Introduction

Mimer SQL is an advanced relational database management system (RDBMS) developed by Mimer Information Technology AB.

The main characteristics of Mimer SQL are zero maintenance, small footprint and high performance. These are based on a number of unique technical solutions to handle some of the more complicated functionality that a database management system must provide.

For example, Mimer SQL provides a solution to the problem of allowing simultaneous access to the database without the danger of a deadlock occurring. This greatly simplifies database management and allows truly scalable performance, even during heavy system-load.

Another significant technical innovation is the data storage mechanism, which is constantly optimized for the highest possible performance and ensures that no manual reorganization of the database is ever needed.

Mimer SQL offers a uniquely scalable and portable solution, including multi-core support. The product is available on a wide range of platforms from small embedded and handheld devices running for example Android or Linux, to workgroup and enterprise servers running Linux, Windows, macOS and OpenVMS. This makes Mimer SQL ideally suited for open environments where interoperability, portability and small footprint are important.

The database management language Mimer SQL (Structured Query Language) is compatible in all essential features with the currently accepted SQL standards, see the Introduction to SQL Standards, for details.

This manual provides a full reference description of the Mimer SQL language. It is a complement to the Mimer SQL User’s Manual and the Mimer SQL Programmer’s Manual.

About this Manual

The manual is intended for all users of Mimer SQL in both interactive and embedded contexts. It contains a complete description of the syntax and usage of all statements in Mimer SQL.

Related Mimer SQL Publications

•Mimer SQL Programmer's Manual

contains a description of how Mimer SQL can be embedded within application programs, written in conventional programming languages.

•Mimer SQL User's Manual

is user-oriented guide to the SQL statements, which may provide help for less experienced users in formulating statements correctly (particularly the SELECT statement, which can be quite complex). Does also contain a description of the BSQL utility.

•Mimer SQL System Management Handbook

describes system administration functions, including export/import, backup/restore, databank shadowing and the statistics functionality. The SQL statements which are part of the System Management API are described in the Mimer SQL Reference Manual.

•Mimer SQL Platform-specific Documents

containing platform-specific information. A set of one or more documents is provided, where required, for each platform on which Mimer SQL is supplied.

•Mimer SQL Release Notes

contain general and platform-specific information relating to the Mimer SQL release for which they are supplied.

•Mimer JDBC Guide

contains information about the different Mimer JDBC drivers available.

Suggestions for Further Reading

We can recommend to users of Mimer SQL the many works of C. J. Date. His insight into the potential and limitations of SQL, coupled with his pedagogical talents, makes his books invaluable sources of study material in the field of SQL theory and usage. In particular, we can mention the following publication:

A Guide to the SQL Standard (Fourth Edition, 1997). ISBN 0-201-96426-0. This work contains much constructive criticism and discussion of the SQL standard, including SQL-99.

Other useful publications are:

SQL: 1999 - Understanding Relational Language Concepts, by Jim Melton, Alan R. Simon, and Jim Gray. ISBN 1-55860-456-1. Explains SQL-99.

Advanced SQL: 1999 - Understanding Object-Relational and Other Advanced Features, by Jim Melton. ISBN 1-55860-677-7. In-depth guide to SQL-99’s practical application.

Unicode information can be found here https://www.unicode.org.

For JDBC Users

JDBC information can be found here https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/index.html.

For information on specific JDBC methods, please see the documentation for the java.sql package. This documentation is normally included in the Java development environment.

JDBC™ API Tutorial and Reference, 2nd edition. ISBN 0-201-43328-1. A useful book published by JavaSoft.

For ODBC Users

Microsoft ODBC 3.0 Programmer's Reference and SDK Guide for Microsoft Windows and Windows NT. ISBN 1-57231-516-4.

This manual contains information about the Microsoft Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) interface, including a complete API reference.

The documentation set in the Mimer SQL Windows distribution includes an ODBC API help.

SQL Standards

Official documentation of the accepted SQL standards may be found in:

ISO/IEC 9075:2016(E) Information technology - Database languages - SQL. This document contains the standard referred to as SQL-2016.

Acronyms, Terms and Trademarks

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