Chapter 4. SQL Syntax

Table of Contents
4.1. Lexical Structure
4.1.1. Identifiers and Key Words
4.1.2. Constants
4.1.3. Operators
4.1.4. Special Characters
4.1.5. Comments
4.1.6. Lexical Precedence
4.2. Value Expressions
4.2.1. Column References
4.2.2. Positional Parameters
4.2.3. Subscripts
4.2.4. Field Selection
4.2.5. Operator Invocations
4.2.6. Function Calls
4.2.7. Aggregate Expressions
4.2.8. Type Casts
4.2.9. Scalar Subqueries
4.2.10. Array Constructors
4.2.11. Row Constructors
4.2.12. Expression Evaluation Rules

This chapter describes the syntax of SQL. It forms the foundation for understanding the following chapters which will go into detail about how the SQL commands are applied to define and modify data.

We also advise users who are already familiar with SQL to read this chapter carefully because there are several rules and concepts that are implemented inconsistently among SQL databases or that are specific to PostgreSQL .