Select data from complex types

This chapter describes how to query complex data types. A complex data type is built from a combination of other data types with an SQL type constructor. An SQL statement can access individual components within the complex type. Complex data types are row types or collection types.

ROW types have instances that combine one or more related data fields. The two kinds of ROW types are named and unnamed.

Collection types have instances where each collection value contains a group of elements of the same data type, which can be any fundamental or complex data type. A collection can consist of a LIST, SET, or MULTISET datatype.

Important: There is no cross-database support for complex data types. They can only be manipulated in local databases.

For a more complete description of the data types that the database server supports, see the chapter on data types in the HCL OneDB™ Guide to SQL: Reference.

For information about how to create and use complex types, see the HCL OneDB Database Design and Implementation Guide, HCL OneDB Guide to SQL: Reference, and HCL OneDB Guide to SQL: Syntax.