST ('tRue ' AS BOOLEAN) = TRUE
CAST (INTERVAL '2' DAY AS INTEGER) = 2
CAST ('1992-04-21' AS DATE) = DATE '1992-04-21'

NEXT VALUE FOR

next value expression

<next value expression> ::= NEXT VALUE FOR <sequence generator name>

Return the next value of a sequence generator. This expression can be used as a select list element in queries, or in assignments to table columns in data change statements. If the expression is used more than once in a single row that is being evaluated, the same value is returned for each invocation. After evaluation of the particular row is complete, the sequence generator will return a different value from the old value. The new value is generated by the sequence generator by adding the increment to the last value it generated. In the example below:

INSERT INTO MYTABLE(COL1, COL2) VALUES 2, NEXT VALUE FOR MYSEQUENCE

value expression

value expression

<value expression> ::= <numeric value expression> | <string value expression> | <datetime value expression> | <interval value expression> | <boolean value expression> | <row value expression>

An expression that returns a value. The value can be a single value, or a row consisting more than one value.

numeric value expression

numeric value expression

<numeric value expression> ::= <term> | <numeric value expression> <plus sign> <term> | <numeric value expression> <minus sign> <term>

<term> ::= <factor> | <term> <asterisk> <factor> | <term> <solidus> <factor>

<factor> ::= [ <sign> ] <numeric primary>

<numeric primary> ::= <value expression primary> | <numeric value function>

Specify a numeric value. The BNF indicates that <asterisk> and <solidus> (the operators for multiplication and division) have precedence over <minus sign> and <plus sign>.

numeric value function

numeric value function

<numeric value function> ::= <position expression> | <extract expression> | <length expression> ...

Specify a function yielding a value of type numeric. The supported numeric value functions are listed and described in the Built In Functions chapter.

string value expression

string value expression

<string value expression> ::= <string concatenation> | <string factor>

<string factor> ::= <value expression primary> | <string value function>

<string concatenation> ::= <string value expression> <concatenation operator> <string factor>

<concatenation operator> ::= ||

Specify a character string value, a binary string value, or a bit string value. The BNF indicates that a string value expression can be formed by concatenation of two or more <value expression primary>. The types of the <value expression primary> elements must be compatible, that is, all must be string, or binary or bit string values.

character value function

string value function

<string value function> ::= ...

Specify a function that returns a character string or binary string. The supported character value functions are listed and described in the Built In Functions chapter.

datetime value expression

datetime value expression

<datetime value expression> ::= <datetime term> | <interval value expression> <plus sign> <datetime term> | <datetime value expression> <plus sign> <interval term> | <datetime value expression> <minus sign> <interval term>

<datetime term> ::= <datetime factor>

<datetime factor> ::= <datetime primary> [ <time zone> ]

<datetime primary> ::= <value expression primary> | <datetime value function>

<time zone> ::= AT <time zone specifier>

<time zone specifier> ::= LOCAL | TIME ZONE <interval primary>

Specify a datetime value. Details are described in the SQL Language chapter.

datetime value function

datetime value function

<datetime value function> ::= ...

Specify a function that returns a datetime value. The supported datetime value functions are listed and described in the Built In Functions chapter.

interval term

interval value expression

<interval value expression> ::= <interval term> | <interval value expression 1> <plus sign> <interval term 1> | <interval value expression 1> <minus sign> <interval term 1> | <left paren> <datetime value expression> <minus sign> <datetime term> <right paren> <interval qualifier>

<interval term> ::= <interval factor> | <interval term 2> <asterisk> <factor> | <interval term 2> <solidus> <factor> | <term> <asterisk> <interval factor>

<interval factor> ::= [ <sign> ] <interval primary>

<interval primary> ::= <value expression primary> [ <interval qualifier> ] | <interval value function>

<interval value expression 1> ::= <interval value expression>

<interval term 1> ::= <interval term>

<interval term 2> ::= <interval term>

Specify an interval value. Details are described in the SQL Language chapter.

interval absolute value function

interval value function

<interval value function> ::= <interval absolute value function>

<interval absolute value function> ::= ABS <left paren> <interval value expression> <right paren>

Specify a function that returns the absolute value of an interval. If the interval is negative, it is negated, otherwise the original value is returned.

boolean value expression

boolean value expression

<boolean value expression> ::= <boolean term> | <boolean value expression> OR <boolean term>

<boolean term> ::= <boolean factor> | <boolean term> AND <boolean factor>

<boolean factor> ::= [ NOT ] <boolean test>

<boolean test> ::= <boolean primary> [ IS [ NOT ] <truth value> ]

<truth value> ::= TRUE | FALSE | UNKNOWN

<boolean primary> ::= <predicate> | <boolean predicand>

<boolean predicand> ::= <parenthesized boolean value expression> | <nonparenthesized value expression primary>

<parenthesized boolean value expression> ::= <left paren> <boolean value expression> <right paren>

Specify a boolean value.

Predicates are conditions with two sides and evaluate to a boolean value. The left side of the predicate, the <row value predicand>, is the common element of all predicates. This element is a generalisation of both <value expression>, which is a scalar, and of <explicit row value constructor>, which is a row. The two sides of a predicate can be split in CASE statements where the <row value predicand> is part of multiple predicates.

The number of fields in all <row value predicand> used in predicates must be the same and the types of the fields in the same position must be compatible for comparison. If either of these conditions does not hold, an exception is raised. The number of fields in a row is called the degree.

In many types of predicates (but not all of them), if the <row value predicand> evaluates to NULL, the result of the predicate is UNKNOWN. If the <row value predicand> has more than one element, and one or more of the fields evaluate to NULL, the result depends on the particular predicate.

comparison predicand

comparison predicate

<comparison predicate> ::= <row value predicand> <comp op> <row value predicand>

<comp op> ::= <equals operator> | <not equals operator> | <less than operator> | <greater than operator> | <less than or equals operator> | <greater than or equals operator>

Specify a comparison of two row values. If either <row value predicand> evaluates to NULL, the result of <comparison predicate> is UNKNOWN. Otherwise, the result is TRUE, FALSE or UNKNOWN.

If the degree of <row value predicand> is larger than one, comparison is performed between each field and the corresponding field in the other <row value predicand> from left to right, one by one.

When comparing two elements, if either field is NULL then the result is UNKNOWN.

For <equals operator>, if the result of comparison is TRUE for all field, the result of the predicate is TRUE. If the result of comparison is FALSE for one field, the result of predicate is FALSE. Otherwise the result is UNKNOWN.

