STRUCTURED DATA
Accessing structured data with SQL is quite different from the full text search of documents on
the Web. Structured data in the relational model means data that can be represented in tables --
rows and columns. Each row in a table represents a different object, and the columns represent
various "attributes" of the object. The columns have names and integrity constraints that specify
valid values.
Since the column values are named and are represented in a consistent format, you can select
rows very precisely, based on their contents. This is especially helpful in dealing with numeric
data. You can also join together data from different tables, based on matching column values.
You can do useful types of analysis, listing objects that are in one table and missing (or present,
or have specific attributes) from a related table. You can extract from a large table precisely
those rows of interest, regrouping them and generating simple statistics on them.
This document contains examples of:
creating a table
creating a view
inserting rows
updating rows
deleting rows
commit -- making changes permanent
rollback -- undoing temporary changes
enforcing integrity constraints
using an Embedded C program
INTERACTIVE SQL EXAMPLES
create a table to store information about weather observation stations:
-- No duplicate ID fields allowed
CREATE TABLE STATION
(ID INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
CITY CHAR(20),
STATE CHAR(2),
LAT_N REAL,
LONG_W REAL);
populate the table STATION with a few rows:
INSERT INTO STATION VALUES (13, 'Phoenix', 'AZ', 33, 112);
INSERT INTO STATION VALUES (44, 'Denver', 'CO', 40, 105);
INSERT INTO STATION VALUES (66, 'Caribou', 'ME', 47, 68);
query to look at table STATION in undefined order:
SELECT * FROM STATION;
ID CITY STATE LAT_N LONG_W
13 Phoenix AZ 33 112
44 Denver CO 40 105
66 Caribou ME 47 68
query to select Northern stations (Northern latitude > 39.7):
-- selecting only certain rows is called a "restriction".
SELECT * FROM STATION
WHERE LAT_N > 39.7;
ID CITY STATE LAT_N LONG_W
44 Denver CO 40 105
66 Caribou ME 47 68
query to select only ID, CITY, and STATE columns:
-- selecting only certain columns is called a "projection".
SELECT ID, CITY, STATE FROM STATION;
ID CITY STATE
13 Phoenix AZ
44 Denver CO
66 Caribou ME
query to both "restrict" and "project":
SELECT ID, CITY, STATE FROM STATION
WHERE LAT_N > 39.7;
ID CITY STATE
44 Denver CO
66 Caribou ME
create another table to store normalized temperature and precipitation data:
-- ID field must match some STATION table ID
(so name and location will be known).
-- allowable ranges will be enforced for other values.
-- no duplicate ID and MONTH combinations.
-- temperature is in degrees Fahrenheit.
-- rainfall is in inches.
CREATE TABLE STATS
(ID INTEGER REFERENCES STATION(ID),
MONTH INTEGER CHECK (MONTH BETWEEN 1 AND 12),
TEMP_F REAL CHECK (TEMP_F BETWEEN -80 AND 150),
RAIN_I REAL CHECK (RAIN_I BETWEEN 0 AND 100),
PRIMARY KEY (ID, MONTH));
populate the table STATS with some statistics for January and July:
INSERT INTO STATS VALUES (13, 1, 57.4, 0.31);
INSERT INTO STATS VALUES (13, 7, 91.7, 5.15);
INSERT INTO STATS VALUES (44, 1, 27.3, 0.18);
INSERT INTO STATS VALUES (44, 7, 74.8, 2.11);
INSERT INTO STATS VALUES (66, 1, 6.7, 2.10);
INSERT INTO STATS VALUES (66, 7, 65.8, 4.52);
query to look at table STATS in undefined order:
SELECT * FROM STATS;
ID MONTH TEMP_F RAIN_I
13 1 57.4 .31
13 7 91.7 5.15
44 1 27.3 .18
44 7 74.8 2.11
66 1 6.7 2.1
66 7 65.8 4.52
query to look at table STATS, picking up location information by joining with table
STATION on the ID column:
-- matching two tables on a common column is called a "join".
-- the column names often match, but this is not required.
-- only the column values are required to match.
