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Practical SQL Guide for Relational Databases
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Practical SQL
Guide for
Relational
Databases
Fernando Almeida, PhD.
This book offers a short reference tutorial for
database engineers and programmers that intends to
learn SQL and use it in practice in a MySQL, SQL
Server or Oracle databases. This book is organized in
20 chapters and includes an overview about Data
Definition Language (DDL) and Data Modeling
Language (DML) syntaxes. Each chapter presents
INESC TEC some SQL code extracts with proper and
argumentative discussion.
Campus da FEUP
Rua Dr. Roberto Frias
4200 - 465 Porto
Portugal
Tel. +351 222 094 000
Fax +351 222 094 050
1/15/2016
Practical SQL Guide for Relational Databases 2016
Table of Contents
Index of Figures ............................................................................................................................. 4
Acronyms....................................................................................................................................... 6
Glossary ......................................................................................................................................... 7
1. Introduction............................................................................................................................... 8
1.1 Contextualization ................................................................................................................ 8
1.2 Objectives ............................................................................................................................ 9
1.3 Book Structure..................................................................................................................... 9
2. Declaring Tables ...................................................................................................................... 11
3. Insert Data ............................................................................................................................... 14
4. Update Data ............................................................................................................................ 17
5. Delete Data.............................................................................................................................. 19
6. Remove Tables ........................................................................................................................ 21
7. SQL Queries - Basic Structure .................................................................................................. 22
8. SQL Queries - Comparing Strings ............................................................................................ 26
9. SQL Queries - Aggregation Operators ..................................................................................... 28

9.1 AVG() Operator.................................................................................................................. 28
9.2 COUNT() Operator ............................................................................................................. 28
9.3 MAX() Operator ................................................................................................................. 29
9.4 MIN() Operator.................................................................................................................. 29
9.5 SUM() Operator ................................................................................................................. 30
10. SQL Queries - Scalar Functions .............................................................................................. 31
11. SQL Queries - Grouping Elements ......................................................................................... 33
12. SQL Queries - Ordering Data ................................................................................................. 35
13. SQL Queries - Returning Top Elements ................................................................................. 36
14. SQL Queries - Sub-queries ..................................................................................................... 37
15. SQL Queries - Operator "In" and "Exists" .............................................................................. 39
Page 2
16. SQL Queries - Operator "Any" and "All"................................................................................ 41
17. SQL Queries - Operations with Sets ...................................................................................... 43
18. SQL Queries - Joins ................................................................................................................ 46

18.1 Inner Join and Natural Join.............................................................................................. 46
18.2 Left Outer Join ................................................................................................................. 47
18.3 Right Outer Join ............................................................................................................... 48
18.4 Full Outer Join ................................................................................................................. 49
19. SQL Queries - Views .............................................................................................................. 51
20. SQL Queries - System Data .................................................................................................... 52
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 54
Annex I - Script for MySQL Databases ......................................................................................... 55
Annex II - Script for MS SQL Server Databases............................................................................ 62
Annex III - Script for Oracle Databases ........................................................................................ 69
Page 3
Index of Figures
Figure 1 - Contents of table Products ......................................................................................... 14
Figure 2 - Contents of table Customers ...................................................................................... 15
Figure 3 - Contents of table Orders ............................................................................................. 15
Figure 4 - Contents of table OrdersProducts .............................................................................. 16
Figure 5 - Contents of table Products after update .................................................................... 17
Figure 6 - Contents of table Orders after update........................................................................ 18
Figure 7 - Contents of table OrdersProducts after delete .......................................................... 19
Figure 8 - Contents of table OrdersProducts after delete .......................................................... 20
Figure 9 - Basic structure of SQL ................................................................................................. 22
Figure 10 - Contents of table Customer ...................................................................................... 22
Figure 11 - Contents of all fields in table Products ..................................................................... 23
Figure 12 - Information regarding orders and customers ........................................................... 23
Figure 13 - Information regarding three tables .......................................................................... 24
Figure 14 - Shows the calculation of marginStock ...................................................................... 24
Figure 15 - Shows the calculation of modResult ......................................................................... 25
Figure 16 - Shows all customers ending in "a" ............................................................................ 26
Figure 17 - Shows all customers fields which name contains "e" ............................................... 27
Figure 18 - Shows products which price is above average.......................................................... 28
Figure 19 - Shows all countries of customers ............................................................................. 29
Figure 20 - Shows the highest and average price ....................................................................... 29
Figure 21 - Shows the smallest and average price ...................................................................... 30
Figure 22 - Shows the total number of products, average price, highest price, smallest price
and total stock ............................................................................................................................. 30
Figure 23 - Displays the upper and lower names of the customers ........................................... 31
Figure 24 - Shows the size of the customers' name .................................................................... 32
Figure 25 - Shows 3 approaches to diplay the price of products ................................................ 32
Figure 26 - Counts the number of orders per customer ............................................................. 33
Figure 27 - Shows the quantity of itens and number of products per customer/order ............. 33
Figure 28 - Using the clause Having to filter results.................................................................... 34
Figure 29 - Order data per name of customer ............................................................................ 35
Figure 30 - Ordering name of customer by inverse order .......................................................... 35
Figure 31 - Returning top elements of a query ........................................................................... 36
Figure 32 - Structure of a sub-query ........................................................................................... 37
Page 4
Figure 33 - Shows the product with maximum price .................................................................. 37
Figure 34 - Shows the customer with max customer code and given delivery date .................. 38
Figure 35 - Shows the delivery date of orders that have specified quantity .............................. 38
Figure 36 - Basic approach using the "IN" operator.................................................................... 39
Figure 37 - Return all customer fields that have orders ............................................................. 40
Figure 38 - Shows customers that don't have orders ................................................................. 40
Figure 39 - Shows the use of ANY operator ................................................................................ 41
Figure 42 - Shows the use of ALL operator ................................................................................. 42
Figure 43 - Shows the use of UNION operator ............................................................................ 43
Figure 44 - Shows the use of UNION ALL operator ..................................................................... 44
Figure 45 - Shows the use of INTERSECT operator...................................................................... 44
Figure 46 - Shows the use of MINUS operator............................................................................ 45
Figure 47 - Structure of inner and natural joins .......................................................................... 46
Figure 48 - Shows the use of inner and natural joins .................................................................. 47
Figure 49 - Structure of Left Outer Join....................................................................................... 47
Figure 50 - Shows the use of Left Join ......................................................................................... 48
Figure 51 - Structure of Right Outer Join .................................................................................... 48
Figure 52 - Shows the use of Right Join....................................................................................... 49
Figure 53 - Structure of Full Outer Join ....................................................................................... 49
Figure 54 - Shows the use of Full Outer Join ............................................................................... 50
Figure 55 - Example of creating a view ....................................................................................... 51
Figure 56 - Get the date from system ......................................................................................... 52
Figure 57 - Get the user logged in system................................................................................... 53
Page 5
Acronyms
CLI - Command-Line Interface
DCL - Data Control Language
DDL - Data Definition Language
DML - Data Modeling Language
I/O - Input/Output
ORA - Oracle
SQL - Structured Query Language
Page 6
Glossary
MySQL - MySQL is an open source relational database management system (RDBMS) based on
Structured Query Language (SQL).
Oracle - object-relational database management system produced and marketed by Oracle

