Compatibility of expressions

Table 2-2 and Table 2-3 describe the compatibility of expressions and constants between Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) and Sybase IQ. These tables are a guide only, and a marking of Both may not mean that the expression performs in an identical manner for all purposes under all circumstances. For detailed descriptions, see the Adaptive Server Enterprise documentation and the Sybase IQ documentation on the individual expression.

In Table 2-2, expr represents an expression, and op represents an operator.

**Table 2-2: Compatibility of expressions between ASE and Sybase IQ**
Expression	Supported by
constant	Both
column name	Both
variable name	Both
function ( expr )	Both
- expr	Both
expr op expr	Both
( expr )	Both
( subquery )	Both
if-expression	Sybase IQ only

**Table 2-3: Compatibility of constants between ASE and Sybase IQ**
Constant	Supported by
integer	Both
number	Both
'string'	Both
special-constant	Both
host-variable	Sybase IQ

Default interpretation of delimited strings

By default, Adaptive Server Enterprise and Sybase IQ give different meanings to delimited strings: that is, strings enclosed in apostrophes (single quotes) and in quotation marks (double quotes).

Sybase IQ employs the SQL92 convention, that strings enclosed in apostrophes are constant expressions, and strings enclosed in quotation marks (double quotes) are delimited identifiers (names for database objects). Adaptive Server Enterprise employs the convention that strings enclosed in quotation marks are constants, whereas delimited identifiers are not allowed by default and are treated as strings.