Chapter 4

SQL: Data Definition,

Constraints, and Basic
Queries and Updates

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Pearson Addison-Wesley

 Chapter 4 Outline
 SQL Data Definition and Data Types
 Specifying Constraints in SQL
 Basic Retrieval Queries in SQL
 INSERT, DELETE, and UPDATE Statements
in SQL
 Additional Features of SQL

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Basic SQL
 SQL language
 Considered one of the major reasons for the
commercial success of relational databases
 SQL
 Structured Query Language
 Statements for data definitions, queries, and
updates (both DDL and DML)
 Core specification
 Plus specialized extensions

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 SQL Data Definition and Data
Types
 Terminology:
 Table, row, and column used for relational
model terms relation, tuple, and attribute
 CREATE statement
 Main SQL command for data definition

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Schema and Catalog Concepts
in SQL
 SQL schema
 Identified by a schema name
 Includes an authorization identifier and
descriptors for each element
 Schema elements include
 Tables, constraints, views, domains, and other
constructs
 Each statement in SQL ends with a
semicolon
Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe
 Schema and Catalog Concepts
in SQL (cont’d.)
 CREATE SCHEMA statement
 CREATE SCHEMA COMPANY AUTHORIZATION
‘Jsmith’;
 Catalog
 Named collection of schemas in an SQL
environment
 SQL environment
 Installation of an SQL-compliant RDBMS on a
computer system

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

The CREATE TABLE Command
in SQL
 Specify a new relation
 Provide name
 Specify attributes and initial constraints
 Can optionally specify schema:
 CREATE TABLE COMPANY.EMPLOYEE ...
or
 CREATE TABLE EMPLOYEE ...

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

The CREATE TABLE Command
in SQL (cont’d.)
 Base tables (base relations)
 Relation and its tuples are actually created and
stored as a file by the DBMS
 Virtual relations
 Created through the CREATE VIEW statement

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe
Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe
The CREATE TABLE Command
in SQL (cont’d.)
 Some foreign keys may cause errors
 Specified either via:
• Circular references
• Or because they refer to a table that has not yet
been created

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Attribute Data Types and
Domains in SQL
 Basic data types
 Numeric data types
• Integer numbers: INTEGER, INT, and SMALLINT
• Floating-point (real) numbers: FLOAT or REAL, and
DOUBLE PRECISION
 Character-string data types
• Fixed length: CHAR(n), CHARACTER(n)
• Varying length: VARCHAR(n), CHAR
VARYING(n), CHARACTER VARYING(n)

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Attribute Data Types and
Domains in SQL (cont’d.)
 Bit-string data types
• Fixed length: BIT(n)
• Varying length: BIT VARYING(n)
 Boolean data type
• Values of TRUE or FALSE or NULL
 DATE data type
• Ten positions
• Components are YEAR, MONTH, and DAY in the
form YYYY-MM-DD

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Attribute Data Types and
Domains in SQL (cont’d.)
 Additional data types
 Timestamp data type (TIMESTAMP)
• Includes the DATE and TIME fields
• Plus a minimum of six positions for decimal fractions
of seconds
• Optional WITH TIME ZONE qualifier
 INTERVAL data type
• Specifies a relative value that can be used to
increment or decrement an absolute value of a date,
time, or timestamp

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Attribute Data Types and
Domains in SQL (cont’d.)
 Domain
 Name used with the attribute specification
 Makes it easier to change the data type for a
domain that is used by numerous attributes
 Improves schema readability
 Example:
• CREATE DOMAIN SSN_TYPE AS CHAR(9);

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Specifying Constraints in SQL
 Basic constraints:
 Key and referential integrity constraints
 Restrictions on attribute domains and NULLs
 Constraints on individual tuples within a
relation

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Specifying Attribute Constraints
and Attribute Defaults
 NOT NULL
 NULL is not permitted for a particular attribute
 Default value
 DEFAULT <value>
 CHECK clause
 Dnumber INT NOT NULL CHECK (Dnumber
> 0 AND Dnumber < 21);

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe
 Specifying Key and Referential
Integrity Constraints
 PRIMARY KEY clause
 Specifies one or more attributes that make up
the primary key of a relation
 Dnumber INT PRIMARY KEY;
 UNIQUE clause
 Specifies alternate (secondary) keys
 Dname VARCHAR(15) UNIQUE;

