AV | SQL Syntax Conventions

Was this helpful?

SQL Syntax Conventions

When representing syntax, the following conventions are used in this guide:

Convention	Usage
UPPERCASE	Indicates reserved keywords such as SELECT and WHERE
Monospace	Indicates keywords, symbols, or punctuation that you must enter as shown
Italic < > (angle brackets)	Indicates a variable name for which you must supply an actual value—this convention is used in explanatory text and syntax
[ ] (square brackets)	Indicates an optional item
{ } (curly braces)	Indicates an optional item that you can repeat as many times as appropriate
\| (vertical bar)	Indicates a list of mutually exclusive items (that is, you can select only one item from the list)

The following example illustrates the syntax conventions:

[EXEC SQL] ALTER GROUP group_id {, group_id}

ADD USERS (user_id{, user_id}) | DROP USERS (user_id{, user_id}) | DROP ALL

Explanation:

• [EXEC SQL] is optional and does not need to be included

• ALTER GROUP are reserved keywords (for more information, see Keywords)

• group_id is a variable name for which you must substitute an actual group ID number

• {, group_id} is an optional item that can be repeated (multiple values must be separated by a comma)

• ADD USERS | DROP USERS | DROP ALL are mutually exclusive items—pick and use only one

SQL statement syntax is followed by a term list explaining the keywords, variables, and other values provided in the syntax representation.

Last modified date: 12/12/2024