Corporation.
SQL Server - SQL Server is a relational database management system (RDBMS) from Microsoft
that's designed for the enterprise environment.
Page 7
1. Introduction
1.1 Contextualization
SQL (pronounced "ess-que-el") stands for Structured Query Language. SQL is used to
communicate with a database. According to ANSI (American National Standards Institute), it is
the standard language for relational database management systems. SQL statements are used
to perform tasks such as update data on a database, or retrieve data from a database. Some
common relational database management systems that use SQL are: Oracle, Sybase, Microsoft
SQL Server, Access, Ingres, etc.
The SQL Standard has gone through a lot of changes during the years, which have added a
great deal of new functionality to the standard, such as support for XML, triggers, regular
expression matching, recursive queries, standardized sequences and much more.
The SQL language is based on several elements. For the convenience of SQL developers all
necessary language commands in the corresponding database management systems are
usually executed through a specific SQL command-line interface (CLI). These commands can be
grouped in the following areas:
 Clauses - the clauses are components of the statements and the queries;
 Expressions - the expressions can produce scalar values or tables, which consist of
columns and rows of data;
 Predicates - they specify conditions, which are used to limit the effects of the
statements and the queries, or to change the program flow;
 Queries - a query retrieves data, based on a given criteria;
 Statements - using statements user can control transactions, program flow, connections,
sessions, or diagnostics. In database systems the SQL statements are used for sending
queries from a client program to a server where the databases are stored. In response,
the server processes the SQL statements and returns to the client program. This allows
users to execute a wide range of fast data manipulation operations from simple data
inputs to more complex queries.
In order to guide students through the elementary syntax of SQL guide, a relational model is
presented below.
Products (cod_product, description, unit_price, available_stock, minimal_stock)
Orders (cod_order, date_order, date_delivery, cod_customer -> Customers)
OrdersProducts (cod_product -> Products, cod_order -> Orders, quantity)
Customers (cod_customer, name, address, zip code, country, telephone)
This proposed relational model is normalized in 3NF and it is composed by four tables, which
one identified by their primary keys (underlined) and the foreign keys are identified by "->"
symbol.
Page 8
The relational model describes generally a simple scenario of an ecommerce company that has
several products and customer. Each customer can create new orders that typically is
composed by several products.
1.2 Objectives
This mini books intends to provide a brief reference guide for undergraduate students that
intend to learn SQL in the context of their curricular units at university. The book presents the
main reference SQL syntax items (DDL and DML) and also presents the most important syntax
instructions that should be adopted in order to build relational databases in MySQL, SQL
Server or Oracle. This mini book doesn't intend to be a full SQL reference, but it only focus on
most critical aspects of the SQL syntax. The DCL syntax is not looked in the context of this
publication.
The scripts that will be shown in next chapters were testes using the following databases:
 MySQL 5.6;
 MS SQL Server 2014;
 Oracle Database 11g Release 2.
1.3 Book Structure

The book is organized in 20 chapters as follow:
 Chapter 1 "Introduction" - gives a brief overview about SQL language and organization
of the book;
 Chapter 2 "Declaring Tables" - presents the syntax how to declare a new tables in
relational databases;
 Chapter 3 "Insert Data" - presents the syntax in order to insert new data in a relational
database;
 Chapter 4 "Update Data" - presents the syntax to update data previously stored in a
relational database;
 Chapter 5 "Delete Data" - presents the syntax to delete information stored in a

relational database;
 Chapter 6 "Remove Tables" - presents the syntax to remove a table from a relational
database;
 Chapter 7 "SQL Queries - Basic Structure" - shows the basic structure how a SQL query is
organized and structured;
 Chapter 8 "SQL Queries - Comparing Strings" - shows how to compare string contents
using only SQL syntax;
 Chapter 9 "SQL Queries - Aggregation Operators" - shows the most relevant aggregation
operators that are useful in SQL, such as AVG(), COUNT(), MAX(), MIN() and SUM();
 Chapter 10 "SQL Queries - Scalar Functions" - presents the most useful scalar functions
that are available in SQL;
Page 9
 Chapter 11 "SQL Queries - Grouping Elements" - presents the use of GROUP BY syntax in
SQL;
 Chapter 12 "SQL Queries - Ordering Data" - presents the use of "ORDER BY" syntax in
SQL;
 Chapter 13 "SQL Queries - Returning Top Elements" - presents an approach to return the
top elements of a SQL statement;
 Chapter 14 "SQL Queries - Sub-queries" - shows the use of complex SQL queries
adopting a sub-query approach;
 Chapter 15 "SQL Queries - Operator "IN" and "EXISTS" - shows the use of operator in and
exists and how to convert an "IN" into "EXISTS" approach;
 Chapter 16 "SQL Queries - Operator "ANY" and "ALL" - shows the use of these two
clauses in conjunction with sub-queries;
 Chapter 17 "SQL Queries - Operations with SETS" - shows the use of SQL in order to
perform operations with sets;
 Chapter 18 "SQL Queries - Joins" - shows the use of different types of joins, namely inner
joins, left outer joins, right outer joins and full outer joins;
 Chapter 19 "SQL Queries - Views" - shows the process of creating views in SQL and how
to invoke them;
 Chapter 20 "SQL Queries - System Data" - shows the use of some system data operations
in order to get the system date and the logged user;
 "Bibliography" - presents the adopted bibliography for this book;
 "Annex I - Script for MySQL Databases" - presents the full SQL script for a MySQL
database;
 "Annex II - Script for MS SQL Server Databases" - presents the full SQL script for a MS
SQL Server database;
 "Annex III - Script for Oracle Databases" - presents the full SQL script for an Oracle
database.
Page 10
2. Declaring Tables
The first step when creating a new database application is the process of declaring the tables.
In our example we have 4 tables to be created: Products, Orders, OrdersProducts and
Customer. We will start by the creation of the table Products.
The table Products records all the products that the company has in its catalogue. The script
for the creation of this table is given below. The same script can be used to MySQL, SQL Server
and Oracle DBMS.
create table Products

(
cod_product integer,
description varchar(50) NOT NULL,
unit_price DECIMAL(10,2),
available_stock integer,
minimal_stock integer default 0,
CONSTRAINT Products_pk PRIMARY KEY (cod_product)
);
The primary key is the "cod_products", which is declared in the last line. The description can
has a maximum size of 50 characters and cannot be null. The field "unit_price" is declared has
a decimal. The maximum number of digits of "unit_price" may be specified in the first
parameter; the maximum number of digits to the right of the decimal point is specified in the
second parameter. The field "minimal_stock" has a default value of 0, if this information is not
given when the user inserts new data.
Then, we will create the table Customers. Like in previous example the same script can be used
for all three databases (MySQL, SQL Server and Oracle).
create table Customers

(
cod_customer integer,
name varchar(50) NOT NULL,
address varchar(95) Default 'Unknown',
zip_code char(8),
country varchar(40) Default 'Portugal',
telephone varchar(15),
CONSTRAINT Customers_pk PRIMARY KEY (cod_customer)
);
The primary key is the "cod_customer", which is declared in last line. The address is also a
varchar type like name, but if no information is provided it will assume the default value of
"unknown". The zip code is a char(8) and it will always reserve a char of size 8, independently
of its content. The country of the customer will assume the default value of "Portugal". The
others elements have a behavior similar to previous example.
Then, we will create the table Orders. Like before the script for both databases are the same.
Page 11
create table Orders
(
cod_order integer,
date_order date,
date_delivery date,
CONSTRAINT Orders_pk PRIMARY KEY (cod_customer),
CONSTRAINT Orders_Cust_fk FOREIGN KEY (cod_customer)
REFERENCES Customers(cod_customer)
);
The primary key is the "cod_order". However, the Orders table also has a foreign key in the
field "cod_customer". The foreign key is connected to the primary key of the table "Customer"
by the field "cod_customer". It is also relevent to highlight the declaration of two variables of
the date type. The date format is represented by "YYYY-MM-DD" and its supported range is
from '1000-01-01' to '9999-12-31'.
Finally, the script for OrdersProducts is presented. Here the script below only works in MySQL
due to the int() type.
create table OrdersProducts

(
cod_order integer,
quantity int(2),
CONSTRAINT OrdersProducts_pk PRIMARY KEY (cod_product, cod_order),
CONSTRAINT OrdersProducts_Prod_fk FOREIGN KEY (cod_product)
REFERENCES Products(cod_product),
CONSTRAINT OrdersProducts_Orders_fk FOREIGN KEY (cod_order)
REFERENCES Orders(cod_order)
);
The primary key is composed by the fields "cod_product" and "cod_order". The quantity is
declared an integer where the maximum number of digits is specified in parenthesis. Finally
there are two foreign keys: the first one connected to the table Products; and the last one
associated to the Orders table. The fields "cod_product" and "cod_order" are simultaneously
primary and foreign keys.
To make it work in SQL Server we need to change int() type for decimal(). The full corrected
script is given below.