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Specifying Key and Referential
Integrity Constraints (cont’d.)
 FOREIGN KEY clause
 Default operation: reject update on violation
 Attach referential triggered action clause
• Options include SET NULL, CASCADE, and SET
DEFAULT
• Action taken by the DBMS for SET NULL or SET
DEFAULT is the same for both ON DELETE and ON
UPDATE
• CASCADE option suitable for “relationship” relations

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Giving Names to Constraints
 Keyword CONSTRAINT
 Name a constraint
 Useful for later altering

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

Specifying Constraints on Tuples
Using CHECK
 CHECK clauses at the end of a CREATE
TABLE statement
 Apply to each tuple individually
 CHECK (Dept_create_date <=
Mgr_start_date);

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Basic Retrieval Queries in SQL
 SELECT statement
 One basic statement for retrieving information
from a database
 SQL allows a table to have two or more
tuples that are identical in all their attribute
values
 Unlike relational model
 Multiset or bag behavior

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 The SELECT-FROM-WHERE
Structure of Basic SQL Queries
 Basic form of the SELECT statement:

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 The SELECT-FROM-WHERE
Structure of Basic SQL Queries
(cont’d.)
 Logical comparison operators
 =, <, <=, >, >=, and <>
 Projection attributes
 Attributes whose values are to be retrieved
 Selection condition
 Boolean condition that must be true for any
retrieved tuple

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe
Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe
 Ambiguous Attribute Names
 Same name can be used for two (or more)
attributes
 As long as the attributes are in different
relations
 Must qualify the attribute name with the
relation name to prevent ambiguity

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Aliasing, Renaming, and Tuple
Variables
 Aliases or tuple variables
 Declare alternative relation names E and S
 EMPLOYEE AS E(Fn, Mi, Ln, Ssn, Bd,
Addr, Sex, Sal, Sssn, Dno)

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Unspecified WHERE Clause
and Use of the Asterisk
 Missing WHERE clause
 Indicates no condition on tuple selection
 CROSS PRODUCT
 All possible tuple combinations

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Unspecified WHERE Clause
and Use of the Asterisk (cont’d.)
 Specify an asterisk (*)
 Retrieve all the attribute values of the selected
tuples

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Tables as Sets in SQL
 SQL does not automatically eliminate
duplicate tuples in query results
 Use the keyword DISTINCT in the SELECT
clause
 Only distinct tuples should remain in the result

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Tables as Sets in SQL (cont’d.)
 Set operations
 UNION, EXCEPT (difference), INTERSECT
 Corresponding multiset operations: UNION
ALL, EXCEPT ALL, INTERSECT ALL)

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Substring Pattern Matching and
Arithmetic Operators
 LIKE comparison operator
 Used for string pattern matching
 % replaces an arbitrary number of zero or more
characters
 underscore (_) replaces a single character
 Standard arithmetic operators:
 Addition (+), subtraction (–), multiplication (*),
and division (/)
 BETWEEN comparison operator
Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe
 Ordering of Query Results
 Use ORDER BY clause
 Keyword DESC to see result in a descending
order of values
 Keyword ASC to specify ascending order
explicitly
 ORDER BY D.Dname DESC, E.Lname ASC,
E.Fname ASC

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Discussion and Summary
of Basic SQL Retrieval Queries

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

INSERT, DELETE, and UPDATE
Statements in SQL
 Three commands used to modify the
database:
 INSERT, DELETE, and UPDATE

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 The INSERT Command
 Specify the relation name and a list of
values for the tuple

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 The DELETE Command
 Removes tuples from a relation
 Includes a WHERE clause to select the tuples to
be deleted

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 The UPDATE Command
 Modify attribute values of one or more
selected tuples
 Additional SET clause in the UPDATE
command
 Specifies attributes to be modified and new
values

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Additional Features of SQL
 Techniques for specifying complex retrieval
queries
 Writing programs in various programming
languages that include SQL statements
 Set of commands for specifying physical
database design parameters, file structures
for relations, and access paths
 Transaction control commands

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Additional Features of SQL
(cont’d.)
 Specifying the granting and revoking of
privileges to users
 Constructs for creating triggers
 Enhanced relational systems known as
object-relational
 New technologies such as XML and OLAP

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe

 Summary
 SQL
 Comprehensive language
 Data definition, queries, updates, constraint
specification, and view definition
 Covered in Chapter 4:
 Data definition commands for creating tables
 Commands for constraint specification
 Simple retrieval queries
 Database update commands

Copyright © 2011 Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant Navathe