SQL statements: Listing Unique Values

SQL’s DISTINCT clause is used to produce a list

of only those values that are different from
one another.
Syntax:
SELECT DISTINCT <attribute>
FROM <tablename>;
 Aggregate functions in SQL
• SQL can perform various mathematical
summaries for you, such as counting the
number of rows that contain a specified
condition, finding the minimum or maximum
values for some specified attribute, summing
the values in a specified column, and
averaging the values in a specified column.
 Aggregate functions: COUNT
COUNT - it is used to tally the number of non-null values
of an attribute.
Syntax:
SELECT count <attributes>
FROM <tablename>
WHERE <conditionlist>
When used to count unique non-null values.
Syntax:
SELECT count <DISTINCT attribute>
FROM <tablename>
WHERE <conditionlist>
Aggregate functions: MAX and MIN
MAX and MIN
• The MAX and MIN functions help you find
answers to problems such as the:
– Highest (maximum) price in the PRODUCT table.
– Lowest (minimum) price in the PRODUCT table.
Syntax:
SELECT <MAX(attribute1)>
FROM <tablename>
WHERE <conditionlist>
 MAX and MIN cont…
Why is this query wrong?
SELECT *
FROM product
WHERE p_price = MAX(p_price);
Only one parameter is expected to the right of the
equals sign.
Solution:
Compute the maximum price first, then compare it
to each price returned by the query. This is
known as a nested query.
Aggregate functions: SUM and AVG
SUM syntax:
SELECT <SUM(attribute1)> AS <alias>
FROM <tablename>;
AVG syntax:
SELECT <AVG(attribute1)> AS <alias>
FROM <tablename>;
 SQL joins
• Supposing you want to retrieve data from two
different tables?
• All you need is an equality comparison of the
foreign key and the primary key of the two
tables.
 Inner join
Inner join - returns matched records from the
tables that are being joined.
Syntax:
SELECT <attributes>
FROM <table1, table2>
WHERE table1.attributeX = table2.attributeX
 Outer join
• The previous query will exclude any rows which
violates the condition i.e conditions with a null
value at the foreign key. An outer join is used to
include these rows.
• Outer join, the matched pairs would be retained,
and any unmatched values in the other table
would be left null.
• Types of outer joins:
– Left join
– Right join
 Outer join cont..
• Left join syntax:
– SELECT <attribute1,table1.attributeX,attribute2>
– FROM <table1> LEFT JOIN <table2>
– ON table1.attributeX = table2.attributeX;
• Right join syntax:
– SELECT <attribute1,table2.attributeX,attribute2>
– FROM <table1> RIGHT JOIN <table2>
– ON table1.attributeX = table2.attributeX;
 Outer join cont…
• Left and right refers to the tables in the query.
• In the left outer join the matching fields for
the left table will be included in the results i.e
all displayed fields for the left table will have
data whereas some fields belonging to the
right table will be null.
• In the right outer join all the displayed fields
for the right table will have data whereas
some fields in the left table will be null.
 Views
• The output of a relational operator such as
SELECT is another relation(table).
• Suppose it is a routine to get a list of products to
reorder at the end of everyday? It would be
tedious to retype the same query daily.
• Wouldn’t it be better to save the query
permanently to the database?
• A view is a virtual table based on a SELECT query.
• Syntax:
CREATE VIEW <viewname> AS
<SELECT query>
 Characteristics of a view
• It can be used anywhere in an SQL query
where a table name is expected.
• Views are dynamically updated - every time a
view is invoked it retrieves accurate and upto
date information.
• Views provide some level of security in a
database – it restricts the users to specified
columns and specified rows in a relation.
 Indexes
• An index is an orderly arrangement used to
logically access rows in a table. It is used for
faster searching.
• Syntax:
– CREATE INDEX <indexname> ON
<tablename(columnname)>
 Stored procedures
• A stored procedure is a named collection of
procedural and SQL statements that are
stored in a database.
• For example, you can create a stored
procedure to represent a product sale, a
credit update, or the addition of a new
customer. By doing that, you can encapsulate
SQL statements within a single stored
procedure and execute them as a single
transaction.
 Stored procedures cont..
• Advantages of stored procedures:
– Stored procedures substantially reduce network
traffic and increase performance. SQL statements
are stored in the server and thus individual
statements are not transmitted over the network
every time they are invoked.
– Stored procedures help reduce code duplication
by means of code isolation and code sharing
 Stored procedures cont..
Syntax:
CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE procedure_name
[(argument [IN/OUT] data-type, )]
[IS/AS]
[variable_namedata type[:=initial_value] ]
BEGIN
PL/SQL or SQL statements;
...
END;
 Stored procedure syntax cont..
• Argument specifies the parameters that are passed to
the stored procedure. A stored procedure could have
zero or more arguments or parameters.
• IN/OUT indicates whether the parameter is for input,
output, or both.
• Data-type is one of the procedural SQL data types used
in the RDBMS. The data types normally match those
used in the RDBMS table-creation statement.
• Variables can be declared between the keywords IS
and BEGIN. You must specify the variable name, its
data type, and (optionally) an initial value.
 Triggers
• A trigger is procedural SQL code that is
automatically invoked by the RDBMS upon the
occurrence of a given data manipulation event.
– A trigger is invoked before or after a data row is
inserted, updated, or deleted.
– A trigger is associated with a database table.
– Each database table may have one or more triggers.
– A trigger is executed as part of the transaction that
triggered it.
 Triggers cont…
• Triggers are critical to proper database operation
and management, for example:
– Triggers can be used to enforce constraints that
cannot be enforced at the DBMS design and
implementation levels.
– Triggers add functionality by automating critical
actions and providing appropriate warnings and
suggestions
– For remedial action. Triggers can be used to update
table values, insert records in tables, and call other
stored procedures.
 Triggers cont…
• Oracle recommends triggers for:
– Auditing purposes (creating audit logs).
– Automatic generation of derived column values.
– Enforcement of business or security constraints.
– Creation of replica tables for backup purposes.
 Triggers cont…
CREATE OR REPLACE TRIGGER trigger_name
[BEFORE / AFTER] [DELETE / INSERT / UPDATE OF
column_name] ON table_name
[FOR EACH ROW]
[DECLARE]
[variable_namedata type[:=initial_value] ]
BEGIN
SQL instruction1;
SQL instruction2;
...
END;
 Triggers cont…
A trigger definition contains the following parts:
– The triggering timing: BEFORE or AFTER, this indicates
when the trigger’s PL/SQL code executes; in this case,
before or after the triggering statement is completed.
– The triggering event: the statement that causes the
trigger to execute (INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE).
– The triggering level: There are two types of triggers:
statement-level triggers and row-level triggers.
– The triggering action: The PL/SQL code enclosed
between the BEGIN and END keywords.