SQL syntax used in this manual

SQL syntax is presented in modified BNF notation.

The meta-symbols of BNF are listed in the following table.

Table 1. BNF meta-symbols
Symbol Meaning
| Or. Choose one of the items.
[ ] Encloses optional items.
* Flags items that you can repeat 0 or more times. Has a special meaning in some SQL statements.
{ } Groups required items so that they can be marked with the symbol |. Has a special meaning in JDBC escape syntax (see JDBC escape syntax).
( ) . , Other punctuation that is part of the syntax.
The following example shows how SQL syntax is presented:
CREATE [ UNIQUE ] INDEX indexName
  ON tableName ( simpleColumnName [ , simpleColumnName ]* ) 
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