Mimer SQL Statements

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Mimer SQL is a language made up of a number of different statements, which may be divided into the following basic categories:

• Data definition statements
• Access Control Statements
• Data manipulation statements
• Connection statements
• Transaction control statements
• Database administration statements

The SQL statements are described in detail in subsequent chapters of this manual and in the Mimer SQL Reference Manual, SQL Statement Descriptions.

In addition, there is a set of commands specific to the BSQL environment, for managing output formatting and so on, see Mimer BSQL.

Note: In Mimer BSQL, statements are terminated by a semicolon (;). This is not part of the SQL statement syntax, but is included in the examples in this manual.

Data Definition Statements

Data definition statements are used to maintain objects in a database. For example:

• CREATE, creates objects
• ALTER, modifies objects
• DROP, drops objects
• COMMENT, documents objects.

Access Control Statements

Access Control Statements are used to manage privileges. For example:

• GRANT grants privileges
• REVOKE revokes privileges.

Data Manipulation Statements

Data manipulation statements are used to examine and change data in the database. For example:

• SELECT retrieves data
• INSERT adds new rows to tables
• UPDATE changes data in existing rows
• DELETE deletes data
• CALL executes procedures
• SET value assignment.

Connection Statements

Connection statements are used to connect and disconnect user and program idents to or from the database. For example:

• CONNECT connects a user ident to the database
• DISCONNECT disconnects a user ident from the database
• SET CONNECTION changes the active database connection
• ENTER enters a PROGRAM ident
• LEAVE leaves a PROGRAM ident.

Transaction Control Statements

Transaction control statements are used to control when database transactions begin and end, and when updates take effect. For example:

• SET TRANSACTION sets transaction options for subsequent transactions
• SET SESSION sets the default transaction options for the session
• START starts a transaction build-up
• COMMIT commits the current transaction
• ROLLBACK abandons the current transaction.

Database Administration Statements

Database administration statements are used to manage backup/restore operations and the statistical information used to optimize queries. For example:

• CREATE BACKUP creates a backup copy of a databank, with an optional incremental backup. Incremental backups may also be taken on their own with the statement CREATE INCREMENTAL BACKUP
• ALTER DATABANK, the RESTORE variant of this statement recovers a databank from incremental backup information
• SET DATABASE sets the database ONLINE or OFFLINE
• SET DATABANK sets a databank ONLINE or OFFLINE
• SET SHADOW sets one or more shadows ONLINE or OFFLINE
• UPDATE STATISTICS updates the statistical information used for query optimization. DELETE STATISTICS deletes the statistical information.

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