The <not equals operator> is translated to NOT (<row value predicand> = <row value predicand>).

The <less than or equals operator> is translated to (<row value predicand> = <row value predicand>) OR (<row value predicand> < <row value predicand>). The <greater than or equals operator> is translated similarly.

For the <less than operator> and <greater than operator>, if two fields at a given position are equal, then comparison continues to the next field. Otherwise, the result of the last performed comparison is returned as the result of the predicate. This means that if the first field is NULL, the result is always UNKNOWN.

The logic that governs NULL values and UNKNOWN result is as follows: Suppose the NULL values were substituted by arbitrary real values. If substitution cannot change the result of the predicate, then the result is TRUE or FALSE, based on the existing non-NULL values, otherwise the result of the predicate is UNKNOWN.

The examples of comparison given below use literals, but the literals actually represent the result of evaluation of some expression.

((1, 2, 3, 4) = (1, 2, 3, 4)) IS TRUE
((1, 2, 3, 4) = (1, 2, 3, 5)) IS FALSE
((1, 2, 3, 4) < (1, 2, 3, 4)) IS FALSE
((1, 2, 3, 4) < (1, 2, 3, 5)) IS TRUE
((NULL, 1, NULL) = (NULL, 1, NULL)) IS UNKNOWN  
((NULL, 1, NULL) = (NULL, 2, NULL)) IS FALSE  
((NULL, 1, NULL) <> (NULL, 2, NULL)) IS TRUE  
((NULL, 1, 2) <all operators> (NULL, 1, 2)) IS UNKNOWN
((1, NULL, ...) < (1, 2, ...)) IS UNKNOWN  
((1, NULL, ...) < (2, NULL, ...)) IS TRUE
((2, NULL, ...) < (1, NULL, ...)) IS FALSE

BETWEEN

between predicate

<between predicate> ::= <row value predicand> <between predicate part 2>

<between predicate part 2> ::= [ NOT ] BETWEEN [ ASYMMETRIC | SYMMETRIC ] <row value predicand> AND <row value predicand>

Specify a range comparison. The default is ASYMMETRIC. The expression X BETWEEN Y AND Z is equivalent to (X >= Y AND X <= Z). Therefore if Y > Z, the BETWEEN expression is never true. The expression X BETWEEN SYMMETRIC Y AND Z is equivalent to (X >= Y AND X <= Z) OR (X >= Z AND X <= Y). The expression Z NOT BETWEEN ... is equivalent to NOT (Z BETWEEN ...). If any of the three <row value predicand> evaluates to NULL, the result is UNKNOWN.

IN

in predicate

<in predicate> ::= <row value predicand> [ NOT ] IN <in predicate value>

<in predicate value> ::= <table subquery> | <left paren> <in value list> <right paren>

| <left paren> UNNEST <left paren> <array value expression> <right paren> <right paren>

<in value list> ::= <row value expression> [ { <comma> <row value expression> }... ]

Specify a quantified comparison. The expression X NOT IN Y is equivalent to NOT (X IN Y). The ( <in value list> ) is converted into a table with one or more rows. The expression X IN Y is equivalent to X = ANY Y, which is a <quantified comparison predicate>.

If the <table subquery> returns no rows, the result is FALSE. Otherwise the <row value predicand> is compared one by one with each row of the <table subquery>.

If the comparison is TRUE for at least one row, the result is TRUE. If the comparison is FALSE for all rows, the result is FALSE. Otherwise the result is UNKNOWN.

HyperSQL supports an extension to the SQL Standard to allow an array to be used in the <in predicate value>. This is intended to be used with prepared statements where a variable length array of values can be used as the parameter value for each call. The example below shows how this is used.

SELECT * from customer where firstname in ( UNNEST(?) )

LIKE

like predicate

<like predicate> ::= <character like predicate> | <octet like predicate>

<character like predicate> ::= <row value predicand> [ NOT ] LIKE <character pattern> [ ESCAPE <escape character> ]

<character pattern> ::= <character value expression>

<escape character> ::= <character value expression>

<octet like predicate> ::= <row value predicand> [ NOT ] LIKE <octet pattern> [ ESCAPE <escape octet> ]

<octet pattern> ::= <binary value expression>

<escape octet> ::= <binary value expression>

Specify a pattern-match comparison for character or binary strings. The <row value predicand> is always a <string value expression> of character or binary type. The <character pattern> or <octet pattern> is a <string value expression> in which the underscore and percent characters have special meanings. The underscore means match any one character, while the percent means match a sequence of zero or more characters. The <escape character> or <escape octet> is also a <string value expression> that evaluates to a string of exactly one character length. If the underscore or the percent is required as normal characters in the pattern, the specified <escape character> or <escape octet> can be used in the pattern before the underscore or the percent. The <row value predicand> is compared with the <character pattern> and the result of comparison is returned. If any of the expressions in the predicate evaluates to NULL, the result of the predicate is UNKNOWN. The expression A NOT LIKE B is equivalent to NOT (A LIKE B). If the length of the escape is not 1 or it is used in the pattern not immediately before an underscore or a percent character, an exception is raised.

IS NULL

null predicate

<null predicate> ::= <row value predicand> IS [ NOT ] NULL

Specify a test for a null value. The expression X IS NOT NULL is NOT equivalent to NOT (X IS NULL)if the degree of the <row value predicand> is larger than 1. The rules are: If all fields are null, X IS NULL is TRUE and X IS NOT NULL is FALSE. If only some fields are null, both X IS NULL and X IS NOT NULL are FALSE. If all fields are not null, X IS NULL is FALSE and X IS NOT NULL is TRUE.

ALL and ANY

quantified comparison predicate

<quantified comparison predicate> ::= <row value predicand> <comp op> <quantifier> <table subquery>

<quantifier> ::= <all> | <some>

<all> ::= ALL

<some> ::= SOME | ANY

Specify a quantified comparison. For a quantified comparison, the <row value predicand> is compared one by one with each row of the <table sub query>.

If the <table subquery> returns no rows, then if ALL is specified the result is TRUE, but if SOME or ANY is specified the result is FALSE.

If ALL is specified, if the comparison is TRUE for all rows, the result of the predicate is TRUE. If the comparison is FALSE for at least one row, the result is FALSE. Otherwise the result is UNKNOWN.

If SOME or ANY is specified, if the comparison is TRUE for at least one row, the result is TRUE. If the comparison is FALSE for all rows, the result is FALSE. Otherwise the result is UNKNOWN. Note that the IN predicate is equivalent to the SOME or ANY predicate using the <equals operator>.