(
cod_order integer,
quantity decimal(2,0),
);
The only change in this script is in "quantity" field. It indicates that only supports decimal
Page 12
numbers of 2 digitals for the integer part.
Finally another change was performed to make it work in Oracle databases.

(
cod_order integer,
quantity number(2),
);
The only change in this script is also in "quantity" field. It indicates that only supports numbers
with only integer part composed by two digits.
Page 13
3. Insert Data
The insertion of new data in a database can be done by following two different, but similar,
approaches:
 The first form does not specify the column names where the data will be inserted, only
their values;
 The second form specifies both the column names and the values to be inserted.
The scripts to insert data are exactly the same for MySQL, SQL Server and Oracle databases.
For the introduction of data in tables "Products" and "Customers" we will adopt the second
approach.
Insert Into Products (cod_product, description, unit_price)

Values (1, 'Eggs', 2.49);
Values (2, 'Ice Cream', 3.99);
Values (3, 'Soda', 0.65);
Values (4, 'Cheese', 2.89);
Values (5, 'Pork Meat', 3.10);
Insert Into Customers (cod_customer, name)
Values (1, 'Anne');
Values (2, 'Peter');
Values (3, 'Elena');
Values (4, 'Shirley');
Values (5, 'John');
In table "Products" we will introduce data related to its code of product, description and unit
price. On the other side, we only introduce information regarding the code of customer and its
name in table "Customers". In any situation it is mandatory to fill the primary key fields. The
other fields will assume the default value if it was declared in the creation table process.
After that the contents of the table "Products" are depicted in Figure 1.
Figure 1 - Contents of table Products
Page 14
It is also presented in Figure 2 the contents of table "Customers".
Figure 2 - Contents of table Customers
In order to place new data in table "Orders" we will use the script below that gives data values
in all fields.
Insert Into Orders Values (1, '2015-12-21', '2015-12-21', 1);

The customer with code "1" and "3" will have 2 orders recorded in the database. The customer
with code "2" will only have one order. Finally the customers with code "4" and "5" don't have
any order. It is also important to highlight that the primary field must be always unique.
The contents of the table "Orders" is given in Figure 3.
Figure 3 - Contents of table Orders
Finally, we will adopt the script below to include information regarding each order. This
information is stored in table "OrdersProducts".
Insert Into OrdersProducts Values (1, 1, 1);

Page 15
The Order with code "1" and "4" have two products; the Order with code "5" has three
products; the Order with code "3" has 4 products; finally the Order with code "2" has only one
product.
The contents of the table "OrdersProducts" after the execution of the above script is given in
Figure 4.
Figure 4 - Contents of table OrdersProducts
Page 16
4. Update Data
A very useful operation is update previous inserted data. The syntax to perform this operation
is the "Update Table". The syntax can be slight different in some situations like it will be
presented in next examples.
In the first situation we will update just one field considering the value of other field in the
same table.
Update Products
Set unit_price = 1.99
Where description = 'Eggs';
After the execution of this script the unit_price of eggs is 1.99€. The others fields of the tables
remains untouched.
In the second situation we will update two fields simultaneously.
Update Products
Set available_stock = 25, minimal_stock = 10
After the execution of this script the available stock and minimal stock of eggs will be changed
to 25 and 10, respectively.
In the third situation we will update again the price field, but this time for the soda product.
Update Products
Set unit_price = unit_price * 1.25
Where description = 'Soda';
After the execution of this script the unit price of soda product will be increased by 25%.
The contents of the table "Products" after the execution of all previous scripts is shown in
Figure 5.
Figure 5 - Contents of table Products after update
Finally, in the fourth situation we will update the date delivery order of the Peter. For that, we
will need to use and access two tables: "Orders" and "Customers".
Update Orders
Set date_delivery = '2015-12-29'
Where Orders.cod_customer = (Select cod_customer
From Customers
Where name='Peter');
Page 17
After the execution of this script, the delivery date of all orders made by Peter will be 29th
December of 2015.
The above script doesn't work in MySQL databases. To make it work in MySQL we shall
perform a slight modification.
Update Orders O, Customers C

Set O.date_delivery = '2015-12-29'
Where O.cod_customer = C.cod_customer and C.name='Peter';
MySQL needs that both tables are declared in the beginning of "Update" clause. Using this
approach we don't anymore to use a sub-query to get match values with Customers table.
The contents of table "Orders" after the execution of previous scripts is shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6 - Contents of table Orders after update
Page 18
5. Delete Data
The delete instruction in SQL is used to delete data from a table. The most basic syntax is to
use this instruction to delete all data from a table. The syntax to perform this operation is
exactly the same for all databases (MySQL, SQL Server and Oracle).
DELETE FROM Customers;

or
DELETE * FROM Customers;
The two syntaxes presented are equivalent in terms of functionality and performance. It has
the function to delete all data available in Customers table.
If we want to delete a number of elements that accomplishes a given rule, we can add the
"Where" clause. We show here one example how to perform it involving only one table.
Delete From OrdersProducts

Where cod_product = 5;
After the execution of the above script the table "OrdersCustomers" will not has any item with
code of product equal to 5
The contents of table "OrdersProducts" is given in Figure 7.
Figure 7 - Contents of table OrdersProducts after delete
Now we will give two examples how to use the "Delete From..." operation using multiple
tables and sub-queries.

Where cod_order IN
(Select cod_order
From Orders
Where cod_customer = 3);
This instruction deletes all itens from OrdersProducts which order was performed by
cod_customer equal to 3. The above instruction involves calling OrdersProducts and Orders
tables.
After the execution of the previous script the content of table "OrdersProducts" is presented in
Figure 8.
Page 19
Figure 8 - Contents of table OrdersProducts after delete
If we want to delete all itens from OrdersProducts that its products has no content for the
description field we can adopt the approach below.

Where cod_product IN
(Select cod_product
From Products
Where description is NULL);
This instruction tries to delete from OrdersProducts all items which description of the product
is null. This instruction is well formed, however it doesn't delete any data because the
description field in table Products was declared as not null. Therefore at this point it won't be
possible to find any empty description of product.
Finally SQL offers the "Truncate" command to removes all rows from a table. The operation
cannot be rolled back and no triggers will be fired. As such, TRUCATE is faster and doesn't use
as much undo space as a DELETE, but it should be used carefully. We give an example below
how to use it.
TRUNCATE TABLE Customers;

This instruction would remove all data from Customers table. This instruction is not available
in the script of database, because the database contains already orders associated to
customers.
It is important to highlight that DROP (that will be seen in next chapter) and TRUNCATE are
DDL commands, whereas DELETE is a DML command. As such, DELETE operations can be rolled
back (undone), while DROP and TRUNCATE operations cannot be rolled back.
Page 20
6. Remove Tables
Remove a table from a database is one of the easiest operations in SQL. However, it shouldn't
be mix with the instruction "delete from..." that deletes table. In order to remove a table from
a database we should use the "Drop Table..." command. This instruction works in all three
databases (MySQL, SQL Server and Oracle).
DROP TABLE Customers;

This instruction tries to remove the table Customers. However, it is only possible to remove a
table if the primary key of this table is not being used by other table. In our database, this
instruction will not work because the primary key in table is reference by foreign keys.
However, it would be totally possible to remove the "OrdersProducts" table from the system.
DROP TABLE OrdersProducts;

If used, this instruction would remove the OrdersProducts table from the system.
Page 21
7. SQL Queries - Basic Structure

