SQL Syntax Conventions

The conventions for syntax statements in this manual are as follows:

**Table 1: Syntax statement conventions**
Key	Definition
command	Command names, command option names, utility names, utility flags, and other keywords are in bold Courier in syntax statements and in bold Helvetica in paragraph text.
variable	Variables, or words that stand for values that you fill in, are in italics.
`{ }`	Curly braces indicate that you choose at least one of the enclosed options. Do not include braces in your option.
`[ ]`	Brackets mean choosing one or more of the enclosed options is optional. Do not include brackets in your option.
`( )`	Parentheses are to be typed as part of the command.
\|	The vertical bar means you may select only one of the options shown.
,	The comma means you may choose as many of the options shown as you like, separating your choices with commas to be typed as part of the command.

Syntax statements (displaying the syntax and all options for a command) are printed like this:
```
sp_dropdevice [device_name]
```
or, for a command with more options:
```
select column_name 
     from table_name 
     where search_conditions 
```
In syntax statements, keywords (commands) are in normal font and identifiers are in lowercase: normal font for keywords, italics for user-supplied words.
Examples showing the use of Transact-SQL commands are printed like this:
```
select * from publishers
```

Examples of output from the computer are printed like this:

pub_id         pub_name                         city          state 
-------        -------------------              -----------   -----
0736           New Age Books                    Boston        MA 
0877           Binnet & Hardley                 Washington    DC 
1389           Algodata Infosystems             Berkeley      CA 

(3 rows affected)