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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.