SQL in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

Supplemental Features Packages in the SQL2003 Standard

The SQL2003 standard represents the ideal, but very few vendors currently meet or exceed the Core SQL2003 requirements. The Core standard is like the interstate speed limit: some drivers go above, others go below, but few go exactly the speed limit. Similarly, vendor implementations can vary greatly.

The nine supplemental features packages, representing different subsets of commands, are platform-optional. Some features might show up in multiple packages, while others do not appear in any of the packages. These packages and their features are described in the list that follows.

Two committees—one within ANSI, the other within ISO, and both composed of representatives from virtually every RDBMS vendor—drafted the definitions shown in the list. In this collaborative and somewhat political environment, vendors compromised on exactly which proposed features and implementations were incorporated into a new standard.

Many times, a new feature in the ANSI standard is derived from an existing product or is the outgrowth of new research and development in the academic community. Consequently, vendor adoption of specific ANSI standards can be spotty at times. A relatively new addition to the SQL2003 standard is SQL/XML. The other parts of the SQL99 standard are persisted in SQL2003, though their names may have changed or they may have been slightly rearranged.

Part 1 - SQL/Framework

Includes common definitions and concepts used throughout ...