Rob, > Except that I believe the similarities are more numerous, more useful and > more appropriate to this non-SQL list that the differences. The majority of > SQL code is something like
Not the majority of *my* SQL code <smirk>. > That is simply an alternative syntax for > > UPDATE table1, table2 ... Can you post the rest of that Syntax? I wasn't aware that MySQL was now supporting UPDATEs with cross-table references; I may need to use it in the future. > > MSSQL does not support LIMIT and OFFSET; Self-correction: MSSQL supports an equivalent to LIMIT called TOP which goes after SELECT. However, there is no equivalent to OFFSET. > Nor should it. These are PostgreSQL nasties which MySQL has adopted > so it can be seen to be a valid alternative database. Hmmm. And I thought that LIMIT and OFFSET where MySQL commands that we adopted in order to support web developer demands for MySQL parity. Go figure. Either way, they are *very* useful for browser-based interfaces, and for that matter support part of relational theory which was accidentally excluded from the SQL standard. > I would advocate learning ANSI SQL and trying to forget about what > nice things can be done if you happen to be working on a given > database engine. There is a very nice tutorial at Learning ANSI SQL is a very good way to start; it lets you know the "standard core" and from there it is easier to learn each database's level of implementaiton, extensions, and peculiarities. However, stopping with "basic" ANSI SQL is not, IMNSHO, a well considered approach. The problem with that approach is it often puts you in the position of doing stuff in your Perl code using 150 lines that could be done in 4 lines of advanced or extended SQL if you knew the particular database, or experiencing horrible performance becuase of "standard" queries that hit a particular database's worst performance areas. "Database Independance" is a design strategy with specific and substantial trade-offs, not an excuse for ignorance. -- Josh Berkus Aglio Database Solutions San Francisco -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
