Chapter 9

Subqueries
 Objectives

 Describe the types of problems that

subqueries can solve
 Define subqueries
 List the types of subqueries
 Write single-row and multiple-row
subqueries
 Using a Subquery
to Solve a Problem
Who has a GPA higher than Owen’s?
Main Query

? Which students have a GPA higher than

Owen’s GPA?

Subquery

What is Owen’s GPA?

 Subqueries
SELECT select_list
FROM table
WHERE expr operator
(SELECT select_list
FROM table);

 The subquery (inner query) executes once before the main query.
 The result of the subquery is used by the main query (outer query).
 Using a Subquery
“Who has a GPA higher than Owen’s?”

SELECT LastName, GPA

from Student 3.34
where GPA >
(Select GPA from Student
Where LastName = 'Owen');

GPA
LastName
Lee 3.82
Tham 3.89
Guidelines for Using Subqueries

 Enclose subqueries in parentheses.

 Place subqueries on the right side of the
comparison operator.
 Do not add an ORDER BY clause to a
subquery.
 Use single-row operators with single-row
subqueries.
 Types of Subqueries

 Single-row subquery
Main query
returns
Subquery DIC

 Multiple-row subquery
Main query

Subquery
returns DIC
DCS
 Single-Row Subqueries
 Return only one row
 Use single-row comparison operators

Operator Meaning

= Equal to

> Greater than

>= Greater than or equal to

< Less than

<= Less than or equal to

<> Not equal to

Retrieving data using Single-Row Subqueries

Who study the same course as Lewis?

SELECT LastName, CourseID DICT

from Student
where CourseID = Select CourseID from Student
Where LastName = 'Lewis');

OUTPUT:

LastName CourseID
Lewis DICT
Nicosia DICT
Maser DICT
Retrieving data using Single-Row Subqueries
Who has the same group leader as Williams?
SELECT LastName,GroupLeader S010
from Student
where GroupLeader = (Select GroupLeader from Student
Where LastName = 'Williams');
OUTPUT:

LastName GroupLeader
Mikulski S010
Faga S010
Williams S010
Retrieving data using Single-Row Subqueries
Who have been enrolled earlier than student S009?
SELECT LastName,DateEnrolled 01-Feb-02
from Student
where DateEnrolled < (Select DateEnrolled from Student
Where StudID = 'S009');
OUTPUT: LastName DateEnrolled
Kebel 23-Jun-01
Lee 05-Jan-02
Lewis 03-Mar-00
Law 01-Apr-01
Faga 25-Jun-01
Owen 17-Sep-01
Ng 01-Apr-01
Roche 30-Mar-00
Jann 01-Apr-01
Retrieving data using Single-Row Subqueries
with GROUP functions
Display all the students that earn the minimum GPA

SELECT LastName,GPA 1.88

from Student
where GPA = (Select min(GPA)
from student);

OUTPUT:

LastName GPA
Ng 1.88
Roche 1.88
 Multiple-Row Subqueries

 Return more than one row

 Use the IN multiple-row comparison
operator to compare an expression to any
member in the list that a subquery returns
 Using Group Functions
in a Multiple-Row Subquery
Display all students who earn the same GPA as the
minimum GPA for each course
SELECT LastName,GPA, CourseID
from Student 1.88,1.89,2.22,3
where GPA IN
(select min(GPA)
from student
Group By CourseID);

OUTPUT: LastName GPA CourseID

Mikulski 1.89 DCS
Faga 2.22 DIC
Ng 1.88 DIT
Maser 3 DICT
Roche 1.88 DIT
 Using Group Functions
in a Multiple-Row Subquery
Display all students who enrolled the same course as Law and Lewis.
SELECT LastName, CourseID
from Student DICT, DIT
where CourseID IN
(select CourseID
from Student
where LastName IN ('Lewis','Law'))
order by CourseID;
OUTPUT:
LastName CourseID
Maser DICT
Nicosia DICT
Lewis DICT
Roche DIT
Ng DIT
Law DIT
Lee DIT
 Summary
A subquery is a SELECT statement that is
embedded in a clause of another SQL
statement. Subqueries are useful when a query
is based on unknown criteria.
 Subqueries have the following characteristics:
 Can pass one row of data to a main statement that
contains a single-row operator, such as =, <>, >, >=,
<, or <=
 Can pass multiple rows of data to a main statement
that contains a multiple-row operator, such as IN
 Can contain group functions