SQL: Overview and DDL

Ch. 10.1 - 10.6

John Ortiz
 Overview
SQL: Structured Query Language, pronounced
S. Q. L. or sequel.
A standard language for relational, object-
relational databases: SQL-86 by ANSI, SQL1
by ISO (87), SQL-89, SQL2 (92), SQL-1999.
Web site: www.ansi.org
Implemented by all commercial R/OR DBMSs:
Oracle, Sybase, Ingres, Informix, DB2, SQL
Server, (with various degree of conformity)
We focus on SQL2 & SQL-1999 features and
also Oracle SQL.
Lecture 10 SQL: Overview 2
 Components of SQL
Have statements for
Schema definition & update
tables, indexes, views,
Data Manipulation
query, insertion, deletion, update,
Data integrity
constraints,
System administration
users, data security, performance tuning,
Application development
procedures, transaction, embedded SQL,

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 SQL: A Simple Example
Create a Students table
create table Students (
SSN char(9) not null,
Name varchar2(20),
GPA number(3,2),
Age number(2),
primary key (SSN));
Insert a Student tuple
insert into Students
values (312334455, John Smith, 3.25, 29);
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 SQL: A Simple Example (cont.)
Retrieve names of students whose GPA is
higher than 3.0 and Age is less than 30.
select Name
from Students
where GPA > 3.0 and Age < 30;
What data types are supported?
What constraints can be expressed? How?
What if I want to change the schema?
How to change data?
How to express more complex queries?
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 Outline
Oracle SQL interface: sqlplus
SQL DDL
Interactive SQL queries, update, view
PL/SQL for procedures, constraints, triggers
Embedded SQL (Oracle Pro*C/C++, JDBC)

Oracle SQL Standard SQL

Oracle manual: Oracle SQL Reference Manual
(on-line).

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 Oracle DBMS
A major commercial DBMS from Oracle
(Object-Relational), supporting SQL.
Components: Oracle server, SQL*Plus,
Precompilers (Pro*C/C++, ), JDBC driver,
SQLJ, WebDB, Forms, Report,
Platforms: Client-server, PC, Unix or Windows,
Distributed, Parallel,
Multiuser, Security, Transactions, Recovery,
We use it for course project and homework
assignments.

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 Oracle DB User Account
Needed for every DB user. Has separate user id
& password.
Access through CSLan UNIX accounts.
Environment variables for Oracle access:
Oracle_BASE, Oracle_HOME, PATH,
LD_PATH, CLASS_PATH,
On-line Instructions for using Oracle.
Using Oracle in CSLab on course web page.
On-line Oracle manuals (URL is given in the
previous article).

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 Oracle SQL*Plus
Interactive user environment.
Runs SQL statements, PL/SQL statements,
and other SQL*Plus commands
Allow simple command editing
Documentation:
On-line help command within sqlplus
On-line manual.
User login: Unix$sqlplus userid/pwd@cs
SQL> exit

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 Use SQL*Plus to Run SQL
SQL*plus understands only Oracle SQL.
An SQL statement must end with semicolon ; a
slash / on a line by itself, or a blank line.
An SQL statement can be typed in, or loaded
from a .sql file (get filename).
An SQL can be executed from the command
buffer (run), or from a .sql file (@filename)
SQL statement in buffer can be written to a
.sql file (save filename)

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 Common SQL*Plus Commands
Display schema: describe table_name
Run Unix commands: !command
Run editor on .sql file: edit filename
Set host editor: define_editor=vi
Save a journal file: spool filename
spool off
Customize environment: set option
Options: echo on, pause on, pagesize 30,
View current settings: show all
Configuration file: login.sql
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 SQL*Plus Command Editing
Show command in buffer: list
A set of simple line editing commands.
Better use external editor, say, vi or emacs.

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 SQL Data Definition Language
Used by DBA or Designer to specify schema
A set of statements used to define and to
change the definition of tables, columns, data
types, constraints, views, indexes,
SQL DDL & DML are integrated.
A DDL statement often needs to contain
some DML statements.

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 A Sample University Schema
Students(SID:string, Name:string, Age:integer,
Sex:char, Major:string, GPA:real)
Courses(Cno:string, Title:string, Hours:integer,
Dept:string)
Enrollment(SID:string, Cno:string, Year:string,
Grade:string)
Offers(Cno:string, Year:integer, FID:string)
Faculty(FID:string, Name:string, Rank:string,
Dept:string, Salary:real)
Departments(Name:string, Location:string,
ChairID:string)

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 Create Students Table
In SQL*Plus:
SQL> create table Students
2 (SID char(9) not null,
3 Name varchar2(25),
4 Age integer,
5 Sex char(1),
6 Major char(4),
7 GPA number(3,2),
8 primary key (SID));

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 Create Tables Syntax
create table Table-Name (
Col-Name Type Deft-Val Col-Constraint,

Col-Name Type Deft-Val Col-Constraint,
Table-Constraint,

Table-Constraint);

