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 the word in double quotes. Many, but not all, of 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"

Because SQL is not case sensitive with respect to keywords, each of the following words may appear in upper case, lower case, 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 database library function sql_needs_quotes 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.

Table 3-1 lists the SQL reserved words in Sybase IQ.

**Table 3-1: SQL reserved words**
add	all	alter	and
any	as	asc	backup
begin	between	bigint	binary
bit	bottom	break	by
call	capability	cascade	case
cast	char	char_convert	character
check	checkpoint	close	comment
commit	connect	constraint	contains
continue	convert	create	cross
cube	current	current_timestamp	current_user
cursor	date	dbspace	deallocate
dec	decimal	declare	default
delete	deleting	desc	disable
distinct	do	double	drop
dynamic	else	elseif	enable
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	iq	is
isolation	join	key	lateral
left	like	lock	login
long	match	membership	message
mode	modify	natural	new
no	noholdlock	not	notify
null	numeric	of	off
on	open	option	options
or	order	others	out
outer	over	passthrough	precision
prepare	primary	print	privileges
proc	procedure	publication	raiserror
readtext	real	reference	references
release	remote	remove	rename
reorganize	resource	restore	restrict
return	revoke	right	rollback
rollup	save	savepoint	schedule
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	transaction	trigger
truncate	tsequal	unbounded	union
unique	unknown	unsigned	update
updating	user	using	validate
values	varbinary	varchar	variable
varying	view	wait	waitfor
when	where	while	window
with	with_cube	with_lparen	with_rollup
within	work	writetext