The basic structure of a SQL query is composed by the elements below.
Figure 9 - Basic structure of SQL
Only the two initial clauses are mandatory ("Select" and "From"). The others elements are
optional.
One of the most used queries in SQL is to show all the contents of a table. It can be used liked
in the example below.
Select * From Customers;

This instruction shows all content of table Customers. It shows all attributes of the table.
It is possible to choose only the fields to be shown, like in the example below.
Select Name, Country From Customers;

This instruction shows the content of fields Name and Country of table Customers.
The execution of the above script displays the content of Figure 10.
Figure 10 - Contents of table Customer
If we only want to show the distinct country of customers, we can use the instruction "distinct"
in Select clause, like it is shown below.
Select distinct Country From Customers;

This instruction shows the content of Country, but only distinct elements. In this situation only
the country "Portugal" is shown.
We can use also the "Where" clause to restrict the elements of a table that will be shown. An
example of this approach is shown below.
Page 22
Select *
From Products
Where Available_stock is not NULL;
This instruction shows all products that have stock in warehouse.
It is possible to use several conditions in a "Where" clause like it is shown below.
Select *
From Products
Where (Available_stock is NULL and unit_price > 1.00) or minimal_stock > 0;
This instruction shows all products which there is stock in warehouse and price is higher than
1€. It also includes in the result all field which defined minimal_stock is positive.
The execution of the above script shows the following result (Figure 11).
Figure 11 - Contents of all fields in table Products
In the "From" clause we can use more than one table. We show this situation using two
examples.
Select O.cod_order, O.date_order, O.DATE_DELIVERY, C.name

From Orders O, Customers C
Where O.cod_customer = C.COD_CUSTOMER;
This instruction shows the code of the order, date of order, date of delivery and name of the
customer for all orders available in the database. It is particular relevant to look for the
"Where" clause that is mandatory and it needs to be used to guarantee the join between the
Orders and Customers table.
The result of the execution of above script is given in Figure 12.
Figure 12 - Information regarding orders and customers
Page 23
In the next example we use three tables in "From" clause.
Select OP.COD_PRODUCT, OP.QUANTITY, C.name

From Orders O, Customers C, OrdersProducts OP
Where O.cod_customer = C.COD_CUSTOMER
and O.COD_ORDER = OP.COD_ORDER
and O.COD_ORDER = 3;
This instruction shows the code of the code of products, quantity of each item and customer
name for the order which code is equal to "3". This instruction needs to use the Orders,
OrdersProducts and Customers tables. Like in the example before, in the "Where" clause we
explicitly details the joint conditions between the attributes of these three tables.
The result of the execution of the above script is given in Figure 13.
Figure 13 - Information regarding three tables
Finally we demonstrate how to use SQL with some basic math operations. We start by using
the operator "-" in the example below.
select cod_product, description, available_stock - minimal_stock as marginStock

From Products;
This instruction calculates the marginStock for all products and shows it with the code of
product and description.
Figure 14 - Shows the calculation of marginStock
In next example we use the modulo operation, which is responsible to find the remainder after
division of one number by another (sometimes called modulus).
Page 24
select cod_product, description, mod(available_stock, minimal_stock) as modResult
From Products;
This instruction calculates the module of division by available stock per minimal stock. It also
shows the code of product and description for all products.
The above script only works for MySQL and Oracle databases. To make it work in SQL Server
we must use the "%" operator, like it follows.
select cod_product, description, available_stock%minimal_stock as modResult

From Products;
This instruction calculates the module of division by available stock per minimal stock. It also
shows the code of product and description for all products.
Figure 15 - Shows the calculation of modResult
Page 25
8. SQL Queries - Comparing Strings

In order to compare strings to search for a specified pattern we must use the "LIKE" operator.
The use of this operator needs the use of wildcards characters that can be used to substitute
any other character(s) in a string. The most common wildcards are the following
 "%" - a substitute for zero or more characters;

 "_" - a substitute for a single character.
In the first example we define a wildcard (missing letters) before the pattern.
SELECT * FROM Customers

WHERE name LIKE 'E%';
This instruction selects all customers with a name starting with the letter "E".
In the second example we define a wildcard after the pattern. The statement is very similar to
previous.

WHERE name LIKE '%a';
This instruction selects all customers with a name ending with the letter "a".
In both situations the only record returned by the instruction is given in example below (Figure
16).
Figure 16 - Shows all customers ending in "a"
In the third example we define a simultaneous wildcard after and before the pattern.

WHERE name LIKE '%e%';
This instruction selects all customers with a name containing the character "e".
The result of the previous example is depicted in Figure 17.
Page 26
Figure 17 - Shows all customers fields which name contains "e"
Finally we use two examples to demonstrate the use of "_" wildcard.
The first scenario consists only in the substitution of a missing character.

WHERE name LIKE '_lena';
This instruction selects all customers with a name containing the string "lena" and starting by
any character.
The second scenario consists in the substitution of multiple characters.

WHERE name LIKE 'E_e_a';
This instruction selects all customers with a name containing the string initiated by "E" with a
third character equal to "e" and last character equal to "a".
Page 27
9. SQL Queries - Aggregation Operators

SQL has many built-in functions for performing calculations on data. SQL aggregate functions
return a single value, calculated from values in a column. The most common aggregation
operators are the following:
 AVG() - returns the average value;

 COUNT() - returns the number of rows;
 MAX() - returns the largest value;
 MIN() - returns the smallest value;
 SUM() - returns the sum.
9.1 AVG() Operator

The AVG() function returns the average value of a numeric column. Here we show three
examples using AVG() operator.
Select AVG(unit_price) From Products;

This instruction returns the average of unit price of all products.
If we want to show the price with only two decimal places, we must slight change the previous
statement.
Select ROUND(AVG(unit_price),2) From Products;

This instruction returns the average of unit price of all products with 2 decimal places. This is
done using the "ROUND" function.
The last example uses the AVG() function as an element of a sub-query.
SELECT description, unit_price, available_stock

FROM Products
WHERE unit_price>(SELECT AVG(unit_price) FROM Products);
This instruction shows the description, unit price and available stock of all products which unit
price is higher than the unit price average of all products in the database.
The result of last statement is shown in Figure 18.
Figure 18 - Shows products which price is above average
9.2 COUNT() Operator

The COUNT() function returns the number of rows that matches a specified criteria. Here we
show two examples of using COUNT() operator.
Page 28
Select Count(*) From Customers;
This instruction returns the number of records in Customers table.
The second example uses simultaneously Count() function and distinct statement.
Select Count(distinct country) From Customers;

This instruction returns the number of distinct countries in Customers table.
The result of the execution of previous statement is given in Figure 19.
Figure 19 - Shows all countries of customers
9.3 MAX() Operator

The MAX() function returns the largest value of the selected column. Here we show two
examples using MAX() operator.
SELECT MAX(unit_price) AS HighestPrice FROM Products;

This instruction returns the highest unit price of all products.
In second example we will return simultaneously the maximum and average values.
SELECT MAX(unit_price) AS HighestPrice, AVG(unit_price) AS AveragePrice

FROM Products;
This instruction returns the highest unit price and the average price of all products.
The result of the execution of previous statement is depicted in Figure 20.
Figure 20 - Shows the highest and average price
9.4 MIN() Operator

The MIN() function returns the smallest value of the selected column. Here we show two
examples using MIN() operator.
SELECT MIN(unit_price) AS SmallestPrice FROM Products;

This instruction returns the smallest unit price of all products.
In second example we will return simultaneously the maximum and average values.
Page 29
SELECT MIN(unit_price) AS SmallestPrice, AVG(unit_price) AS AveragePrice
FROM Products;
This instruction returns the smallest unit price and the average price of all products.
The result of the execution of previous statement is depicted in Figure 21.
Figure 21 - Shows the smallest and average price
9.5 SUM() Operator

The SUM() function returns the total sum of a numeric column. Here we show two examples
using SUM() operator.
SELECT SUM(available_stock) AS TotalStock FROM Products;

