SQL syntax

SQL syntax is presented in modified BNF notation.

The meta-symbols of BNF are:

Symbol	Meaning
`\|`	or. Choose one of the items
`[ ]`	Enclose optional items.
`*`	Flags items that you can repeat 0 or more times. Has a special meaning in some SQL statements.
`{ }`	Groups items so that they can be marked with one of the other symbols, i.e. [ ], \|, or *.
`( ) . ,`	Other punctuation that is part of the syntax.

An example of how SQL syntax is presented:

CREATE [ UNIQUE ] INDEX IndexName
  ON TableName ( SimpleColumnName [ , SimpleColumnName ] * )

Command-line syntax for running Java programs and utilities (as well as examples) always begins with the word java:

java org.apache.derby.tools.ij

This documentation attempts to be JVM neutral, but any command line examples or syntax using JVM specific references should be verified with your JVM documentation.