SQL:2003 is the fifth revision of the SQL

SQL

SQL is a programming language designed for managing data in relational database management systems ....

 database

Database

A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...

 query language

Query language

Query languages are computer languages used to make queries into databases and information systems.Broadly, query languages can be classified according to whether they are database query languages or information retrieval query languages...

. The latest revision of the standard is SQL:2008.

Summary

The SQL:2003 standard makes minor modifications to all parts of SQL:1999

SQL:1999

SQL:1999 was the fourth revision of the SQL database query language. The latest revision of the standard is SQL:2008.-Summary:The SQL:1999 standard, also known as SQL3, was published in 1999. Unlike previous editions, the standard's name used a colon instead of a hyphen for consistency with the...

 (also known as SQL3), and officially introduces a few new features such as:

• XML
  XML
  Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
  
  -related features (SQL/XML
  SQL/XML
  SQL/XML or XML-Related Specifications is an extension to the Structured Query Language specification, which defines the use of XML in conjunction with SQL. The XML data type is introduced, as well as several routines, functions, and XML-to-SQL data type mappings to support manipulation and storage...
  
  )
• Window functions
• the sequence generator, which allows standardized sequences
• two new column types: auto-generated values and identity-columns
• the new MERGE
  Merge (SQL)
  A relational database management system uses SQL MERGE statements to INSERT new records or UPDATE existing records depending on whether or not a condition matches...
  
   statement
• extensions to the CREATE TABLE
  Data Definition Language
  A data definition language or data description language is a syntax similar to a computer programming language for defining data structures, especially database schemas.-History:...
  
   statement, to allow "CREATE TABLE AS" and "CREATE TABLE LIKE"
• removal of the poorly-implemented "BIT" and "BIT VARYING" data types

Documentation availability

The SQL standard is not freely available. SQL:2003 may be purchased from ISO or ANSI. A late draft is available as a zip archive from Whitemarsh Information Systems Corporation. The zip archive contains a number of PDF

Portable Document Format

Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....

 files that define the parts of the SQL:2003 specification.

• ISO/IEC 9075(1-4,9-11,13,14):2003 CD-ROM (352 CHF
  Swiss franc
  The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...
  
  , or approximately 225 EUR
  Euro
  The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
  
  , to order the CD)
  • ISO/IEC 9075-1:2003 – Framework (SQL/Framework)
  • ISO/IEC 9075-2:2003 – Foundation (SQL/Foundation)
  • ISO/IEC 9075-3:2003 – Call-Level Interface (SQL/CLI)
  • ISO/IEC 9075-4:2003 – Persistent Stored Modules (SQL/PSM)
  • ISO/IEC 9075-9:2003 – Management of External Data (SQL/MED)
  • ISO/IEC 9075-10:2003 – Object Language Bindings (SQL/OLB)
  • ISO/IEC 9075-11:2003 – Information and Definition Schemas (SQL/Schemata)
  • ISO/IEC 9075-13:2003 – SQL Routines and Types Using the Java
    Java (programming language)
    Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
    
    Programming Language (SQL/JRT)
  • ISO/IEC 9075-14:2003 – XML-Related Specifications (SQL/XML)

External links

• BNF Grammar for ISO/IEC 9075-1:2003 – SQL/Framework
• BNF Grammar for ISO/IEC 9075-2:2003 – SQL/Foundation