This instruction returns the sum of available stock for all products.
In second example we show the use of all operators in a single statement.
SELECT COUNT(*) as TotalProducts,

AVG(unit_price) AS AveragePrice,
MAX(unit_price) AS HighestPrice,
MIN(unit_price) AS SmallestPrice,
SUM(available_stock) AS TotalStock
FROM Products;
This instruction returns simultaneously the total number of products, average price, highest
price, smallest price and total stock.
The result of the above statement is shown in Figure 22.
Figure 22 - Shows the total number of products, average price, highest price, smallest price and total stock
Page 30
10. SQL Queries - Scalar Functions

SQL scalar functions return a single value, based on the input value. The most useful scalar
functions are the following:
 UCASE() - converts a field to upper case;

 LCASE() - converts a field to lower case;
 LEN() - returns the length of a text field;
 ROUND() - rounds a numeric field to the number of decimals specified.
In the following paragraphs we will an example of each scalar functions.
In the first example we will use simultaneously UCASE() and LCASE() functions. However, there
is an additional issue, because we must use a different statement for each specific database.
We will starting by presenting the statement for MySQL.
Select UCASE(name) as UPPERName, LCASE(name) as LOWERName

from Customers;
This instruction returns simultaneously the upper name and lower name of customers name.
The statement for SQL Server and Oracle can be the same.
Select UPPER(name) as UPPERName, LOWER(name) as LOWERName

from Customers;
This instruction returns simultaneously the upper name and lower name of customers name.
The result of previous statement is shown in Figure 23.
Figure 23 - Displays the upper and lower names of the customers
In the second example we use the LEN() function to return the size of a text field. This function
can only be used in a SQL Server database.
Select name, LEN(name) as SizeName

from Customers;
This instruction shows all the customers' name and for each name presents its size.
In MySQL and Oracle databases we must replace the "LEN()" function by the "LENGTH()"
function.
Page 31
Select name, LENGTH(name) as SizeName
from Customers;
This instruction shows all the customers' name and for each name presents its size.
The result of previous statement is depicted in Figure 24.
Figure 24 - Shows the size of the customers' name
In the third example we use the round() function. The following statement works well for the
three databases.
Select description, round(unit_price, 0) as RPrice0,

round(unit_price, 1) as RPrice1,
round(unit_price, 2) as RPrice2
From Products;
This instruction shows for each product three prices. The first one without any decimal place,
the second column with one decimal place, and the third column with two decimal places.
The result of previous statement is given in Figure 25.
Figure 25 - Shows 3 approaches to diplay the price of products
Page 32
11. SQL Queries - Grouping Elements

There are two additional SQL statements that are used to group and restrict the number of
returned rows. These statement are: "Group By..." and "Having...".
The "Group By..." statement is used in conjunction with the aggregate functions to group the
result-set by one or more columns. Here we give 2 examples using the Group By statement.
Select cod_customer, count(cod_customer) as nOrders

From Orders
Group By cod_customer;
This instruction selects the number of orders recorded in the system for each customer.
The result of the previous operation is given in Figure 26.
Figure 26 - Counts the number of orders per customer
The second example gives a more complex exercise with more than one table.
select O.cod_customer, O.cod_order, sum(quantity), count(cod_product)

From Orders O, OrdersProducts OP
Where O.COD_ORDER = OP.COD_ORDER
Group By O.cod_customer, O.cod_order;
This instruction shows for each customer and order, the total quantity of itens and the number
of products. To perform this operation there is a grouping by code of customer and code of
order.
The result of previous statements is depicted in Figure 27.
Figure 27 - Shows the quantity of itens and number of products per customer/order
In the last example we use the "Having..." clause to restrict the number of shown elements.
The "Having" clause was added to SQL because the WHERE keyword could not be used with
aggregate functions.
Page 33
Select O.cod_customer, O.cod_order, sum(quantity), count(cod_product)
Group By O.cod_customer, O.cod_order
Having sum(quantity) > 10;
This instruction is very similar to previous and it only adds an additional last line. The "Having"
clause only shows lines where the sum of quantity is higher than 10.
The result of the previous operation is depicted in Figure 28.
Figure 28 - Using the clause Having to filter results
Page 34
12. SQL Queries - Ordering Data

The ORDER BY keyword is used to sort the result-set by one or more columns. The ORDER BY
keyword sorts the records in ascending order by default or using ASC keyword. To sort the
records in a descending order, you can use the DESC keyword. Here we show two examples
using the "Order By..." syntax.
Select *
From Customers
Order By Name;
This instruction selects all columns of Customers table ordering the records by name
(ascending order).
The result of previous statement is given in Figure 29.
Figure 29 - Order data per name of customer
In second example we use the same Order By operation but now using the inverse order.
Select *
From Customers
Order By Name DESC;
This instruction selects all columns of Customers table ordering the records by name
(descending order).
The result of previous operation is given in Figure 30.
Figure 30 - Ordering name of customer by inverse order
Page 35
13. SQL Queries - Returning Top Elements

There is an useful statement in SQL that lets the user to return only the first n elements. This
clause can be very useful on large tables with thousands of records, which may have deep
impact on performance. The syntax is different for each database.
In MySQL it is possible to perform this operation using the syntax below.
SELECT *
FROM Customers
Order By Name
Limit 3;
This instruction shows all fields of Customers table ordered by name. However, it only shows
the first three records.
In SQL Server it is possible to perform this operation using the syntax below.
SELECT Top 3 *
FROM Customers
Order By Name;
Finally, in Oracle the same operation can be done using the syntax below.
SELECT *
FROM Customers
Where RowNum <= 3
Order By Name;
In console it shows the result of Figure 31.
Figure 31 - Returning top elements of a query
Page 36
14. SQL Queries - Sub-queries

Sub-queries are query statements tucked inside of query statements. A sub-query may occur
in:
 A SELECT clause;
 A FROM clause;
 A WHERE clause.
Typically a sub-query is usually added within the WHERE clause of another SQL SELECT
statement. The syntax model is depicted in Figure 32.
Figure 32 - Structure of a sub-query
The sub-query (inner query) executes once before the main query (outer query) executes.
Consequently, the main query (outer query) uses the sub-query result.
In the context of this chapter we give two examples of sub-queries adoption.
In the first example we use always the same table in the inner and outer query.
Select description
From Products
Where unit_price = (Select max(unit_price)
From Products);
This instruction presents the description of the product which has the maximum unit price.
The result of this operation is given in Figure 33.
Figure 33 - Shows the product with maximum price
In the second example we use a sub-query that uses another table different from the outer
statement.
Page 37
Select name
From Customers
Where cod_customer = (Select max(distinct cod_customer)
From Orders
Where date_delivery >= '2015-12-26');
This instruction presents the name of customer which code of customer is maximum (most
recent) and has an order which date of delivery is equal or more recent than 26th December
2015.
Figure 34 - Shows the customer with max customer code and given delivery date
In the last example we use a sub-query that uses also another table different from the outer
statement.
Select date_delivery
From Orders
Where cod_order = (Select max(cod_order)
From OrdersProducts
Where quantity > 3);
This instruction presents the delivery date of the last order saved in the database that has an
item quantity higher than 3.
Figure 35 - Shows the delivery date of orders that have specified quantity
Page 38
15. SQL Queries - Operator "In" and "Exists"