In the examples below, the date of an invoice is compared to holidays in a given year. In the first example the invoice date must equal one of the holidays, in the second example it must be later than all holidays (later than the last holiday), in the third example it must be on or after some holiday (on or after the first holiday), and in the fourth example, it must be before all holidays (before the first holiday).

invoice_date = SOME (SELECT holiday_date FROM holidays)
invoice_date > ALL (SELECT holiday_date FROM holidays)
invoice_date >= ANY (SELECT holiday_date FROM holidays)
invoice_date < ALL (SELECT holiday_date FROM holidays)

EXISTS

exists predicate

<exists predicate> ::= EXISTS <table subquery>

Specify a test for a non-empty set. If the evaluation of <table subquery> results in one or more rows, then the expression is TRUE, otherwise FALSE.

UNIQUE

unique predicate

<unique predicate> ::= UNIQUE <table subquery>

Specify a test for the absence of duplicate rows. The result of the test is either TRUE or FALSE (never UNKNOWN). The rows of the <table subquery> that contain one or more NULL values are not considered for this test. If the rest of the rows are distinct from each other, the result of the test is TRUE, otherwise it is FALSE. The distinctness of rows X and Y is tested with the predicate X IS DISTINCT FROM Y.

MATCH

match predicate

<match predicate> ::= <row value predicand> MATCH [ UNIQUE ] [ SIMPLE | PARTIAL | FULL ] <table subquery>

Specify a test for matching rows. The default is MATCH SIMPLE without UNIQUE. The result of the test is either TRUE or FALSE (never UNKNOWN).

The interpretation of NULL values is different from other predicates and quite counter-intuitive. If the <row value predicand> is NULL, or all of its fields are NULL, the result is TRUE.

Otherwise, the <row value predicand> is compared with each row of the <table subquery>.

If SIMPLE is specified, if some field of <row value predicate> is NULL, the result is TRUE. Otherwise if <row value predicate> is equal to one or more rows of <table subquery> the result is TRUE if UNIQUE is not specified, or if UNIQUE is specified and only one row matches. Otherwise the result is FALSE.

If PARTIAL is specified, if the non-null values <row value predicate> are equal to those in one or more rows of <table subquery> the result is TRUE if UNIQUE is not specified, or if UNIQUE is specified and only one row matches. Otherwise the result is FALSE.

If FULL is specified, if some field of <row value predicate> is NULL, the result is FALSE. Otherwise if <row value predicate> is equal to one or more rows of <table subquery> the result is TRUE if UNIQUE is not specified, or if UNIQUE is specified and only one row matches.

Note that MATCH can also used be used in FOREIGN KEY constraint definitions. The exact meaning is described in the Schemas and Database Objects chapter.

OVERLAPS

overlaps predicate

<overlaps predicate> ::= <row value predicand> OVERLAPS <row value predicand>

Specify a test for an overlap between two datetime periods. Each <row value predicand> must have two fields and the fields together represent a datetime period. So the predicates is always in the form (X1, X2) OVERLAPS (Y1, Y2). The first field is always a datetime value, while the second field is either a datetime value or an interval value.

If the second value is an interval value, it is replaced with the sum of the datetime value and itself, for example (X1, X1 + X2) OVERLAPS (Y1, Y1 + Y 2).

If any of the values is NULL, the result is UNKNOWN.

The expression is true if there is there is any overlap between the two datetime periods. In the example below, the period is compared with a week long period ending yesterday.

(startdate, enddate) OVERLAPS (CURRENT_DATE - 7 DAY, CURRENT_DATE - 1 DAY)

IS DISTINCT

is distinct predicate

<distinct predicate> ::= <row value predicand> IS [ NOT ] DISTINCT FROM <row value predicand>

Specify a test of whether two row values are distinct. The result of the test is either TRUE or FALSE (never UNKNOWN). The degree the two <row value predicand> must be the same. Each field of the first <row value predicand> is compared to the field of the second <row value predicand> at the same position. If one field is NULL and the other is not NULL, or if the elements are NOT equal, then the result of the expression is TRUE. If no comparison result is TRUE, then the result of the predicate is FALSE. The expression X IS NOT DISTINCT FROM Y is equivalent to NOT (X IS DISTINCT FORM Y). The following check returns true if startdate is not equal to enddate. It also returns true if either startdate or enddate is NULL. It returns false in other cases.

startdate IS DISTINCT FROM enddate

search condition

search condition

<search condition> ::= <boolean value expression>

Specify a condition that is TRUE, FALSE, or UNKNOWN. A search condition is often a predicate.

PATH

path specification

<path specification> ::= PATH <schema name list>

<schema name list> ::= <schema name> [ { <comma> <schema name> }... ]

Specify an order for searching for a user-defined SQL-invoked routine. This is not currently supported by HyperSQL.

routine invocation

routine invocation

<routine invocation> ::= <routine name> <SQL argument list>

<routine name> ::= [ <schema name> <period> ] <qualified identifier>

<SQL argument list> ::= <left paren> [ <SQL argument> [ { <comma> <SQL argument> }... ] ] <right paren>

<SQL argument> ::= <value expression> | <target specification>

Invoke an SQL-invoked routine. Examples are given in the SQL-Invoked Routines chapter.

COLLATE

collate clause

<collate clause> ::= COLLATE <collation name>

Specify a default collation. This is not currently supported by HyperSQL

CONSTRAINT

constraint name definition

<constraint name definition> ::= CONSTRAINT <constraint name>

<constraint characteristics> ::= <constraint check time> [ [ NOT ] DEFERRABLE ] | [ NOT ] DEFERRABLE [ <constraint check time> ]

<constraint check time> ::= INITIALLY DEFERRED | INITIALLY IMMEDIATE

Specify the name of a constraint and its characteristics. This is an optional element of CONSTRAINT definition, not yet supported by HyperSQL.

aggregate function

aggregate function

<aggregate function> ::= COUNT <left paren> <asterisk> <right paren> [ <filter clause> ] | <general set function> [ <filter clause> ]

<general set function> ::= <set function type> <left paren> [ <set quantifier> ] <value expression> <right paren>

<set function type> ::= <computational operation>

<computational operation> ::= AVG | MAX | MIN | SUM | EVERY | ANY | SOME | COUNT | STDDEV_POP | STDDEV_SAMP | VAR_SAMP | VAR_POP

<set quantifier> ::= DISTINCT | ALL

<filter clause> ::= FILTER <left paren> WHERE <search condition> <right paren>

Specify a value computed from a collection of rows. An aggregate function is used exclusively in a <query specification> and its use transforms a normal query into an aggregate query returning a single row instead of the group of multiple rows that the original query returns. For example, SELECT acolumn <table expression> is a query that returns the value of acolumn for all the rows the satisfy the given condition. But SELECT MAX(acolumn) <table expression> returns only one row, containing the largest value in that column. The query SELECT COUNT(*) <table expression> returns the count of rows, while SELECT COUNT(acolumn) <table expression> returns the count of rows where acolumn IS NOT NULL.

