Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

SQL and Relational Algebra

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

What is SQL?
SQL = Structured Query Language (pronounced sequel ). Language for dening as well as querying data in an RDBMS. Primary mechanism for querying and modifying the data in an RDBMS. SQL is declarative:
Say what you want to accomplish, without specifying how. One of the main reasons for the commercial success of RDMBSs.

SQL has many standards and implementations:

ANSI SQL SQL-92/SQL2 (null operations, outerjoins) SQL-99/SQL3 (recusion, triggers, objects) Vendor-specic variations.

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

What is Relational Algebra?

Relational algebra is a notation for specifying queries about the contents of relations. Relational algebra eases the task of reasoning about queries. Operations in relational algebra have counterparts in SQL. To process a query, a DBMS translates SQL into a notation similar to relational algebra.

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

What is an Algebra?

An algebra is a set of operators and operands.

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

What is an Algebra?

An algebra is a set of operators and operands.

Arithmetic: operands are variables and constants, operators are +, , , , /, etc. Set algebra: operands are sets and operators are , , .

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

What is an Algebra?

An algebra is a set of operators and operands.

Arithmetic: operands are variables and constants, operators are +, , , , /, etc. Set algebra: operands are sets and operators are , , .

An algebra allows us to construct expressions by combining operands and expression using operators and has rules for reasoning about expressions.
a2 + 2 a b + b2 , (a + b)2 . R (R S), R S.

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Basics of Relational Algebra

Operands are relations, thought of as sets of tuples. Think of operands as variables, whose tuples are unknown. Results of operations are also sets of tuples. (Later, we will dene a
relational algebra on bags.) Think of expressions in relational algebra as queries, which construct new relations from given relations. Four types of operators: Remove parts of a single relation: projection and selection. Usual set operations (union, intersection, dierence). Combine the tuples of two relations, such as cartesian product and joins. Renaming.

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Projection

The projection operator produces from a relation R a new relation containing only some of Rs columns. To obtain a relation containing only the columns A1 , A2 , . . . , An of R RA A1 ,A2 ,...,An (R) SQL SELECT A1 , A2 , . . . , An FROM R;

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Selection

The selection operator applied to a relation R produces a new relation with a subset of Rs tuples. The tuples in the resulting relation satisfy some condition C that involves the attributes of R. RA C (R) SQL SELECT FROM R WHERE C; The WHERE clause of an SQL command corresponds to ().

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Selection: Syntax of Conditional

Syntax of C : similar to conditionals in programming languages. Values compared are constants and attributes of the relations mentioned in the FROM clause. We may apply usual arithmetic operators to numeric values before comparing them. RA Compare values using standard arithmetic operators. SQL Compare values using =, <>, <, >, <=, >=.

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Set Operations: Union

The union of two relations R and S is the set of tuples that are in R or in S or in both.

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Set Operations: Union

The union of two relations R and S is the set of tuples that are in R or in S or in both. R and S must have identical sets of attributes and the types of the attributes must be the same. The attributes of R and S must occur in the same order.

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Set Operations: Union

The union of two relations R and S is the set of tuples that are in R or in S or in both. R and S must have identical sets of attributes and the types of the attributes must be the same. The attributes of R and S must occur in the same order. RA R S SQL (SELECT * FROM R) UNION (SELECT * FROM S);

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Set Operations: Intersection

The intersection of two relations R and S is the set of tuples that are in both R and S. Same conditions hold on R and S as for the union operator. RA R S SQL (SELECT * FROM R) INTERSECT (SELECT * FROM S);

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Set Operations: Dierence

The dierence of two relations R and S is the set of tuples that are in R but not in S. Same conditions hold on R and S as for the union operator. RA R S SQL (SELECT * FROM R) EXCEPT (SELECT * FROM S);

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Set Operations: Dierence

The dierence of two relations R and S is the set of tuples that are in R but not in S. Same conditions hold on R and S as for the union operator. RA R S SQL (SELECT * FROM R) EXCEPT (SELECT * FROM S); R (R S) =

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Set Operations: Dierence

The dierence of two relations R and S is the set of tuples that are in R but not in S. Same conditions hold on R and S as for the union operator. RA R S SQL (SELECT * FROM R) EXCEPT (SELECT * FROM S); R (R S) = R S. Compare to (SELECT * FROM R) EXCEPT ((SELECT * FROM R) EXCEPT (SELECT * FROM S));
T. M. Murali August 31, 2009

(SELECT * FROM R); INTERSECT (SELECT * FROM S);

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Cartesian Product

The Cartesian product (or cross-product or product) of two relations R and S is a the set of pairs that can be formed by pairing each tuple of R with each tuple of S.
The result is a relation whose schema is the schema for R followed by the schema for S. We rename attributes to avoid ambiguity or we prex attribute with the name of the relation it belongs to.

