Apache Derby—Off to the Races: Includes Details of IBM® Cloudscape™

Data Definition Language (DDL)

SQL Data Definition Language (DDL) is used to create, modify, or delete objects in an Apache Derby database. DDL includes four basic SQL statements:

• CREATE

• ALTER

• DECLARE

• DROP

The DECLARE statement is unusual in that it is only used for temporary tables. Normally a table is “created” and a permanent copy of it is placed in the database. Applications use the DECLARE statement when there is a need to hold temporary data.

All SQL statements are case-insensitive. For example, the following statements are equivalent:

CREATE TABLE EMPLOYEE;
create table employee;

The objects that you create, whether they are tables, views, or column names, must adhere to Apache Derby naming standards. Ordinary identifiers are identifiers ...