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To: Manfred Koizar <mkoi-pg@aon.at>
Cc: Christoph Haller <ch@rodos.fzk.de>, pgsql-sql@postgresql.org
Subject: Re: Efficient DELETE Strategies 
In-reply-to: <es9eguk7ov9644qo4qd341ess8ip8o51ok@4ax.com> 
References: <200206110918.LAA20463@rodos> <18946.1023805720@sss.pgh.pa.us>
	<es9eguk7ov9644qo4qd341ess8ip8o51ok@4ax.com>
Comments: In-reply-to Manfred Koizar <mkoi-pg@aon.at>
	message dated "Wed, 12 Jun 2002 16:03:39 +0200"
Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2002 10:49:26 -0400
Message-ID: <9663.1023893366@sss.pgh.pa.us>
From: Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>
X-Archive-Number: 200206/148
X-Sequence-Number: 8113

Manfred Koizar <mkoi-pg@aon.at> writes:
> Oracle basically supports (with slight variations between releases
> 7/8/9):
> 	DELETE [FROM] { table
> 	              | view
> 	              | ( subquery )
> 	              }
> 	       [alias] [WHERE ...] [returning_clause]

Bizarre.  How are you supposed to delete from a subquery?

> According to the "SQL Quick Syntax Guide" the WHERE clause is not
> optional.  Does anybody know, if this is a documentation bug?

Probably.  SQL92 saith:

         <delete statement: searched> ::=
              DELETE FROM <table name>
                [ WHERE <search condition> ]

         <delete statement: positioned> ::=
              DELETE FROM <table name>
                WHERE CURRENT OF <cursor name>

so I could see where a sloppy reader might get confused...

			regards, tom lane