RA R S SQL SELECT * FROM R, S;

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Theta-Join

The theta-join of two relations R and S is the set of tuples in the Cartesian product of R and S that satisfy some condition C . RA R S
C

SQL SELECT * FROM R, S WHERE C;

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Theta-Join

The theta-join of two relations R and S is the set of tuples in the Cartesian product of R and S that satisfy some condition C . RA R S
C

SQL SELECT * FROM R, S WHERE C; R

C

S=

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Theta-Join

The theta-join of two relations R and S is the set of tuples in the Cartesian product of R and S that satisfy some condition C . RA R S
C

SQL SELECT * FROM R, S WHERE C; R

C

S = C (R S).

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Natural Join
The natural join of two relations R and S is a set of pairs of tuples, one from R and one from S, that agree on whatever attributes are common to the schemas of R and S. The schema for the result contains the union of the attributes of R and S. Assume the schemas R(A, B, C ) and S(B, C , D). RA R S SQL SELECT R.A, R.B, R.C, S.D FROM R,S WHERE R.B = S.B AND R.C = S.C; A dangling tuple is one that fails to pair with any tuple in the other relation.

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Operators Covered So Far

Remove parts of a single relation:
projection: A,B (R) and SELECT A, B FROM R. selection: C (R) and SELECT * FROM R WHERE C.

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Operators Covered So Far

Remove parts of a single relation:
projection: A,B (R) and SELECT A, B FROM R. selection: C (R) and SELECT * FROM R WHERE C. combining projection and selection:
A,B (C (R)) SELECT A, B FROM R WHERE C. Canonical SQL query.

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Operators Covered So Far

Remove parts of a single relation:
projection: A,B (R) and SELECT A, B FROM R. selection: C (R) and SELECT * FROM R WHERE C. combining projection and selection:
A,B (C (R)) SELECT A, B FROM R WHERE C. Canonical SQL query.

Set operations (R and S must have the same attributes, same attribute tyes, and same order of attributes):
union: R S and (R) UNION (S). intersection: R S and (R) INTERSECT (S). dierence: R S and (R) EXCEPT (S).

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Operators Covered So Far

Remove parts of a single relation:
projection: A,B (R) and SELECT A, B FROM R. selection: C (R) and SELECT * FROM R WHERE C. combining projection and selection:
A,B (C (R)) SELECT A, B FROM R WHERE C. Canonical SQL query.

Set operations (R and S must have the same attributes, same attribute tyes, and same order of attributes):
union: R S and (R) UNION (S). intersection: R S and (R) INTERSECT (S). dierence: R S and (R) EXCEPT (S).

Combine the tuples of two relations:

Cartesian product: R S and ... FROM R, S .... Theta-join: R S and ... FROM R, S WHERE C.
C

Natural join: R S; in SQL, list the conditions that the common attributes be equal in the WHERE clause.
T. M. Murali August 31, 2009 CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Other Details in SQL

Read Chapters 6.1.3-6.1.8 of the textbook for strings comparison, pattern matching, NULL and UNKNOWN values, dates and times, and ordering the output.

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Independence of Operators
The operators we have covered so far are: A,B (R), C (R), S(A1 ,A2 ) (R), R S, R S, R S, R S, R S, R S.
C

Do we need all these operators?

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Independence of Operators
The operators we have covered so far are: A,B (R), C (R), S(A1 ,A2 ) (R), R S, R S, R S, R S, R S, R S.
C

Do we need all these operators? NO! R S = R (R S). R R

C

S = C (R S). S =??.

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Independence of Operators
The operators we have covered so far are: A,B (R), C (R), S(A1 ,A2 ) (R), R S, R S, R S, R S, R S, R S.
C

Do we need all these operators? NO! R S = R (R S). R R

C

S = C (R S). S =??.
Suppose R and S share the attributes A1 , A2 , . . . An .

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Independence of Operators
The operators we have covered so far are: A,B (R), C (R), S(A1 ,A2 ) (R), R S, R S, R S, R S, R S, R S.
C

Do we need all these operators? NO! R S = R (R S). R R

C

S = C (R S). S =??.
Suppose R and S share the attributes A1 , A2 , . . . An . Let L be the list of attributes in Rs schema followed by the list of attributes that are only in Ss schema.