The operator "in" and "exists" can be used in SQL to check the contents of a table. The
operator "in" allows users to specify multiple values in a WHERE clause.
In the first example we will use "IN" operator to check numeric values.
SELECT *
FROM Orders
WHERE cod_order IN (1, 3, 5);
This operation shows all fields of records in table Orders with order code equal to "1" or "3" or
"5".
The result of this operation is shown in Figure 36.
Figure 36 - Basic approach using the "IN" operator
In the second example we will use "IN" operator to check string values.
SELECT *
FROM Customers
WHERE name IN ('Peter', 'Elena');
This operation shows all fields of records in table Customers with name equal to "Peter" or
"Elena".
The operator "IN" can also be used with sub-queries. One example of this situation is given
below.
SELECT *
FROM Customers
WHERE cod_customer IN (SELECT cod_customer
From Orders);
This operation shows all customers that already have orders in the table. The operator "IN" is
used to retrieve several values from Orders table.
Page 39
Figure 37 - Return all customer fields that have orders
The operators "IN" and "EXISTS" offer similar functionality, but the syntax is slight different.
The EXISTS checks the existence of a result of a sub-query. The EXISTS sub-query tests whether
a sub-query fetches at least one row. When no data is returned then this operator returns
'FALSE'.
In order to demonstrate the use of "EXISTS" operator we use the same previous example, but
now using "EXISTS" instead of "IN".
SELECT *
FROM Customers C
WHERE EXISTS (SELECT cod_customer
FROM Orders O
WHERE C.cod_customer = O.cod_customer);
This operation shows all customers that already have orders in the table. The operator
"EXISTS" is used to retrieve the customers code of all customers that have orders.
Both operators "IN" and "EXISTS" can be used with the prefix "NOT". An example of such
situation is given below.
SELECT distinct Country

FROM Customers C
WHERE NOT EXISTS (SELECT cod_customer
FROM Orders O
This instruction shows all distinct countries which there are no orders in the database.
Figure 38 - Shows customers that don't have orders
Page 40
16. SQL Queries - Operator "Any" and "All"

There are two useful operators "ANY" and "ALL" that are typically used with sub-queries.
The operator "ANY" compares a value to each value in a list or results from a query and
evaluates to true if the result of an inner query contains at least one row. A simple example
using the "ANY" operator is given below.
SELECT description
FROM Products
WHERE cod_product = ANY
(SELECT cod_product
FROM OrdersProducts
WHERE Quantity = 1)
This instruction shows the description of the products that has a quantity order equal to 1.
The result of the above operation is given in Figure 39.
Figure 39 - Shows the use of ANY operator
Below it is a given another example using the same "ANY" operator, but changing the
comparing operator to ">=".
Select description, available_stock

From Products
Where available_stock >= ANY (Select distinct minimal_stock
From Products);
This instruction shows the description and available stock of products which available stock is
above any minimal stock of all products in database.
Another example adopting the "ANY" syntax is given below.
Page 41
Select name, address
From Customers
Where cod_customer < ANY (Select cod_customer From Orders);
This instruction shows name and address of customers which code of customer is below than
any code of customer that has already orders.
The ALL is used to select all records of a SELECT statement. It compares a value to every value
in a list or results from a query. The ALL must be preceded by the comparison operators and
evaluates to TRUE if the query returns no rows. Below it is a given an example.

From Products
Where unit_price >= ALL (select distinct unit_price
From Products);
This instruction shows the description and available stock of products which unit price is
higher than price of all products in the database. The "=" signal is used to guarantee that it
returns the correct field and match at least one record.
Figure 42 - Shows the use of ALL operator
Page 42
17. SQL Queries - Operations with Sets

The SQL offers three operations with sets which can also be found in relational algebra.
Considering two simple relations (R1 and R2) these operations are:
 Union - the relation containing all tuples that appear in R1, R2, or both;
 Intersect - is the relation containing all tuples that appear in both R1 and R2;
 Difference - the relation containing all tuples of R1 that do not appear in R2.
The UNION operator is used to combine the result-set of two or more SELECT statements. The
SELECT statement within the UNION must have the same number of columns and have similar
or compatible data types.
Select description
From Products
Where cod_product > 3
UNION
Select description
From Products
Where cod_product > 1;
This instruction shows the description of all products which product code is higher than 3 or
higher than 1. The UNION statement let join the results of both SQL statements.
The result of previous operation is given in Figure 43.
Figure 43 - Shows the use of UNION operator
The UNION operator selects only distinct values by default. To allow duplicate values, use the
ALL keyword with UNION. An example of such situation is given below.
Select description
From Products
UNION ALL
Select description
From Products
higher than 1. However, and comparing to previous example, the records returned by both
queries are duplicated.
Page 43
Figure 44 - Shows the use of UNION ALL operator
The SQL INTERSECT operator is used to return the results of 2 or more SELECT statements.
However, it only returns the rows selected by all queries or data sets. If a record exists in one
query and not in the other, it will be omitted from the INTERSECT results. An example of such
situation is given below. The script below only works in SQL Server and Oracle databases.
Select description
From Products
INTERSECT
Select description
From Products
higher than 1. However, and comparing to previous example, the records returned by both
queries are duplicated.
Figure 45 - Shows the use of INTERSECT operator
The INTERSECT operator isn't supported in MySQL. To make a similar function in MySQL we
can use the "IN", "EXISTS" or arithmetic operators. In our previous example we can reach the
same functionality by using simple arithmetic operators. An example of this approach is given
below.
Page 44
Select description
From Products
Where cod_product > 3 and cod_product > 1;
higher than 1. It uses only arithmetic and boolean operations.
The SQL MINUS clause is used to combine two SELECT statements and returns rows from the
first SELECT statement that are not returned by the second SELECT statement. An example of
this situation is given below. This script only works in Oracle.
Select description
From Products
MINUS
Select description
From Products
This instruction shows the description of all products that have a product code higher than 1
but below or equal to 3.
Figure 46 - Shows the use of MINUS operator
To make the previous script working in SQL Server we must use the clause "EXCEPT".
Select description
From Products
EXCEPT
Select description
From Products
To make the script work in MySQL we must adopt a similar approach like we did in
"INTERSECT" clause. An example of this approach is given below.
Select description
From Products
Where cod_product > 1 and cod_product <= 3;
Page 45
18. SQL Queries - Joins

SQL joins are used to combine rows from two or more tables. There are in SQL four types of
joins:
 Inner join and natural joins - select records that have matching values in both tables;
 Left Outer Join - select records from the first (left-most) table with matching right table
records;
 Right Outer Join - select record from the second (right-most) table with matching left
table records;
 Full Outer Join - selects all records that match either left or right table records.
18.1 Inner Join and Natural Join

The INNER JOIN keyword selects all rows from both tables as long as there is a match between
the columns in both tables. Graphically the inner join is depicted in Figure 47.
Figure 47 - Structure of inner and natural joins
An example using INNER JOIN syntax is given below.
SELECT distinct C.Name, C.Address

FROM Customers C
INNER JOIN Orders O
ON C.cod_customer=O.cod_customer
ORDER BY c.Name;
This instruction shows all the customers' name and addresses that have orders. The inner join
elements are explicitly declared by the field customer code in both table. The final result is
order alphabetically by customer name.
Instead of INNER JOIN we could be used the NATURAL JOIN clause, because the field name of
both tables is the same. Then, using the NATURAL JOIN syntax we get the following script.

FROM Customers C NATURAL JOIN Orders O
ORDER BY c.Name;
This instruction shows all the customers' name and addresses that have orders. Using the
NATURAL JOIN syntax we don't explicitly declare the join fields. The final result is order
alphabetically by customer name.
The above script only works for MySQL and Oracle databases. The SQL Server database doesn't
support the NATURAL JOIN clause. Instead of NATURAL JOIN we can easily use the INNER JOIN
as used previously.
Page 46
The result of the execution of the two above scripts is displayed in Figure 48.
Figure 48 - Shows the use of inner and natural joins
18.2 Left Outer Join

The LEFT JOIN keyword returns all rows from the left table (table1), with the matching rows in
the right table (table2). The result is NULL in the right side when there is no match. Graphically
the inner join is depicted in Figure 49.
Figure 49 - Structure of Left Outer Join
An example using the LEFT OUTER JOIN clause is given below.
SELECT distinct C.Name, C.country

FROM Customers C
LEFT JOIN Orders O
ORDER BY c.Name;
This instruction shows all the customers' name and country that have orders or not. Using the
LEFT JOIN syntax we show all elements from the first table.
Page 47
Figure 50 - Shows the use of Left Join
18.3 Right Outer Join