SELECT * FROM STATION, STATS
WHERE STATION.ID = STATS.ID;
ID CITY ST LAT_N LONG_W ID MONTH TEMP_F RAIN_I
13 Phoenix AZ 33 112 13 1 57.4 .31
13 Phoenix AZ 33 112 13 7 91.7 5.15
44 Denver CO 40 105 44 1 27.3 .18
44 Denver CO 40 105 44 7 74.8 2.11
66 Caribou ME 47 68 66 1 6.7 2.1
66 Caribou ME 47 68 66 7 65.8 4.52
query to look at the table STATS, ordered by month and greatest rainfall, with columns
rearranged:
SELECT MONTH, ID, RAIN_I, TEMP_F
FROM STATS
ORDER BY MONTH, RAIN_I DESC;
MONTH ID RAIN_I TEMP_F
1 66 2.1 6.7
1 13 .31 57.4
1 44 .18 27.3
7 13 5.15 91.7
7 66 4.52 65.8
7 44 2.11 74.8
query to look at temperatures for July from table STATS, lowest temperatures first,
picking up city name and latitude by joining with table STATION on the ID column:
SELECT LAT_N, CITY, TEMP_F
FROM STATS, STATION
WHERE MONTH = 7
AND STATS.ID = STATION.ID
ORDER BY TEMP_F;
LAT_N CITY TEMP_F
47 Caribou 65.8
40 Denver 74.8
33 Phoenix 91.7
query to show MAX and MIN temperatures as well as average rainfall for each station:
SELECT MAX(TEMP_F), MIN(TEMP_F), AVG(RAIN_I), ID
FROM STATS
GROUP BY ID;
MAX(TEMP_F) MIN(TEMP_F) AVG(RAIN_I) ID
91.7 57.4 2.73 13
74.8 27.3 1.145 44
65.8 6.7 3.31 66
query (with subquery) to show stations with year-round average temperature above 50
degrees:
-- rows are selected from the STATION table based on related values in the STATS table.
SELECT * FROM STATION
WHERE 50 < (SELECT AVG(TEMP_F) FROM STATS
WHERE STATION.ID = STATS.ID);
ID CITY ST LAT_N LONG_W
13 Phoenix AZ 33 112
44 Denver CO 40 105
create a view (derived table or persistent query) to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius and
inches to centimeters:
CREATE VIEW METRIC_STATS (ID, MONTH, TEMP_C, RAIN_C) AS
SELECT ID,
MONTH,
(TEMP_F - 32) * 5 /9,
RAIN_I * 0.3937
FROM STATS;
query to look at table STATS in a metric light (through the new view):
SELECT * FROM METRIC_STATS;
ID MONTH TEMP_C RAIN_C
13 1 14.1111111 .122047
13 7 33.1666667 2.027555
44 1 -2.6111111 .070866
44 7 23.7777778 .830707
66 1 -14.055556 .82677
66 7 18.7777778 1.779524
another metric query restricted to January below-freezing (0 Celsius) data, sorted on
rainfall:
SELECT * FROM METRIC_STATS
WHERE TEMP_C < 0 AND MONTH = 1
ORDER BY RAIN_C;
ID MONTH TEMP_C RAIN_C
44 1 -2.6111111 .070866
66 1 -14.055556 .82677
Interactive SQL Update Examples
update all rows of table STATS to compensate for faulty rain gauges known to read 0.01
inches low:
UPDATE STATS SET RAIN_I = RAIN_I + 0.01;
and take a look:
SELECT * FROM STATS;
ID MONTH TEMP_F RAIN_I
13 1 57.4 .32
13 7 91.7 5.16
44 1 27.3 .19
44 7 74.8 2.12
66 1 6.7 2.11
66 7 65.8 4.53
update one row, Denver's July temperature reading, to correct a data entry error:
UPDATE STATS SET TEMP_F = 74.9
WHERE ID = 44
AND MONTH = 7;
and take a look:
SELECT * FROM STATS;
ID MONTH TEMP_F RAIN_I
13 1 57.4 .32
13 7 91.7 5.16
44 1 27.3 .19
44 7 74.9 2.12
66 1 6.7 2.11
66 7 65.8 4.53
make the above changes permanent:
-- they were only temporary until now.
COMMIT WORK;
update two rows, Denver's rainfall readings:
UPDATE STATS SET RAIN_I = 4.50
WHERE ID = 44;
and take a look:
SELECT * FROM STATS;
ID MONTH TEMP_F RAIN_I
13 1 57.4 .32
13 7 91.7 5.16
44 1 27.3 4.5
44 7 74.9 4.5
66 1 6.7 2.11
66 7 65.8 4.53
Oops! We meant to update just the July reading! Undo that update:
-- undoes only updates since the last COMMIT WORK.
ROLLBACK WORK;
and take a look:
SELECT * FROM STATS;
ID MONTH TEMP_F RAIN_I
13 1 57.4 .32
13 7 91.7 5.16
44 1 27.3 .19
44 7 74.9 2.12
66 1 6.7 2.11
66 7 65.8 4.53
now update Denver's July rainfall reading and make it permanent:
UPDATE STATS SET RAIN_I = 4.50
WHERE ID = 44
AND MONTH = 7;
COMMIT WORK;
and take a look:
SELECT * FROM STATS;
ID MONTH TEMP_F RAIN_I
13 1 57.4 .32
13 7 91.7 5.16
44 1 27.3 .19
44 7 74.9 4.5
66 1 6.7 2.11
66 7 65.8 4.53
delete July data and East Coast data from both tables:
-- note that we use longitude values from the related STATION table to determine which STAT
stations were east of 90 degrees.
