Reserved words

Some keywords in SQL are also reserved words. To use a reserved word in a SQL statement as an identifier, you must enclose it in double quotes. Many, but not all, the keywords that appear in SQL statements are reserved words. For example, you must use the following syntax to retrieve the contents of a table named SELECT.

SELECT *
   FROM "SELECT"

SQL keywords are not case sensitive and the following words may appear in uppercase, lowercase, or any combination of the two. All strings that differ only in capitalization from one of the following words are reserved words.

If you are using embedded SQL, you can use the sql_needs_quotes database library function to determine whether a string requires quotation marks. A string requires quotes if it is a reserved word or if it contains a character not ordinarily allowed in an identifier.

The reserved SQL keywords in SQL Anywhere are as follows:

add	all	alter	and
any	as	asc	attach
backup	begin	between	bigint
binary	bit	bottom	break
by	call	capability	cascade
case	cast	char	char_convert
character	check	checkpoint	close
comment	commit	compressed	conflict
connect	constraint	contains	continue
convert	create	cross	cube
current	current_timestamp	current_user	cursor
date	dbspace	deallocate	dec
decimal	declare	default	delete
deleting	desc	detach	distinct
do	double	drop	dynamic
else	elseif	encrypted	end
endif	escape	except	exception
exec	execute	existing	exists
externlogin	fetch	first	float
for	force	foreign	forward
from	full	goto	grant
group	having	holdlock	identified
if	in	index	index_lparen
inner	inout	insensitive	insert
inserting	install	instead	int
integer	integrated	intersect	into
is	isolation	join	kerberos
key	lateral	left	like
lock	login	long	match
membership	merge	message	mode
modify	natural	nchar	new
no	noholdlock	not	notify
null	numeric	nvarchar	of
off	on	open	openstring
option	options	or	order
others	out	outer	over
passthrough	precision	prepare	primary
print	privileges	proc	procedure
publication	raiserror	readtext	real
reference	references	refresh	release
remote	remove	rename	reorganize
resource	restore	restrict	return
revoke	right	rollback	rollup
save	savepoint	scroll	select
sensitive	session	set	setuser
share	smallint	some	sqlcode
sqlstate	start	stop	subtrans
subtransaction	synchronize	syntax_error	table
temporary	then	time	timestamp
tinyint	to	top	tran
trigger	truncate	tsequal	unbounded
union	unique	uniqueidentifier	unknown
unsigned	update	updating	user
using	validate	values	varbinary
varbit	varchar	variable	varying
view	wait	waitfor	when
where	while	window	with
with_cube	with_lparen	with_rollup	within
work	writetext	xml

Reserved words

See also