If the <table expression> is a grouped table, the aggregate function returns the result of the COUNT or <computational operation> for each group. In this case the result has the same number of rows as the original query. For example SELECT SUM(acolumn) <table expression> when <table expression> has a GROUP BY clause, returns the sum of values for acolumn in each group.

The AVG and SUM operations can be performed on numeric expressions only. AVG returns the average value, while SUM returns the sum of all non-null values. MAX and MIN return the minimum or the maximum value. If all values are NULL, the operations return NULL. The COUNT(*) operation returns the count of all values, while COUNT(<value expression>) returns the count of non-NULL values.

The EVERY, ANY and SOME operations can be performed on boolean expressions only. EVERY returns TRUE if all the values are TRUE, otherwise FALSE. ANY and SOME are the same operation and return TRUE if one of the values is TRUE, otherwise it returns FALSE.

The other operations perform the statistical functions STDDEV_POP, STDDEV_SAMP, VAR_SAMP, VAR_POP on numeric values. NULL values are ignored in calculations.

User defined aggregate functions can be defined and used instead of the built-in aggregate functions. Syntax and examples are given in the SQL-Invoked Routines chapter.

sort specification list

sort specification list

<sort specification list> ::= <value expression> [ASC | DESC] [NULLS FIRST | NULLS LAST]

Specify a sort order. A sort operation is performed on the result of a <query expression> or <query specification> and sorts the result according to one or more <value expression>. The <value expression> is usually a single column of the result, but in some cases it can be a column of the <table expression> that is not used in the select list.

CREATE TABLE atable (a INT, b INT, c INT, d INT, e INT, f INT);
/* in the next SELECT, no join is performed and no further operation takes place */
SELECT * FROM atable
/* in the next SELECT, selection is performed by the WHERE clause, with no further action */
SELECT * FROM atable WHERE a + b = c
/* in the next SELECT, projection is performed after the other operations */
SELECT d, e, f FROM atable WHERE a + b = c
/* in the next SELECT, computation is performed after projection */
SELECT (d + e) / f FROM atable WHERE a + b = c
/* in the next two SELECT statements, column naming is performed in different ways*/
SELECT (a + e) / f AS calc, f AS div FROM atable WHERE a + b = c
SELECT dcol, ecol, fcol FROM atable(acol, bcol, ccol, dcol, ecol, fcol) WHERE acol + bcol = ccol
/* in the next SELECT, both grouping and aggregation is performed */
SELECT d, e, SUM(f) FROM atable GROUP BY d, e
/* in the next SELECT, selection is performed after grouping and aggregation is performed */
SELECT d, e, SUM(f) FROM atable GROUP BY d, e HAVING SUM(f) > 10
/* in the next SELECT, a UNION is performed on two selects from the same table */
SELECT d, e, f FROM atable WHERE d = 3 UNION SELECT a, b, c FROM atable WHERE a = 30
/* in the next SELECT, ordering is performed */
SELECT (a + e) / f AS calc, f AS div FROM atable WHERE a + b = c ORDER BY calc DESC, div NULLS LAST
/* in the next SELECT, slicing is performed after ordering */
SELECT * FROM atable WHERE a + b = c ORDER BY a FETCH 5 ROWS ONLY

In data access statements, a table can be a database table (or view) or an ephemeral table formed for the duration of the query. Some types of table are <table primary> and can participate in joins without the use of extra parentheses. The BNF in the Table Primary section below lists different types of <table primary>:

Tables can also be formed by specifying the values that are contained in them:

<table value constructor> ::= VALUES <row value expression list>

<row value expression list> ::= <table row value expression> [ { <comma> <table row value expression> }... ]

In the example below a table with two rows and 3 columns is constructed out of some values:

VALUES (12, 14, null), (10, 11, CURRENT_DATE)

When a table is used directly in a UNION or similar operation, the keyword TABLE is used with the name:

<explicit table> ::= TABLE <table or query name>

In the examples below, all rows of the two tables are included in the union. The keyword TABLE is used in the first example. The two examples below are equivalent.

TABLE atable UNION TABLE anothertable
SELECT * FROM atable UNION SELECT * FROM anothertable

A query specification is a SELECT statement. It is the most common form of <derived table> . A <table expression> is a base table, a view or any form of allowed derived table. The SELECT statement performs projection, naming, computing or aggregation on the rows of the <table expression> .

<query specification> ::= SELECT [ DISTINCT | ALL ] <select list> <table expression>

<select list> ::= <asterisk> | <select sublist> [ { <comma> <select sublist> }... ]

<select sublist> ::= <derived column> | <qualified asterisk>

<qualified asterisk> ::= <asterisked identifier chain> <period> <asterisk>

<asterisked identifier chain> ::= <asterisked identifier> [ { <period> <asterisked identifier> }... ]

<asterisked identifier> ::= <identifier>

<derived column> ::= <value expression> [ <as clause> ]

<as clause> ::= [ AS ] <column name>

The qualifier DISTINCT or ALL apply to the results of the SELECT statement after all other operations have been performed. ALL simply returns the rows, while DISTINCT compares the rows and removes the duplicate ones.

Projection is performed by the <select list>.

A single <asterisk> means all columns of the <table expression> are included, in the same order as they appear in the <table expression>. An asterisk qualified by a table name means all the columns of the qualifier table name are included.

A derived column is a <value expression>, optionally named with the <as clause>. A <value expression> can be many things. Common types include: the name of a column in the <table expression>; an expression based on different columns or constant values; a function call; an aggregate function; a CASE WHEN expression.

A table expression is part of the SELECT statement and consists of the FROM clause with optional other clauses that performs selection (of rows) and grouping from the table(s) in the FROM clause.

