Sql in a nutshell: a desktop quick reference 4th edition, kevin kline, regina obe, leo hsu

For programmers, analysts, and database administrators, this Nutshell guide is the essential reference for the SQL language used in today's most popular database products. This new fourth edition clearly documents SQL commands according to the latest ANSI/ISO standard and details how those commands are implemented in Microsoft SQL Server 2019 and Oracle 19c, as well as in the MySQL 8, MariaDB 10.5, and PostgreSQL 14 open source database products. \n \nYou'll also get a concise overview of the relational database management system (RDBMS) model and a clear-cut explanation of foundational RDBMS concepts--all packed into a succinct, comprehensive, and easy-to-use format. \n \nSections include: \n \n - Background on the relational database model, including current and previous SQL standards \n - Fundamental concepts necessary for understanding relational databases and SQL commands \n - An alphabetical command reference to SQL statements, according to the SQL:2016 ANSI standard \n - The implementation of each command by MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server \n - An alphabetical reference of the ANSI SQL:2016 functions and constructs as well as the vendor implementations \n - Platform-specific functions unique to each implementation \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nWho Should Read This Book? \n \nSQL in a Nutshell, 4th edition, targets several groups of users. It will be useful for developers who require a concise and handy SQL reference tool; for developers who need to migrate from one SQL dialect to another; and for database administrators (DBAs) who need to both execute a myriad of SQL statements to keep their enterprise databases up and running, and to create and manage objects such as tables, indexes, and views. \n \nThis book is a reference work, not a tutorial. The writing is not expository. For example, we won’t explain the concept of an elementary nested loop algorithm. Instead, we will explain the workings of the cursor as implemented in the standards, then special capabilities of cursors on each database platform. We include advice, based on experience, on how to avoid and circumvent pitfalls when using cursors. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n While we don’t intend this book to serve as a tutorial on SQL or a handbook for the database architect, we do provide some coverage of introductory design topics. Chapters 1 and 2 provide a concise introduction to the language itself, covering essential structures, basic usage, and some history. If you’re new to SQL, these two chapters will help you get going. \n Why This Book? \n The primary and definitive source of information for any given relational database package is the official documentation, along with help files, tutorials, advisories, and other tidbits provided by the vendors themselves. But while each vendor’s documentation should be the resource that developers and database administrators turn to first, official documentation has a number of limitations: \n \n \n - It describes the vendor’s implementation of SQL without providing an indication of how well that implementation meets the SQL standard. \n - It covers only the vendor’s specific product, without discussing potential translation, migration, or integration issues across different vendors. \n - It covers individual commands in often unrelenting detail, thereby obscuring the most common use cases. \n - It typically describes programming methods in an overwhelming number of disconnected articles or help files. \n \n A vendor’s official documentation can be expected to provide an exhaustive explanation of every aspect of their offering. It will describe every command, including each obscure variant, along with some implementation guidance. Subjective commentaries are off-limits. However, if you move between data platforms and need to be productive quickly, you will rarely need this level of detail on all the obscure command variations. Instea