Chapter 4. Maneuvering

Thinking SQL Statements

There is only one principle of war, and that's this. Hit the other fellow, as quickly as you can, as hard as you can, where it hurts him most, when he ain't lookin'.

Field Marshal Sir William Slim (1891-1970)
quoting an anonymous Sergeant-Major

In this chapter, we are going to take a close look at the SQL query and examine how its construct can vary according to the tactical demands of particular situations. This will involve examining complex queries and reviewing how they can be decomposed into a succession of smaller components, all interdependent, and all contributing to a final, complete query.