<table expression> ::= <from clause> [ <where clause> ] [ <group by clause> ] [ <having clause> ]

<from clause> ::= FROM <table reference> [ { <comma> <table reference> }... ]

<table reference> ::= <table primary> | <joined table>

<table primary> ::= <table or query name> [ [ AS ] <correlation name> [ <left paren> <derived column list> <right paren> ] ]

| <derived table> [ AS ] <correlation name> [ <left paren> <derived column list> <right paren> ]

| <lateral derived table> [ AS ] <correlation name> [ <left paren> <derived column list> <right paren> ]

| <collection derived table> [ AS ] <correlation name> [ <left paren> <derived column list> <right paren> ]

| <table function derived table> [ AS ] <correlation name> [ <left paren> <derived column list> <right paren> ]

| <parenthesized joined table>

<where clause> ::= WHERE <boolean value expression>

<group by clause> ::= GROUP BY [ <set quantifier> ] <grouping element> [ { <comma> <grouping element> }... ]

<having clause> ::= HAVING <boolean value expression>

The <from clause> contains one or more <table reference> separated by commas. A table reference is often a table or view name or a joined table.

The <where clause> filters the rows of the table in the <from clause> and removes the rows for which the search condition is not TRUE.

The <group by clause> is a comma separated list of columns of the table in the <from clause> or expressions based on the columns.

When a <group by clause> is used, only the columns used in the <group by clause> or expressions used there, can be used in the <select list>, together with any <aggregate function> on other columns. A <group by clause> compares the rows and groups together the rows that have the same values in the columns of the <group by clause>. Then any <aggregate function> in the <select list> is performed on each group, and for each group, a row is formed that contains the values of the columns of the <group by clause> and the values returned from each <aggregate function>. In the first example below, a simple column reference is used in GROUP BY, while in the second example, an expression is used.

CREATE TABLE atable (a INT, b INT, c INT, d INT, e INT, f INT);
SELECT d, e, f FROM atable WHERE a + b = c GROUP BY d, e, f
SELECT d + e, SUM(f) FROM atable WHERE a + b = c GROUP BY d + e HAVING SUM(f) > 2 AND d + e > 4

A <having clause> filters the rows of the table that is formed after applying the <group by clause> using its search condition. The search condition must be an expression based on the expressions in the GROUP BY list or the aggregate functions used.

Table primary refers to different forms of table reference in the FROM clause.

The simplest form of reference is simply a name. This is the name of a table, a view, a transition table in a trigger definition, or a query name specified in the WITH clause of a query expression.

<table or query name> ::= <table name> | <transition table name> | <query name>

A query expression that is enclosed in parentheses and returns from zero to many rows is a <table subquery>. In a <derived table> the query expression is self contained and cannot reference the columns of other table references.

<derived table> ::= <table subquery>

When the word LITERAL is used before a <table subquery>, it means the query expression can reference the columns of other table references that precede it.

<lateral derived table> ::= LATERAL <table subquery>

UNNEST is similar to LATERAL, but instead of a query expression, and expression that returns an array is used. This expression is converted into a table which has one column that contains the elements of the array, and, if WITH ORDINALITY is used, a second column that contains the index of each element. The array expression usually contains a reference to a column of the table reference preceding the current table reference.

<collection derived table> ::= UNNEST <left paren> <array value expression> <right paren> [ WITH ORDINALITY ]

When TABLE is used in this context, it also converts an array value expression to a table, but this array must be the result of a function call. A function that returns a MULTISET can also be used in this context and each row of the multiset is expanded into a row of the table.

<table function derived table> ::= TABLE <left paren> <collection value expression> <right paren>

The column list that is specified for the table reference must contain names that are unique within the list

<derived column list> ::= <column name list>

<column name list> ::= <column name> [ { <comma> <column name> }... ]

A parenthesized joined table is simply a joined table contained in parentheses. Joined tables are discussed below.

<parenthesized joined table> ::= <left paren> <parenthesized joined table> <right paren> | <left paren> <joined table> <right paren>

Joins are operators with two table as the operands, resulting in a third table, called joined table. All join operators are evaluated left to right, therefore, with multiple joins, the table resulting from the first join operator becomes an operand of the next join operator. Parentheses can be used to group sequences of joined tables and change the evaluation order. So if more than two tables are joined together with join operators, the end result is also a joined table. There are different types of join, each producing the result table in a different way.

CROSS JOIN

The simplest form of join is CROSS JOIN. The CROSS JOIN of two tables is a table that has all the columns of the first table, followed by all the columns of the second table, in the original order. Each row of the first table is combined with each row of the second table to fill the rows of the new table. If the rows of each table form a set, then the rows of the CROSS JOIN table form the Cartesian product of the rows of the two table operands.

The CROSS JOIN can be expressed in two forms. The first form is A CROSS JOIN B. The second form is A, B. This type of join is not generally very useful, as it returns large result tables.

UNION JOIN

The UNION JOIN has limited use in queries. The result table has the same columns as that of CROSS JOIN. Each row of the first table is extended to the right with nulls and added to the new table. Each row of the second table is extended to the left with nulls and added to the new table. The UNION JOIN is expressed as A UNION JOIN B. This should not be confused with A UNION B, which is a set operation. Union join is for special applications and is not commonly used.

JOIN ... ON

The condition join is similar to CROSS JOIN, but a condition is tested for each row of the new table and the row is created only if the condition is true. This form of join is expressed as A JOIN B ON (<search condition>).

Equijoin is a condition join in which the search condition is an equality condition between on or more pairs of columns from the two table. Equijoin is the most commonly used type of join.

JOIN ... USING

NATURAL JOIN

Joins with USING or NATURAL keywords joins are similar to an equijoin but they cannot be replaced simply with an equijoin. The new table is formed with the specified or implied shared columns of the two tables, followed by the rest of the columns from each table. In NATURAL JOIN, the shared columns are all the column pairs that have the same name in the first and second table. In JOIN USING, only columns names that are specified by the USING clause are shared. The joins are expressed as A NATURAL JOIN B, and A JOIN B USING (<comma separated column name list>).

The columns of the joined table are formed by the following procedures: In JOIN ... USING the shared columns are added to the joined table in the same order as they appear in the column name list. In NATURAL JOIN the shared columns are added to the joined table in the same order as they appear in the first table. In bother forms of join, the non-shared columns of the first table are added in the order they appear in the first table, finally the non-shared columns of the second table are added in the order they appear in the second table.

The type of each shared column of the joined table is based on the type of the columns in the original tables. If the original types are not exactly the same, the type of the shared column is formed by type aggregation. Type aggregations selects a type that can represent values of both aggregated types. Simple type aggregation picks one of the types. For example SMALLINT and INTEGER, results in INTEGER, or VARCHAR(10) and VARCHAR(20) results in VARCHAR(20). More complex type aggregation inherits properties from both types. For example DECIMAL(8) and DECIMAL (6,2) results in DECIMAL (8,2).