The RIGHT JOIN keyword returns all rows from the right table (table2), with the matching rows
in the left table (table1). The result is NULL in the left side when there is no match. Graphically
the inner join is depicted in Figure 51.
Figure 51 - Structure of Right Outer Join
An example using the RIGHT OUTER JOIN clause is given below.
SELECT distinct O.date_order, C.name

FROM Orders O
RIGHT JOIN Customers C
ON O.cod_customer=C.cod_customer
ORDER BY O.date_order;
This instruction shows all the date orders and customers names of all orders, and it also
includes the name of customers that don't have any order. This is done using the RIGHT JOIN
clause. Finally all elements are ordered by their date.
Page 48
Figure 52 - Shows the use of Right Join
18.4 Full Outer Join

The FULL OUTER JOIN keyword returns all rows from the left table (table1) and from the right
table (table2). It combines the results from LEFT JOINS and RIGHT JOINS. Graphically the inner
join is depicted in Figure 53.
Figure 53 - Structure of Full Outer Join
An example using the FULL OUTER JOIN clause is given below.
SELECT c.name, O.COD_ORDER

FROM Customers C
FULL OUTER JOIN Orders O
ORDER BY C.Name;
This instruction shows all customers' name and the code of orders simultaneously for all
customers and orders. The result is ordered by the customers' name.
The above script works well for Oracle and SQL Server databases. However, we don't have
FULL JOINS on MySQL, but we can sure emulate them. Attending the above example we can do
that in MySQL by adopted the approach below.
SELECT c.name, o.cod_order

FROM Customers C
LEFT JOIN Orders O ON C.cod_customer = O.cod_customer
UNION
FROM Customers C
RIGHT JOIN Orders O ON C.cod_customer = O.cod_customer;
Page 49
This instruction shows all customers' name and the code of orders simultaneously for all
customers and orders. In order to emulate the functionality of FULL OUTER JOIN we use both
LEFT and RIGHT joins.
Figure 54 - Shows the use of Full Outer Join
Page 50
19. SQL Queries - Views

In SQL, a view is a virtual table based on the result-set of an SQL statement. A view contains
rows and columns, just like a real table. The fields in a view are fields from one or more real
tables in the database. An example creating a view is given a below.
Create view Products_BelowStockMin as

Select cod_product, description
From products
Where available_stock < minimal_stock
This instruction creates a view with all code of products and description which stock is below
the established minimal stock.
If we want to show the content of a view we can use the following syntax.
Select * from Products_BelowStockMin

This instruction shows all field of the view "Products_BelowStockMin".
The result of this operation is empty due to the fact that there isn't any product which stock is
below the minimal stock.
Other example of creation a view is given below.
Create view descProductsOrders as

Select distinct description, unit_price
From products p, ordersproducts op
Where p.cod_product = op.cod_product
order by unit_price DESC
This instruction creates a view with the description and unit price of all products that have
orders submitted. The products in this view are inversed ordered by unit price.
The result after invoking the above view is given in Figure 55.
Figure 55 - Example of creating a view
Page 51
20. SQL Queries - System Data

There are very useful instructions in SQL that can be used to extract environmental data. One
of these situations is the extraction of current date. The approach is different for MySQL, SQL
Server and Oracle. In MySQL we can perform this operation using the approach below.
Other example of creation a view is given below.
SELECT NOW() AS CurrentDateTime

This instruction returns the current date and time.
The same operation can be done in SQL Server using the approach below.
SELECT GETDATE() AS CurrentDateTime

Finally, in Oracle we must invoke the DUAL table. It is a table automatically created by Oracle
Database along with the data dictionary. Selecting from the DUAL table is useful for computing
a constant expression with the SELECT statement. Because DUAL has only one row, the
constant is returned only once.
SELECT TO_CHAR
(SYSDATE, 'MM-DD-YYYY HH24:MI:SS') "NOW"
FROM DUAL;
The result of three previous operations are the same and is depicted in Figure 56.
Figure 56 - Get the date from system
Other common operation is to get the current logged user in the database. This operation has
also different SQL statements for each database. In MySQL this operation can be done as
follows.
SELECT CURRENT_USER() AS CurrentLoggedUser

This instruction returns the current authenticated user.
The same operation can be done in SQL Server using the approach below. In SQL Server
"current user" is seen as a property and not a method.
SELECT CURRENT_USER AS CurrentLoggedUser

Finally, the same operation in Oracle is given below. Like before we need to invoke the DUAL
table.
Page 52
select user from dual;
The result of the above operation is depicted in Figure 57.
Figure 57 - Get the user logged in system
Page 53
Bibliography
Database SQL Developer Supplementary Information for Microsoft SQL Server Migrations.
(n.d.). Retrieved 01 11, 2016, from
https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E10405_01/appdev.120/e10379/ss_oracle_compared.htm
Intro to SQL: Querying and managing data. (n.d.). Retrieved 12 21, 2015, from
https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-programming/sql
Selecting from the DUAL Table. (n.d.). Retrieved 7 12, 2016, from
https://docs.oracle.com/cd/B19306_01/server.102/b14200/queries009.htm
SQL (Structured Query Language). (n.d.). Retrieved 01 10, 2016, from

http://www.ntchosting.com/encyclopedia/databases/structured-query-language/
SQL Basic Query Structure. (n.d.). Retrieved 11 27, 2015, from

http://www.mycms.ca/index.cfm/page/sqlqueries.html
SQL Join. (n.d.). Retrieved 12 11, 2015, from http://www.dofactory.com/sql/join
SQL Tutorial. (n.d.). Retrieved 11 18, 2015, from http://www.w3schools.com/sql/
What is SQL? (n.d.). Retrieved 01 10, 2016, from http://www.sqlcourse.com/intro.html
Page 54
Annex I - Script for MySQL Databases

/* Creation of tables */
(
);

(
zip_code char(8),
);
create table Orders

(
cod_order integer,
date_order date,
date_delivery date,
CONSTRAINT Orders_pk PRIMARY KEY (cod_order),
);

(
cod_order integer,
quantity int(2),
);
/* Insert data into tables */


Values (1, 'Anne');
Page 55
Values (5, 'John');


/* Update data previously recorded in tables */

Update Products
Update Products
Update Products
Update Orders O, Customers C

Set O.date_delivery = '2015-12-29'
Where O.cod_customer = C.cod_customer and C.name='Peter';
/* Delete data from tables */


Where cod_order IN
(Select cod_order
From Orders

(Select cod_product
From Products
Page 56
/* SQL Queries - Basic Structure */
Select *
From Products



From Products;

From Products;
/* SQL Queries - Comparing Strings */





/* SQL Queries - Aggregation Operators */


FROM Products

FROM Products;
Page 57

FROM Products;

FROM Products;
/* SQL Queries - Scalar Functions */

Select UCASE(name) as UPPERName, LCASE(name) as LOWERName
from Customers;

from Customers;

From Products;
/* SQL Queries - Grouping Elements */

From Orders


/* SQL Queries - Ordering Data */

Select *
From Customers
Order By Name;
Select *
From Customers
Order By Name DESC;
/* SQL Queries - Returning Top Elements */

SELECT *
FROM Customers
Order By Name
Limit 3;
/* SQL Queries - Sub-queries */

Select description
From Products
Page 58
From Products);
Select name
From Customers
From Orders
From Orders
From OrdersProducts
/* SQL Queries - Operator "In" and "Exists" */

SELECT *
FROM Orders
SELECT *
FROM Customers
SELECT *
FROM Customers
From Orders);
SELECT *
FROM Customers C
WHERE EXISTS ( SELECT cod_customer
FROM Orders O

FROM Customers C
FROM Orders O
/* SQL Queries - Operator "Any" and "All" */

SELECT description
FROM Products
(SELECT cod_product
FROM OrdersProducts
WHERE Quantity = 1)

From Products
Where available_stock >= ANY (select distinct minimal_stock
From Products);