DELETE FROM STATS
WHERE MONTH = 7
OR ID IN (SELECT ID FROM STATION
WHERE LONG_W < 90);
DELETE FROM STATION WHERE LONG_W < 90;
COMMIT WORK;
and take a look:
SELECT * FROM STATION;
ID CITY ST LAT_N LONG_W
13 Phoenix AZ 33 112
44 Denver CO 40 105
SELECT * FROM STATS;
ID MONTH TEMP_F RAIN_I
13 1 57.4 .32
44 1 27.3 .19
View METRIC_STATS, a Fahrenheit-to-Centigrade and inches-to-centimeters conversion
of table STATS, reflects the updates made to the underlying table.
SELECT * FROM METRIC_STATS;
ID MONTH TEMP_C RAIN_C
13 1 14.1111111 .125984
44 1 -2.6111111 .074803
SQL Constraints
SQL enforces data integrity constraints.
Attempt to insert a row for an unknown observation station.
-- The ID value of 33 does not match a station ID value in the STATION table.
-- This is a violation of referential integrity.
INSERT INTO STATS VALUES (33,8,27.4,.19);
error message
violation of constraint STATS_FOREIGN1 caused operation to fail
Attempt to update a row with a temperature below the range -80 TO 150.
UPDATE STATS SET TEMP_F = -100 WHERE ID = 44 AND MONTH = 1;
error message
violation of constraint STATS_CHECK2 caused operation to fail
Attempt to insert a row with negative rainfall measurement, outside the range 0 to 100.
INSERT INTO STATS VALUES (44,8,27.4,-.03);
error message
violation of constraint STATS_CHECK3 caused operation to fail
Attempt to insert a row with month 13, outside the range of 1 to 12.
INSERT INTO STATS VALUES (44,13,27.4,.19);
error message
violation of constraint STATS_CHECK1 caused operation to fail
Attempt to insert a row with a temperature above the range -80 TO 150.
INSERT INTO STATS VALUES (44,8,160,.19);
error message
violation of constraint STATS_CHECK2 caused operation to fail
Attempt to insert a row with no constraint violations.
INSERT INTO STATS VALUES (44,8,27.4,.10);
status message
1 row inserted
and take a look:
SELECT * FROM STATS;
ID MONTH TEMP_F RAIN_I
44 8 27.4 .10
13 1 57.4 .32
44 1 27.3 .19
Attempt to insert a second row of August statistics for station 44.
-- This is a violation of the primary key constraint.
-- Only one row for each station and month combination is allowed.
INSERT INTO STATS VALUES (44,8,160,.19);
error message
violation of constraint STATS_PRIMARY_ID_MONTH caused operation to fail
Embedded SQL C Program Example
Embedded C program to do the following:
Starting with a station name (Denver, in this example), look up the station ID.
Print the station ID.
List all rows for that station ID.
shows single-row select and use of cursor
note that all C-language variables used in SQL statements are declared in the DECLARE
SECTION.
note that all SQL statements begin with the syntax EXEC SQL and terminate with a
semicolon.
#include<stdio.h>
#include<string.h>
EXEC SQL BEGIN DECLARE SECTION;
long station_id;
long mon;
float temp;
float rain;
char city_name[21];
long SQLCODE;
EXEC SQL END DECLARE SECTION;
main()
{
/* the CONNECT statement, if needed, goes here */
strcpy(city_name,"Denver");
EXEC SQL SELECT ID INTO :station_id
FROM STATION
WHERE CITY = :city_name;
if (SQLCODE == 100)
{
printf("There is no station for city %s\n",city_name);
exit(0);
}
printf("For the city %s, Station ID is %ld\n",city_name,station_id);
printf("And here is the weather data:\n");
EXEC SQL DECLARE XYZ CURSOR FOR
SELECT MONTH, TEMP_F, RAIN_I
FROM STATS
WHERE ID = :station_id
ORDER BY MONTH;
EXEC SQL OPEN XYZ;
while (SQLCODE != 100) {
EXEC SQL FETCH XYZ INTO :mon, :temp, :rain;
if (SQLCODE == 100)
printf("end of list\n");
else
printf("month = %ld, temperature = %f, rainfall = %f\n",mon,temp,rain);
}
EXEC SQL CLOSE XYZ;
exit(0);
}
Execution log:
For the city Denver, Station ID is 44
And here is the weather data:
month = 1, temperature = 27.299999, rainfall = 0.180000
month = 7, temperature = 74.800003, rainfall = 2.110000
end of list
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