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Independence of Operators
The operators we have covered so far are: A,B (R), C (R), S(A1 ,A2 ) (R), R S, R S, R S, R S, R S, R S.
C

Do we need all these operators? NO! R S = R (R S). R R

C

S = C (R S). S =??.
Suppose R and S share the attributes A1 , A2 , . . . An . Let L be the list of attributes in Rs schema followed by the list of attributes that are only in Ss schema. Let C be the condition R.A1 = S.A1 AND R.A2 = S.A2 AND . . . AND R.An = S.An

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Independence of Operators
The operators we have covered so far are: A,B (R), C (R), S(A1 ,A2 ) (R), R S, R S, R S, R S, R S, R S.
C

Do we need all these operators? NO! R S = R (R S). R R

C

S = C (R S). S =??.
Suppose R and S share the attributes A1 , A2 , . . . An . Let L be the list of attributes in Rs schema followed by the list of attributes that are only in Ss schema. Let C be the condition R.A1 = S.A1 AND R.A2 = S.A2 AND . . . AND R.An = S.An R S = L (C (R S))

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Independence of Operators
The operators we have covered so far are: A,B (R), C (R), S(A1 ,A2 ) (R), R S, R S, R S, R S, R S, R S.
C

Do we need all these operators? NO! R S = R (R S). R R

C

S = C (R S). S =??.
Suppose R and S share the attributes A1 , A2 , . . . An . Let L be the list of attributes in Rs schema followed by the list of attributes that are only in Ss schema. Let C be the condition R.A1 = S.A1 AND R.A2 = S.A2 AND . . . AND R.An = S.An R S = L (C (R S))

All other operators are independent, i.e., no operator can be written in terms of the others.
T. M. Murali August 31, 2009 CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Disambiguation and Renaming

If two relations have the same attribute, disambiguate the attributes by prexing the attribute with the name of the relation it belongs to.

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Disambiguation and Renaming

If two relations have the same attribute, disambiguate the attributes by prexing the attribute with the name of the relation it belongs to. How do we answer the query Name pairs of students who live at the same address ?

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Disambiguation and Renaming

If two relations have the same attribute, disambiguate the attributes by prexing the attribute with the name of the relation it belongs to. How do we answer the query Name pairs of students who live at the same address ?
We need to take the cross-product of Students with itself. How do we refer to the two copies of Students?

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Disambiguation and Renaming

If two relations have the same attribute, disambiguate the attributes by prexing the attribute with the name of the relation it belongs to. How do we answer the query Name pairs of students who live at the same address ?
We need to take the cross-product of Students with itself. How do we refer to the two copies of Students? Use the rename operator.

RA S(A1 ,A2 ,...,An ) (R): give R the name S; R has n attributes, which are called A1 , A2 , . . . , An in S. SQL Use the AS keyword in the FROM clause: Students AS Students1 renames Students to Students1. SQL Use the AS keyword in the SELECT clause to rename attributes.

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Example of Renaming
Name pairs of students who live at the same address. RA S1.Name,S2.Name ( S1.Address = S2.Address (S1 (Students) S2 (Students))).

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Example of Renaming
Name pairs of students who live at the same address. RA S1.Name,S2.Name ( S1.Address = S2.Address (S1 (Students) S2 (Students))). SQL SELECT S1.name, S2.name FROM Students AS S1, Students AS S2 WHERE S1.address = S2.address; Are these correct?

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Example of Renaming
Name pairs of students who live at the same address. RA S1.Name,S2.Name ( S1.Address = S2.Address (S1 (Students) S2 (Students))). SQL SELECT S1.name, S2.name FROM Students AS S1, Students AS S2 WHERE S1.address = S2.address; Are these correct? No, the result includes tuples where a student is paired with himself/herself.

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Example of Renaming
Name pairs of students who live at the same address. RA S1.Name,S2.Name ( S1.Address = S2.Address (S1 (Students) S2 (Students))). SQL SELECT S1.name, S2.name FROM Students AS S1, Students AS S2 WHERE S1.address = S2.address; Are these correct? No, the result includes tuples where a student is paired with himself/herself. Add the condition S1.name < S2.name.

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra

Introduction to RA and SQL

Queries and Operations

Example RA/SQL Queries

Solve problems in Handout 1.

T. M. Murali

August 31, 2009

CS4604: SQL and Relational Algebra