OUTER JOIN

LEFT, RIGHT and FULL OUTER JOIN

The three qualifiers can be added to all types of JOIN apart from CROSS JOIN and UNION JOIN. First the new table is populated with the rows from the original join. If LEFT is specified, all the rows from the first table that did not make it into the new table are extended to the right with nulls and added to the table. If RIGHT is specified, all the rows from the second table that did not make it into the new table are extended to the left with nulls and added to the table. If FULL is specified, the addition of leftover rows is performed from both the first and the second table. These forms are expressed by prefixing the join specification with the given keyword. For example A LEFT OUTER JOIN B ON (<search condition>) or A NATURAL FULL OUTER JOIN B or A FULL OUTER JOIN B USING (<comma separated column name list>).

Despite the name, selection has nothing to do with the list of columns in a SELECT statement. In fact, it refers to the search condition used to limit the rows that from a result table (selection of rows, not columns). In SQL, simple selection is expressed with a WHERE condition appended to a single table or a joined table. In some cases, this method of selection is the only method available. But when it is possible to perform the selection with join conditions, this is the better method, as it results in a clearer expression of the query.

Projection is selection of the columns from a simple or joined table to form a result table. Explicit projection is performed in the SELECT statement by specifying the select column list. Some form of projection is also performed in JOIN ... USING and NATURAL JOIN.

The joined table has columns that are formed according to the rules mentioned above. But in many cases, not all the columns are necessary for the intended operation. If the statement is in the form, SELECT * FROM <joined table>, then all the columns of <joined table> are returned. But normally, the columns to be returned are specified after the SELECT keyword, separated from each other with commas.

In the select list, it is possible to use expressions that reference any columns of <joined table>. Each of these expressions forms a computed column. It is computed for each row of the result table, using the values of the columns of the <joined table> for that row.

Naming is used to hide the original names of tables or table columns and to replace them with new names in the scope of the query. Naming is also used for defining names for computed columns.

Naming in Joined Table

Naming is performed by adding a new name after a table's real name and by adding a list of column names after the new table name. Both table naming and column naming are optional, but table naming is required for column naming. The expression A [AS] X (<comma separated column name list>) means table A is used in the query expression as table X and its columns are named as in the given list. The original name A, or its original column names, are not visible in the scope of the query. The BNF is given below. The <correlation name> can be the same or different from the name of the table. The <derived column list> is a comma separated list of column names. The degree of this list must be equal to the degree of the table. The column names in the list must be distinct. They can be the same or different from the names of the table's columns.

<table or query name> [ [ AS ] <correlation name> [ <left paren> <derived column list> <right paren> ] ]

In the examples below, the columns of the original tables are named (a, b, c, d, e, f). The two queries are equivalent. In the second query, the table and its columns are renamed and the new names are used in the WHERE clauses:

CREATE TABLE atable (a INT, b INT, c INT, d INT, e INT, f INT);
SELECT d, e, f FROM atable WHERE a + b = c
SELECT x, y, z FROM atable AS t (u, v, w, x, y, z)  WHERE u + v = w

Naming in Select List

Naming in the SELECT list logically takes place after naming in the joined table. The new names for columns are not visible in the immediate query expression or query expression. They become visible in the ORDER BY clause and in the result table that is returned to the user. Or if the query expression is used as a derived table in an enclosing query expression.

In the example below, the query is on the same table but with column renaming in the Select list. The new names are used in the ORDER BY clause:

SELECT x + y AS xysum, y + z AS yzsum FROM atable AS t (u, v, w, x, y, z)  WHERE u + v = w ORDER BY xysum, yzsum

If the names xysum or yzsum are not used, the computed columns cannot be referenced in the ORDER BY list.

Name Resolution

In a joined table, if a column name appears in tables on both sides then any reference to the name must use the table name in order to specify which table is being referred to.

Grouping Operations

Grouping results in the elimination of duplicate rows. A grouping operation is performed after the operations discussed above. A simple form of grouping is performed by the use of DISTINCT after SELECT. This eliminates all the duplicate rows (rows that have the same value in each of their columns when compared to another row). The other form of grouping is performed with the GROUP BY clause. This form is usually used together with aggregation.

Aggregation is an operation that computes a single value from the values of a column over several rows. The operation is performed with an aggregate function. The simplest form of aggregation is counting, performed by the COUNT function.

Other common aggregate functions return the maximum, minimum and average value among the values in different rows.

Set and Multiset Operations

While join operations generally result in laterally expanded tables, SET and COLLECTION operations are performed on two tables that have the same degree and result in a table of the same degree. The SET operations are UNION, INTERSECT and EXCEPT (difference). When each of these operations is performed on two tables, the collection of rows in each table and in the result is reduced to a set of rows, by eliminating duplicates. The set operations are then performed on the two tables, resulting in the new table which itself is a set of rows. Collection operations are similar but the tables are not reduced to sets before or after the operation and the result is not necessarily a set, but a collection of rows.

The set operations on two tables A and B are: A UNION [DISTINCT] B, A INTERSECT [DISTINCT] B and A EXCEPT [DISTINCT] B. The result table is formed in the following way: The UNION operation adds all the rows from A and B into the new table, but avoids copying duplicate rows. The INTERSECT operation copies only those rows from each table that also exist in the other table, but avoids copying duplicate rows. The EXCEPT operation copies those rows from the first table which do not exist in the second table, but avoids copying duplicate rows.

The collection operations are similar to the set operations, but can return duplicate rows. They are A UNION ALL B, A INTERSECT ALL B and A EXCEPT ALL B. The UNION ALL operation adds all the rows from A and B into the new table. The INTERSECT operation copies only those rows from each table that also exist in the other table. If n copies of a rows exists in one table, and m copies in the other table, the number of copies in the result table is the smaller of n and m. The EXCEPT operation copies those rows from the first table which do not exist in the second table. If n copies of a row exist in the first table and m copies in the second table the number of copies in the result table is n-m, or if n < m, then zero.

A query expression consists of an optional WITH clause and a query expression body. The WITH clause lists one or more named ephemeral tables that can be referenced in the query expression body.

