Many RDBMSs implement IF EXISTS and IF NOT EXISTS syntax modifiers that can be used with DDL object creation, modification, and deletion, such as CREATE TABLE and DROP TABLE statements, to name just a couple.
These syntax modifiers allow us to run such statements without getting an error in the event that the object already exists (if we’re trying to create it or modify it) or doesn’t exist (if we’re trying to drop it).
Continue readingMany RDBMSs have a LIMIT clause that allows us to limit the rows returned by a query to a specified number. SQL Server doesn’t have a LIMIT clause but it does have a TOP() function that allows us to do the same thing.
But Oracle Database has neither.
Fortunately, Oracle does have a number of options that allow us to get the same result.
Continue readingIn Oracle Database, we can use the OFFSET clause to make a SELECT statement skip a certain number of rows in its result set.
The OFFSET clause is defined as part of the FETCH row limiting clause, which allows us to limit the number of rows returned by a query.
We can therefore use both OFFSET and FETCH to limit the output to just the specified number or percentage of rows, at a specified offset.
Oracle Database has a FETCH clause that allows us to limit the number of rows returned by a SELECT statement.
We can use this clause to specify the exact number of rows or the percentage of rows that a query should return. We can also specify an offset for which to start.
Continue readingWhen creating a table with SQL, we can specify that the table is only to be created if it doesn’t already exist. Doing this prevents any errors from occurring in the event that the table already exists.
Here are some examples of doing this in various RDBMSs.
Continue readingWhen working with SQL, we can use the INSERT statement to insert a new row into a table. But what if we want to insert more than one row?
Fortunately, we can still use the INSERT statement. Below is a quick example that inserts multiple rows using SQL.
We can use the SQL INSERT statement to insert a row into a table. We can also use it to insert more than one row.
Below are seven ways to insert multiple rows into a table in SQL. Most of these examples should work in the major RDBMSs, with the possible exception of Oracle. But no worries, I’ve included an example just for Oracle.
Continue readingIf we need to add a virtual column to an existing table in Oracle Database, we can do so with the usual SQL ALTER TABLE statement.
Below are examples of using SQL to return the first day of the month across various DBMSs.
This could be the first day of the current month, or the first day of a month based on a given date.
Continue readingThe following examples use SQL to delete duplicate rows that have a primary key or unique identifier column.
Specifically, the examples delete all duplicates except one. So for example, in the case of three identical rows, it deletes two of them and keeps one.
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