From Customers

From Products
From Products);
Page 59
/* SQL Queries - Operations with Sets */

Select description
From Products
UNION
Select description
From Products
Select description
From Products
UNION ALL
Select description
From Products
Select description
From Products
Where cod_product > 3 and cod_product > 1;
Select description
From Products
Where cod_product > 1 and cod_product <= 3;
/* SQL Queries - Joins */

FROM Customers C
INNER JOIN Orders O
ORDER BY c.Name;

ORDER BY c.Name;

FROM Customers C
LEFT JOIN Orders O
ORDER BY c.Name;

FROM Orders O

FROM Customers C
LEFT JOIN Orders O ON C.cod_customer = O.cod_customer
UNION
FROM Customers C
RIGHT JOIN Orders O ON C.cod_customer = O.cod_customer;
/* SQL Queries - Views */

From products
Page 60

Select * from descProductsOrders
/* SQL Queries - System Data */

SELECT NOW() AS CurrentDateTime
SELECT CURRENT_USER() AS CurrentLoggedUser
Page 61
Annex II - Script for MS SQL Server Databases

(
);

(
zip_code char(8),
);
create table Orders

(
cod_order integer,
date_order date,
date_delivery date,
);

(
cod_order integer,
quantity decimal(2,0),
);


Values (1, 'Anne');
Page 62
Values (5, 'John');



Update Products
Update Products
Update Products
Update Orders
Where Orders.cod_customer = (Select cod_customer From Customers Where name='Peter');


Where cod_order IN
(Select cod_order
From Orders

(Select cod_product
From Products
Page 63
Select *
From Products



From Products;
select cod_product, description, available_stock%minimal_stock as modResult

From Products;







FROM Products

FROM Products;
Page 64

FROM Products;

FROM Products;

from Customers;
Select name, LEN(name) as SizeName

from Customers;

From Products;

From Orders



Select *
From Customers
Order By Name;
Select *
From Customers
Order By Name DESC;

SELECT Top 3 *
FROM Customers
Order By Name;

Select description
From Products
From Products);
Page 65
Select name
From Customers
From Orders
From Orders
From OrdersProducts

SELECT *
FROM Orders
SELECT *
FROM Customers
SELECT *
FROM Customers
From Orders);
SELECT *
FROM Customers C
WHERE EXISTS ( SELECT cod_customer
FROM Orders O

FROM Customers C
FROM Orders O

SELECT description
FROM Products
(SELECT cod_product
FROM OrdersProducts
WHERE Quantity = 1)

From Products
From Products);

From Customers

From Products
From Products);
Page 66
Select description
From Products
UNION
Select description
From Products
Select description
From Products
UNION ALL
Select description
From Products
Select description
From Products
INTERSECT
Select description
From Products
Select description
From Products
EXCEPT
Select description
From Products

FROM Customers C
INNER JOIN Orders O
ORDER BY c.Name;

FROM Customers C
LEFT JOIN Orders O
ORDER BY c.Name;

FROM Orders O

FROM Customers C
ORDER BY C.Name;

Page 67
From products


SELECT GETDATE() AS CurrentDateTime
SELECT CURRENT_USER AS CurrentLoggedUser
Page 68
Annex III - Script for Oracle Databases

(
);

(
zip_code char(8),
);
create table Orders

(
cod_order integer,
date_order date,
date_delivery date,
);

(
cod_order integer,
quantity number(2),
);


Values (1, 'Anne');
Page 69
Values (5, 'John');



Update Products
Update Products
Update Products
Update Orders
Where Orders.cod_customer = (Select cod_customer From Customers Where name='Peter');


Where cod_order IN
(Select cod_order
From Orders

(Select cod_product
From Products
Page 70
Select *
From Products



From Products;

From Products;







FROM Products

FROM Products;
Page 71

FROM Products;

FROM Products;

from Customers;

from Customers;

From Products;

From Orders



Select *
From Customers
Order By Name;
Select *
From Customers
Order By Name DESC;

SELECT *
FROM Customers
Where RowNum <= 3
Order By Name;

Select description
From Products
Page 72
From Products);
Select name
From Customers
From Orders
From Orders
From OrdersProducts

SELECT *
FROM Orders
SELECT *
FROM Customers
SELECT *
FROM Customers
From Orders);
SELECT *
FROM Customers C
WHERE EXISTS (SELECT cod_customer
FROM Orders O

FROM Customers C
FROM Orders O

SELECT description
FROM Products
(SELECT cod_product
FROM OrdersProducts
WHERE Quantity = 1)

From Products
From Products);

From Customers

From Products
From Products);
Page 73

Select description
From Products
UNION
Select description
From Products
Select description
From Products
UNION ALL
Select description
From Products
Select description
From Products
INTERSECT
Select description
From Products
Select description
From Products
MINUS
Select description
From Products

FROM Customers C
INNER JOIN Orders O
ORDER BY c.Name;

ORDER BY c.Name;

FROM Customers C
LEFT JOIN Orders O
ORDER BY c.Name;

FROM Orders O

FROM Customers C
Page 74
ORDER BY C.Name;

From products


SELECT TO_CHAR
(SYSDATE, 'MM-DD-YYYY HH24:MI:SS') "NOW"
FROM DUAL;
select user from dual;
Page 75
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Practical SQL Guide for Relational Databases

Book · January 2016

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Index of Figures ............................................................................................................................. 4

2. Declaring Tables ...................................................................................................................... 11

3. Insert Data ............................................................................................................................... 14

4. Update Data ............................................................................................................................ 17

6. Remove Tables ........................................................................................................................ 21

7. SQL Queries - Basic Structure .................................................................................................. 22

8. SQL Queries - Comparing Strings ............................................................................................ 26

9. SQL Queries - Aggregation Operators ..................................................................................... 28

10. SQL Queries - Scalar Functions .............................................................................................. 31

11. SQL Queries - Grouping Elements ......................................................................................... 33

12. SQL Queries - Ordering Data ................................................................................................. 35

13. SQL Queries - Returning Top Elements ................................................................................. 36

14. SQL Queries - Sub-queries ..................................................................................................... 37

15. SQL Queries - Operator "In" and "Exists" .............................................................................. 39

17. SQL Queries - Operations with Sets ...................................................................................... 43

18. SQL Queries - Joins ................................................................................................................ 46

19. SQL Queries - Views .............................................................................................................. 51

20. SQL Queries - System Data .................................................................................................... 52

Annex I - Script for MySQL Databases ......................................................................................... 55

Annex II - Script for MS SQL Server Databases............................................................................ 62

Annex III - Script for Oracle Databases ........................................................................................ 69

DCL - Data Control Language

DDL - Data Definition Language

DML - Data Modeling Language

SQL - Structured Query Language

Oracle - object-relational database management system produced and marketed by Oracle

 Queries - a query retrieves data, based on a given criteria;

Products (cod_product, description, unit_price, available_stock, minimal_stock)

Orders (cod_order, date_order, date_delivery, cod_customer -> Customers)

OrdersProducts (cod_product -> Products, cod_order -> Orders, quantity)

Customers (cod_customer, name, address, zip code, country, telephone)

 MS SQL Server 2014;

 Oracle Database 11g Release 2.

1.3 Book Structure

 Chapter 5 "Delete Data" - presents the syntax to delete information stored in a

 "Bibliography" - presents the adopted bibliography for this book;

create table Products

create table Customers

create table OrdersProducts

create table OrdersProducts

Finally another change was performed to make it work in Oracle databases.

create table OrdersProducts

Insert Into Products (cod_product, description, unit_price)

Figure 1 - Contents of table Products

Figure 2 - Contents of table Customers

Insert Into Orders Values (1, '2015-12-21', '2015-12-21', 1);

The contents of the table "Orders" is given in Figure 3.

Figure 3 - Contents of table Orders

Insert Into OrdersProducts Values (1, 1, 1);

Figure 4 - Contents of table OrdersProducts

In the second situation we will update two fields simultaneously.