<query expression> ::= [ <with clause> ] <query expression body>

<with clause> ::= WITH <with list>

<with list> ::= <with list element> [ { <comma> <with list element> }... ]

<with list element> ::= <query name> [ <left paren> <with column list> <right paren> ] AS <left paren> <query expression> <right paren>

<with column list> ::= <column name list>

A query expression body refers to a table formed by using UNION and other set operations. The query expression body is evaluated from left to right and the INTERSECT operator has precedence over the UNION and EXCEPT operators. A simplified BNF is given below:

<query expression body> ::= <query term> | <query expression body> UNION | EXCEPT [ ALL | DISTINCT ] [ <corresponding spec> ] <query term>

<query term> ::= <query primary> | <query term> INTERSECT [ ALL | DISTINCT ] [ <corresponding spec> ] <query term>

<query primary> ::= <simple table> | <left paren> <query expression body> [ <order by clause> ] [ <result offset clause> ] [ <fetch first clause> ] <right paren>

<simple table> ::= <query specification> | <table value constructor> | <explicit table> <explicit table> ::= TABLE <table or query name>

<corresponding spec> ::= CORRESPONDING [ BY <left paren> <column name list> <right paren> ]

A <query term> and a <query primary> can be a SELECT statement, an <explicit table>, or a <table value constructor>.

The CORRESPONDING clause is optional. If it is not specified, then the <query term> and the <query primary> must have the same number of columns. If CORRESPONDING is specified, the two sides need not have the same number of columns. If no column list is used with CORRESPONDING, then all the column names that are common in the tables on two sides are used in the order in which they appear in the first table. If a columns list is used, it allows you to select only some columns of the tables on the left and right side to create the new table. In the example below the columns named u and v from the two SELECT statements are used to create the UNION table.

SELECT * FROM atable UNION CORRESPONDING BY (u, v) SELECT * FROM anothertable

The type of each column of the query expression is determined by combining the types of the corresponding columns from the two participating tables.

When the rows of the result table have been formed, it is possible to specify the order in which they are returned to the user. The ORDER BY clause is used to specify the columns used for ordering, and whether ascending or descending ordering is used. It can also specify whether NULL values are returned first or last.

SELECT x + y AS xysum, y + z AS yzsum FROM atable AS t (u, v, w, x, y, z)  WHERE u + v = w ORDER BY xysum NULLS LAST, yzsum NULLS FIRST

The ORDER BY clause specifies one or more <value expressions>. The list of rows is sorted according to the first <value expression>. When some rows are sorted equal then they are sorted according to the next <value expression> and so on.

<order by clause> ::= ORDER BY <sort specification> [ { <comma> <sort specification> }... ]

<sort specification> ::= <value expression> [ ASC | DESC ] [ NULLS FIRST | NULLS LAST ]

A different form of limiting the rows can be performed on the result table after it has been formed according to all the other operations (selection, grouping, ordering etc.). This is specified by the FETCH ... ROWS and OFFSET clauses of a SELECT statement. In this form, the specified OFFSET rows are removed from start of the table, then up to the specified FETCH rows are kept and the rest of the rows are discarded.

<result offset clause> ::= OFFSET <offset row count> { ROW | ROWS }

<fetch first clause> ::= FETCH { FIRST | NEXT } [ <fetch first row count> ] { ROW | ROWS } ONLY

<limit clause> ::= LIMIT [ <fetch first row count> ]

A slicing operation takes the result set that has been already processed and ordered. It then discards the specified number of rows from the start of the result set and returns the specified number of rows after the discarded rows.

SELECT a, b FROM atable WHERE d < 5 ORDER BY absum OFFSET 3 FETCH 2 ROWS ONLY 
SELECT a, b FROM atable WHERE d < 5 ORDER BY absum OFFSET 3 LIMIT 2 /* alternative keyword */ 

DELETE FROM

delete statement: searched

<delete statement: searched> ::= DELETE FROM <target table> [ [ AS ] <correlation name> ] [ WHERE <search condition> ]

Delete rows of a table. The search condition is a <boolean value expression> that is evaluated for each row of the table. If the condition is true, the row is deleted. If the condition is not specified, all the rows of the table are deleted. In fact, an implicit SELECT is performed in the form of SELECT * FROM <target table> [ WHERE <search condition>] and the selected rows are deleted. When used in JDBC, the number of rows returned by the implicit SELECT is returned as the update count.

If there are FOREIGN KEY constraints on other tables that reference the subject table, and the FOREIGN KEY constraints have referential actions, then rows from those other tables that reference the deleted rows are either deleted, or updated, according to the specified referential actions.

In the second example below the rows that have the maximum value for column A are deleted;

DELETE FROM T WHERE C > 5
DELETE FROM T AS TT WHERE TT.A = (SELECT MAX(A) FROM T)

TRUNCATE TABLE

truncate table statement

<truncate table statement> ::= TRUNCATE TABLE <target table> [ <identity column restart option> ]

<identity column restart option> ::= CONTINUE IDENTITY | RESTART IDENTITY

Delete all rows of a table without firing its triggers. This statement can only be used on base tables (not views). If the table is referenced in a FOREIGN KEY constraint, the statement causes an exception. Triggers defined on the table are not executed with this statement. The default for <identity column restart option> is CONTINUE IDENTITY. This means no change to the IDENTITY sequence of the table. If RESTART IDENTITY is specified, then the sequence is reset to its start value.

TRUNCATE is faster than ordinary DELETE. The TRUNCATE statement is an SQL Standard data change statement, therefore it is performed under transaction control and can be rolled back if the connection is not in the auto-commit mode.

INSERT INTO

insert statement

<insert statement> ::= INSERT INTO <target table> <insert columns and source>

<insert columns and source> ::= <from subquery> | <from constructor> | <from default>

<from subquery> ::= [ <left paren> <insert column list> <right paren> ] [ <override clause> ] <query expression>

<from constructor> ::= [ <left paren> <insert column list> <right paren> ] [ <override clause> ] <contextually typed table value constructor>

<override clause> ::= OVERRIDING USER VALUE | OVERRIDING SYSTEM VALUE

<from default> ::= DEFAULT VALUES

<insert column list> ::= <column name list>

Insert new rows in a table. An INSERT statement inserts one or more rows into the table.

The special form, INSERT INTO <target table> DEFAULT VALUES can be used with tables which have a default value for each column.

With the other forms of INSERT, the optional (<insert column list>) specifies to which columns of the table the new values are assigned.

In one form, the inserted values are from a <query expression> and all the rows that are returned by the <query expression> are inserted into the table. If the <query expression> returns no rows, nothing is inserted.

In the other form, a comma separated list of values called <contextually typed table value constructor> is used to insert one or more rows into the table. This list is contextually typed, because the keywords NULL and DEFAULT can be used for the values that are assigned to each column of the table. The keyword DEFAULT means the default value of the column and can be used only if the target column has a default value or is an IDENTITY or GENERATED column of the table.

