Sql!

Endurance Man

SELECT top 500 e.EventTypeID, e.EventTime, t.Description, e.Description, t.IsError, e.PeopleID, e.OperatorID,e.EventID
FROM Events e
LEFT OUTER JOIN eventtypes t on e.EventTypeID = t.EventTypeID
WHERE (e.eventtypeid > 3000) and (e.eventtypeid < 4000) and (e.PeopleID <> '0')
ORDER BY e.eventid desc

I was given this sql statement as an example to aid in a project i am busy with. I understand sql and can read this statement, but i don't understand the e. and t. notation that he is using?
Could anyone explain the meaning of the syntax.

Cheers
Endo

totoal

No expert but i think it's just a shortcut to shorten table names. 'Events' is shortened to 'e'
and 'eventtypes' is shortened to 't'

Endurance Man

Yup, correcto totoal, thanks .
Let the learning continue.

seamus

The statement allows you to specify shorthand for table names so that you don't have to type them every time. A heavily normalised database may have huge table names, so it help readability and typability to shorten them.

So say I have the above table "Events" and "Eventtypes" and I want two columns from events and two from eventtypes

Without shorthand, I would have to type

select events.col1, events.col2, eventtypes.col1, eventtypes.col2 from events, eventypes

Or, I could give the table names a shorthand by just writing the shorthand beside the table name in the FROM portion of the statement,

so

select e.col1, e.col2, t.col1, t.col2 from events e, eventypes t

Endurance Man

Cheers seamus, does make sense, I got the statement working now, think thats my que to head home ^^.