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 Oracle SQL Built-in Data Types
char(n). String of n < 2000 char
varchar2(n). String up to n <= 4000 char
long. Char string of length up to 2GB
number(n,m). n digits, m after decimal point.
number. Integer or real up to 40 digits
integer. Integer up to 40 digits
blob. Binary data up to 4 GB
date. DD-MMM-YY
time. HH:MM:SS
These may differ from SQL2 & SQL-1999.
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 SQL Integrity Constraints
Rules or regulations imposed to ensure data
integrity.
Column Constraints.
Table Constraints.
Assertions (Multiple-table Constraints).
Triggers.
Primary Key, Foreign Key, Check, Not Null,
Unique,

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 Column Definition
Syntax for column definition:
col_name data_type [default value] [column
constraints]
Syntax for column constraints:
[constraint constraint_name]
[not] null | check condition |
unique | primary key |
references table_name [(column)]
[on delete cascade]

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 Column Constraints
not null. Can not take null value.
unique. Can not have identical non-null values
primary key. Both not null and unique
references T(A). All non-null values must be
currently in T.A.
check (condition). Values must satisfy the
check condition.

Can be expressed as table constraints, too.

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 Column Constraints Example
SQL> create table Courses
(CNo char(6) primary key,
Title varchar2(50) not null,
Hours integer default 3
check (Hours > 0 and hours < 6),
Dept varchar2(20)
references Departments(Name));

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 Table Constraints
Syntax for table constraints:
[constraint constraint_name]
check condition |
unique (column {, column}) |
primary key (column {, column}) |
foreign key (column {, column})
references table_name[(column {, column})]
[on delete cascade]

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 Table Constraints Example
SQL> create table Enrollment
(SID char(9) not null references Students,
CNo varchar2(7) not null,
Year number(2) not null,
Grade char(2),
primary key (SID, CNo, Year),
foreign key (CNo) references Courses);

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 Table Constraints Example (cont.)
SQL> create table Students
(SID char(9) primary key,
Name varchar2(25),
Age integer check(Age > 18 and Age < 100),
Sex char check(Sex in {F, M}),
Major varchar2(4)
GPA number (3,2) not null,
constraint ic12 check (GPA >= 2.0 and
(Major = IS or GPA >= 3.0)));

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Referential Integrity & Data Update
Assume that Courses.Dept references
Departments.Name. What should the system do
to students if we change a departments name
or delete a department?
SQL provides four options:
No action. Disallow such an update.
Cascade. Accept update and update all
affected foreign key values.
Set default. Accept update & set default FK.
Set null. Accept update & set FK to null.

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 Referential Integrity Example
SQL>create table Courses (
CNo char(6) not null primary key,
Title varchar(35) not null,
Hours int check (Hours between 1 and 5),
Dept varchar(20),
foreign key (Dept) references
Departments(Name)
on delete no action on update cascade);

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 Drop Table
Delete schema definition of a table.
drop table Table-Name;
Problem:
drop table Departments
will fail if it is referenced by foreign keys.
Solution:
drop table Departments cascade constraints;
All referential constraints will be dropped
before the table is dropped.

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 Alter Table
Change table schema (even after entering data)
Add a new column.
alter table Students
add (Address varchar2(40));
Add a new constraint.
alter table Students add (unique(Address));
Modify a column definition.
alter table Students
modify (Name varchar2(30));

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 Alter Table (cont.)
Remove a column.
alter table Students drop (Address);
Enable and disable a constraint on a table
alter table Students enable constraint ic12;
alter table Students disable constraint ic12;
Newly added column can not be specified as
not null.
Can not modify a column to a type of a
smaller size.

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 Simple Update Statements
Insert Statement:
insert into table_name [(column {, column})]
[values (expression {, expression})]
Update Statement:
update table_name [corr_name]
set column = {expression | null}
{, column = {expression | null}}
[where search_condition]
Delete Statement:
delete from table_name
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 Example of Update
insert into Students
values (`123456789', `Kathy', 26, F, CS, null)
or
insert into Students (Name, SID, Age, Major,
Sex)
values (`Kathy', `123456789', 26, CS, F)

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 Example of Update (cont.)
Increase the GPA of the student with SID =
123456789 by 0.5.
update Students
set GPA = GPA + 0.5
where SID = '123456789
Delete all tuples from Students.
delete from Students
The schema of Students remains.

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 Data Dictionary
Data dictionary (system catalog) contains
information about all database objects (tables,
views, indexes, sequences, etc).
Common Oracle Data Dictionary Tables
user_objects(object_name, object_id,
object_type, created, last_ddl_time,
timestamp, status)
Example database objects include tables,
views, sequences, indexes, and packages.

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 Data Dictionary (cont.)
user_tables(table_name, tablespace_name,
num_rows, blocks, empty_blocks,
avg_row_len)
user_tab_columns(name, table_name,
column_name, data_type, data_length,
nullable, column_id, default_length,
data_default, num_distinct, low_value,
high_value)
Use select * from dictionary to see all system
tables and views.
Use describe table-name to view a schema.
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 DDL Summary
Specify appropriate data type for each column.
You may also define your own domains.
Specify as many constraints as needed for
applications.
Specify desirable actions for foreign key
constraints.
Not all constraints can be specified at the same
time. It is necessary to update schemas.
Major schema change after data is entered is
very costly.

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 Look Ahead
Next topic: Interactive SQL
Read textbook:
Oracle 8 Programming: A primer by R.
Sunderraman. Chapter 2.

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