The <override clause> must be used when a value is explicitly assigned to a column that has been defined as GENERATED ALWAYS AS IDENTITY. The clause, OVERRIDE SYSTEM VALUE means the provided values are used for the insert, while OVERRIDING USER VALUE means the provided values are simply ignored and the values generated by the system are used instead.

An array can be inserted into a column of the array type by using literals, by specifying a parameter in a prepared statement or an existing array returned by query expression. The last example below inserts an array.

The rows that are inserted into the table are checked against all the constraints that have been declared on the table. The whole INSERT operation fails if any row fails to inserted due to constraint violation. Examples:

INSERT INTO T DEFAULT VALUES /* all columns of T have DEFAULT clauses */
INSERT INTO T (SELECT * FROM Z) /* table Z has the same columns as table T */
INSERT INTO T (A,B) VALUES ((1,2),(3,NULL), (DEFAULT,6)) /* three rows are inserted into table T */
INSERT INTO T VALUES 3, ARRAY['hot','cold']

UPDATE

update statement: searched

<update statement: searched> ::= UPDATE <target table> [ [ AS ] <correlation name> ] SET <set clause list> [ WHERE <search condition> ]

Update rows of a table. An UPDATE statement selects rows from the <target table> using an implicit SELECT statement formed in the following manner:

SELECT * FROM <target table> [ [ AS ] <correlation name> ] [ WHERE <search condition> ]

Then it applies the SET <set clause list> expression to each selected row.

If the implicit SELECT returns no rows, no update takes place. When used in JDBC, the number of rows returned by the implicit SELECT is returned as the update count.

If there are FOREIGN KEY constraints on other tables that reference the subject table, and the FOREIGN KEY constraints have referential actions, then rows from those other tables that reference the updated rows are updated, according to the specified referential actions.

The rows that are updated are checked against all the constraints that have been declared on the table. The whole UPDATE operation fails if any row violates any constraint.

set clause list

set clause list

<set clause list> ::= <set clause> [ { <comma> <set clause> }... ]

<set clause> ::= <multiple column assignment> | <set target> <equals operator> <update source>

<multiple column assignment> ::= <set target list> <equals operator> <assigned row>

<set target list> ::= <left paren> <set target> [ { <comma> <set target> }... ] <right paren>

<assigned row> ::= <contextually typed row value expression>

<set target> ::= <column name>

<update source> ::= <value expression> | <contextually typed value specification>

Specify a list of assignments. This is used in UPDATE, MERGE and SET statements to assign values to a scalar or row target.

Apart from setting a whole target to a value, a SET statement can set individual elements of an array to new values. The last example below shows this form of assignment to the array in the column named B.

In the examples given below, UPDATE statements with single and multiple assignments are shown. Note in the third example, a SELECT statement is used to provide the update values for columns A and C, while the update value for column B is given separately. The SELECT statement must return exactly one row . In this example the SELECT statement refers to the existing value for column C in its search condition.

UPDATE T SET A = 5 WHERE ...
UPDATE T SET (A, B) = (1, NULL) WHERE ...
UPDATE T SET (A, C) = (SELECT X, Y FROM U WHERE Z = C), B = 10 WHERE ...
UPDATE T SET A = 3, B[3] = 'warm'

MERGE INTO

merge statement

<merge statement> ::= MERGE INTO <target table> [ [ AS ] <merge correlation name> ] USING <table reference> ON <search condition> <merge operation specification>

<merge correlation name> ::= <correlation name>

<merge operation specification> ::= <merge when clause>...

<merge when clause> ::= <merge when matched clause> | <merge when not matched clause>

<merge when matched clause> ::= WHEN MATCHED THEN <merge update specification>

<merge when not matched clause> ::= WHEN NOT MATCHED THEN <merge insert specification>

<merge update specification> ::= UPDATE SET <set clause list>

<merge insert specification> ::= INSERT [ <left paren> <insert column list> <right paren> ] [ <override clause> ] VALUES <merge insert value list>

<merge insert value list> ::= <left paren> <merge insert value element> [ { <comma> <merge insert value element> }... ] <right paren>

<merge insert value element> ::= <value expression> | <contextually typed value specification>

Update rows, or insert new rows into the <target table>. The MERGE statement uses a second table, specified by <table reference>, to determine the rows to be updated or inserted. It is possible to use the statement only to update rows or to insert rows, but usually both update and insert are specified.

The <search condition> matches each row of the <table reference> with each row of the <target table>. If the two rows match then the UPDATE clause is used to update the matching row of the target table. Those rows of <table reference> that have no matching rows are then used to insert new rows into the <target table>. Therefore, a MERGE statement can update between 0 and all the rows of the <target table> and can insert between 0 and the number of the rows in <table reference> into the <target table>. If any row in the <target table> matches more than one row in <table reference> a cardinality error is raised. On the other hand, several rows in the <target table> can matches a single row in <table reference> without any error. The constraints and referential actions specified on the database tables are enforced the same way as for an update and an insert statement.

The MERGE statement can be used with only the WHEN NOT MATCHED clause as a conditional INSERT statement that inserts a row if no existing rows match a condition.

In the first example below, the table originally contains two rows for different furniture. The <table reference> is the (VALUES(1, 'conference table'), (14, 'sofa'), (5, 'coffee table')) expression, which evaluates to a table with 3 rows. When the x value for a row matches an existing row, then the existing row is updated. When the x value does not match, the row is inserted. Therefore one row of table t is updated from 'dining table' to 'conference table', and two rows are inserted into table t. The second example uses a SELECT statement as the source of the values for the MERGE.

In the third example, a new row in inserted into the table only when the primary key for the new row does not exist. This example uses parameters and should be executed as a JDBC PreparedStatement.

CREATE TABLE t (id INT PRIMARY KEY, description VARCHAR(100))
INSERT INTO t VALUES (1, 'dining table'), (2, 'deck chair')
MERGE INTO t USING (VALUES(1, 'conference table'), (14, 'sofa'), (5, 'coffee table')) 
   AS vals(x,y) ON t.id = vals.x
   WHEN MATCHED THEN UPDATE SET t.description = vals.y
   WHEN NOT MATCHED THEN INSERT VALUES vals.x, vals.y

MERGE INTO t USING (SELECT * FROM tt WHERE acol = 2) AS vals(x,y) ON t.id = vals.x
   WHEN MATCHED THEN UPDATE SET t.description = vals.y
   WHEN NOT MATCHED THEN INSERT VALUES vals.x, vals.y

MERGE INTO t USING (VALUES(CAST(? AS INT))) AS vals(x) ON t.id = vals.x
   WHEN NOT MATCHED THEN INSERT VALUES vals.x, ?