SQL Reference
Table Of Contents
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Chapter 2 Supported standards
- Support for Unicode characters
- SQL statements
- SELECT statement
- SQL clauses
- FROM clause
- WHERE clause
- GROUP BY clause
- HAVING clause
- UNION operator
- ORDER BY clause
- OFFSET and FETCH FIRST clauses
- FOR UPDATE clause
- DELETE statement
- INSERT statement
- UPDATE statement
- CREATE TABLE statement
- TRUNCATE TABLE statement
- ALTER TABLE statement
- CREATE INDEX statement
- DROP INDEX statement
- SQL expressions
- SQL functions
- FileMaker system objects
- Reserved SQL keywords
- Index
Chapter 1
Introduction
As a database developer, you can use FileMaker Pro to create database solutions without any
knowledge of SQL. But if you have some knowledge of SQL, you can use a FileMaker database
file as an ODBC or JDBC data source, sharing your data with other applications using ODBC and
JDBC. You can also use the FileMaker
Pro ExecuteSQL function to retrieve data from any table
occurrence within a FileMaker
Pro database.
This reference describes the SQL statements and standards supported by FileMaker. The
FileMaker ODBC and JDBC client drivers support all of the SQL statements described in this
reference. The FileMaker
Pro ExecuteSQL function supports only the SELECT statement.
About this reference
1 For information on using ODBC and JDBC with previous versions of FileMaker Pro, see the
Product Do
cumentation Center.
1 This reference assumes that you are familiar with the basics of using FileMaker Pro functions,
coding ODBC and JDBC applications, and constructing SQL queries. Refer to a third-party
book for more information on these topics.
1 This reference uses “FileMaker Pro” to refer to both FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Pro
Advanced, unless describing specific FileMaker Pro Advanced features.
About SQL
SQL, or Structured Query Language, is a programming language that was designed to query data
from a relational database. The primary statement used to query a database is the SELECT
statement.
In addition to language for querying a database, SQL provides statements for performing data
manipulation, which allow you to add, update, and delete data.
SQL also provides statements for performing data definition. These statements allow you to create
and modify tables and indexes.
The SQL statements and standards supported by FileMaker are described in chapter 2,
“Supported standards.”
Using a FileMaker database as a data source
When you host a FileMaker database as an ODBC or JDBC data source, FileMaker data can be
shared with ODBC- and JDBC-compliant applications. The applications connect to the FileMaker
data
source using the FileMaker client drivers, construct and execute the SQL queries using
ODBC or JDBC, and process the data retrieved from the FileMaker database solution.
See FileMaker ODBC and JDBC Guide for extensive information on how you can use FileMaker
software as a data source for ODBC and JDBC applications.
The FileMaker ODBC and JDBC client drivers support all of the SQL statements described in this
reference.