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This section lists the typographic and graphical conventions used in this documentation.
The following conventions are used in the SQL syntax descriptions:
Keywords All SQL keywords appear in uppercase, like the words ALTER TABLE in the following example:
ALTER TABLE [ owner.]table-name
Placeholders Items that must be replaced with appropriate identifiers or expressions are shown like the words owner and table-name in the following example:
ALTER TABLE [ owner.]table-name
Repeating items Lists of repeating items are shown with an element of the list followed by an ellipsis (three dots), like column-constraint in the following example:
ADD column-definition [ column-constraint, ... ]
One or more list elements are allowed. In this example, if more than one is specified, they must be separated by commas.
Optional portions Optional portions of a statement are enclosed by square brackets.
RELEASE SAVEPOINT [ savepoint-name ]
These square brackets indicate that the savepoint-name is optional. The square brackets should not be typed.
Options When none or only one of a list of items can be chosen, vertical bars separate the items and the list is enclosed in square brackets.
[ ASC | DESC ]
For example, you can choose one of ASC, DESC, or neither. The square brackets should not be typed.
Alternatives When precisely one of the options must be chosen, the alternatives are enclosed in curly braces and a bar is used to separate the options.
[ QUOTES { ON | OFF } ]
If the QUOTES option is used, one of ON or OFF must be provided. The brackets and braces should not be typed.
Windows The Microsoft Windows family of operating systems for desktop and laptop computers. The Windows family includes Windows Vista and Windows XP.
Windows CE Platforms built from the Microsoft Windows CE modular operating system, including the Windows Mobile and Windows Embedded CE platforms.
Windows Mobile is built on Windows CE. It provides a Windows user interface and additional functionality, such as small versions of applications like Word and Excel. Windows Mobile is most commonly seen on mobile devices. Limitations or variations in SQL Anywhere are commonly based on the underlying operating system (Windows CE), and seldom on the particular variant used (Windows Mobile).Unix Unless specified, Unix refers to both Linux and Unix platforms.
The documentation generally adopts Windows conventions when describing operating system dependent tasks and features such as paths and file names. In most cases, there is a simple transformation to the syntax used on other operating systems.
Directories and path names The documentation typically lists directory paths using Windows conventions, including colons for drives and backslashes as a directory separator. For example,
MobiLink\redirector
On Unix, Linux, and Mac OS X, you should use forward slashes instead. For example,
MobiLink/redirector
If SQL Anywhere is used in a multi-platform environment you must be aware of path name differences between platforms.
Executable files The documentation shows executable file names using Windows conventions, with the suffix .exe. On Unix, Linux, and Mac OS X, executable file names have no suffix. On NetWare, executable file names use the suffix .nlm.
For example, on Windows, the network database server is dbsrv10.exe. On Unix, Linux, and Mac OS X, it is dbsrv10. On NetWare, it is dbsrv10.nlm.
install-dir The installation process allows you to choose where to install SQL Anywhere, and the documentation refers to this location using the convention install-dir.
After installation is complete, the environment variable SQLANY10 specifies the location of the installation directory containing the SQL Anywhere components (install-dir). SQLANYSH10 specifies the location of the directory containing components shared by SQL Anywhere with other Sybase applications.
For more information on the default location of install-dir, by operating system, see SQLANY10 environment variable.
samples-dir The installation process allows you to choose where to install the samples that are included with SQL Anywhere, and the documentation refers to this location using the convention samples-dir.
After installation is complete, the environment variable SQLANYSAMP10 specifies the location of the directory containing the samples (samples-dir). From the Windows Start menu, choosing Programs > SQL Anywhere 10 > Sample Applications and Projects opens a Windows Explorer window in this directory.
For more information on the default location of samples-dir, by operating system, see Samples directory.
Environment variables The documentation refers to setting environment variables. On Windows, environment variables are referred to using the syntax %envvar%. On Unix, Linux, and Mac OS X, environment variables are referred to using the syntax $envvar or ${envvar}.
Unix, Linux, and Mac OS X environment variables are stored in shell and login startup files, such as .cshrc or .tcshrc.
The following icons are used in this documentation.
A client application.
A database server, such as SQL Anywhere.
An UltraLite application.
A database. In some high-level diagrams, the icon may be used to represent both the database and the database server that manages it.
Replication or synchronization middleware. These assist in sharing data among databases. Examples are the MobiLink server and the SQL Remote Message Agent.
A Sybase Replication Server
A programming interface.
