Summary of SQL and SQL*Plus
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Introduction to Oracle: SQL and PL/SQL Using Procedure Builder17Ć2
Column
Table
Foreign Key
Row
Primary Key
Summary of SQL and SQL*Plus 17Ć3
Summary of SQL and SQL*Plus
The SQL and SQL*Plus module of the Introduction to Oracle course covered
relational database concepts, the SQL command language, and SQL*Plus commands
to execute and format SQL commands.
Database Terminology
Concept
Description
Table A table is the basic storage structure of an RDBMS, consisting
of one or more columns and zero or more rows.
Row A row is a combination of column values in a table; for
example, the information about one department in the table
S_DEPT. A row is sometimes called a “record.”
Column A column represents one kind of data in a table; for example,
the department name in the example table S_DEPT. It is
described with a column name and holds data of a specific type
and size.
Field At the intersection of a row and a column, you find a field. The
field can contain data. If there is no data in the field, it is said to
contain a null value.
Primary key A primary key is the column or set of columns that uniquely
identifies each row in a table; for example a department
number. It must contain a value.

Enters new rows, changes existing rows, and removes unwanted
rows from tables in the database, respectively. Collectively
known as Data Manipulation Language (DML) commands.
CREATE
ALTER
DROP
RENAME
TRUNCATE
Sets up, changes, and removes data structures from tables.
Collectively known as Data Definition Language (DDL)
commands.
COMMIT
ROLLBACK
SAVEPOINT
Manage the changes made by DML statements. Changes to the
data can be grouped together into logical transactions.
GRANT
REVOKE
Gives or removes access rights to both the Oracle database and
the structures within it. Collectively known as Data Control
Language (DCL) commands.
Introduction to Oracle: SQL and PL/SQL Using Procedure Builder17Ć6
Summary of SQL and SQL*Plus 17Ć7
Summary of SQL and SQL*Plus
continued
Oracle Data Dictionary
The data dictionary is a set of tables that the user can access through views. The data
dictionary holds all the data about the database. Whenever the database is in
operation, the data dictionary is updated and maintained by the Oracle7 Server. Write
a SELECT statement to view the contents of the data dictionary views.