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Data & Analytics · Intermediate

ANSI SQL

The vendor-neutral SQL standard (ISO/IEC 9075) that defines core syntax and behavior that relational databases implement.

Definition

ANSI/ISO SQL has been revised many times (SQL-92, SQL:1999, SQL:2016, SQL:2023), adding features such as CTEs, window functions and JSON support. Vendors implement most of the standard plus proprietary extensions, so portable code sticks to ANSI syntax.

Example

FETCH FIRST 10 ROWS ONLY is ANSI syntax; TOP 10 is SQL Server-specific and LIMIT 10 is used by MySQL and PostgreSQL.

Exam tip

Questions about portability across databases point to ANSI-standard syntax.

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