Guide to SQL Standard, A (4th Edition) [Paperback]

C. J. Date (Author), Hugh Darwen (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0201964260 | ISBN-13: 978-0201964264 | Publication Date: November 18, 1996 | Edition: 4

The SQL language has established itself as the linqua franca database management; it provides the basis for systems interoperability, application portability, client/server operation, distributed database, and more, and is supported by just about every DBMS on the market today. SQL2 - or, to give it its official name, the International Standard Database language SQL (1992) - represents a major set of extensions to the earlier SQL standard. For a start, the new specification is well over 600 pages, compared with less than 100 for the original version. No database professional can afford to ignore it. Features *Thorough revision of the official ANSI standard for SQL. *Covers all important new SQL2 features including extensive integrity support, powerful new operators, national and international character data support and comprehensive date and time support. *Continues the tradition of careful, clear, and accurate explanations of complex technical material Features New to this Edition *Covers extensive integrity support, powerful new operators, national and international character data support, all features of SQL2; comprehensive date and time support and clear explanation of the complexitites of Dynamic SQL, all features of SQL2. *Provides first tutorial treatment available anywhere of the brand new and dramatically extended version of SQL known informally as SQL2 or SQL/92. 0201964260B04062001

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Several changes have occurred in the SQL standards world since the previous edition of this book was published. First of all, a major new component, the Call-Level Interface (SQL/CLI), was added to the standard in 1995. Second, another major new component, the Persistent Stored Modules feature (SQL/PSM), is currently under development (and indeed nearing completion); SQL/PSM is not yet part of the standard but is virtually certain to become so in the near future. Third, the original standard itself has been significantly changed and corrected through the publication of two Technical Corrigenda, one in 1994 and one in 1996. Taken together, these changes are more than sufficient to justify this new (fourth) edition. At the same time, I have taken the opportunity to extend and improve the text throughout in numerous ways, and in particular to correct a few errors. It is not an exaggeration to say that scarcely a sentence survives intact from the third edition. Acknowledgments

Once again I must thank my coauthor Hugh Darwen for his invaluable contribution (especially in connection with the SQL/PSM and SQL3 appendixes). I would also like to thank Paul Cotton and Frank Pellow for their help with the material on SQL/CLI; Peter Pistor for pointing out an error in the treatment of foreign keys in the previous edition; Mike Sykes for assistance with questions regarding SQL's date and time support (especially in connection with time zones); and Mel Zimowski for assistance with questions regarding SQL's "global transaction" support. I am also indebted to Nelson Mattos, Frank Pellow, and Jeff Richey for their careful reviews of the manuscript.

Finally, I am (as always) deeply indebted to my wife, Lindy, for her support throughout this project; to my editor, Elydia Davis, for her usual sterling job; and to the staff at Addison-Wesley for their usual help and professionalism. Once again it has been a pleasure to work with them. Healdsburg, California
C. J. Date
1996 0201964260P04062001

From the Back Cover

The SQL language has established itself as the linqua franca database management; it provides the basis for systems interoperability, application portability, client/server operation, distributed database, and more, and is supported by just about every DBMS on the market today. SQL2 - or, to give it its official name, the International Standard Database language SQL (1992) - represents a major set of extensions to the earlier SQL standard. For a start, the new specification is well over 600 pages, compared with less than 100 for the original version. No database professional can afford to ignore it.

Features

• Thorough revision of the official ANSI standard for SQL.
• Covers all important new SQL2 features including extensive integrity support, powerful new operators, national and international character data support and comprehensive date and time support.
• Continues the tradition of careful, clear, and accurate explanations of complex technical material

Features New to this Edition

• Covers extensive integrity support, powerful new operators, national and international character data support, all features of SQL2; comprehensive date and time support and clear explanation of the complexitites of Dynamic SQL, all features of SQL2.
• Provides first tutorial treatment available anywhere of the brand new and dramatically extended version of SQL known informally as SQL2 or SQL/92.

0201964260B04062001

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional; 4 edition (November 18, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201964260
• ISBN-13: 978-0201964264
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,179,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This is not a "How to...." book, March 2, 2000

By 

Joseph E. Swanson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guide to SQL Standard, A (4th Edition) (Paperback)

For beginners, this book can be a complete nightmare. It reminded me of the dreary, theory laden texts of my college days more than anything. If you want to know not just how but why SQL works like it does, then this is the book for you, and you will be very happy with it. If you're looking for a reference book to support your existing SQL knowledge, then this book can serve that purpose also. However, if you're looking for something to learn SQL from at the beginner's level, this book is not for you. It is not specific to any database, lacks examples or tutorials, and speaks at the level of someone who has SQL experience.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for any database developer, August 22, 1998

By 

Branimir Dolicki ([e-mail]) (Zagreb, Croatia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guide to SQL Standard, A (4th Edition) (Paperback)

With so many different DBMS products on the market it is very important to be able to write database applications easily portable from one to another. The key to this portability is writing in compliance to the ISO/ANSI SQL standard. This book has been able to answer almost every my question! I can hardly say that for any other computer book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Rather narrow in scope, and for experts only, December 30, 2000

By 

"arftu" (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guide to SQL Standard, A (4th Edition) (Paperback)

If you are looking for a book that will take you through the SQL standard, explaining what each part means and how to use each feature, then you need to look elsewhere. If you are an expert SQL user, and interested in some of the intimate detail of the standard, for example the way time and dates work, and why they work the way they do, this may well be the book for you, but it?s still expensive for the number of pages. If you known the basics well already, and want to become a power SQL user, then I?d recommend Joe Celko's SQL for Smarties