Book excerpt: SQL: 1999 is the best way to make the leap from SQL-92 to SQL:1999, but it is much more than just a simple bridge between the two. The latest from celebrated SQL experts Jim Melton and Alan Simon, SQL:1999 is a comprehensive, eminently practical account of SQL's latest incarnation and a potent distillation of the details required to put it to work. Written to accommodate both novice and experienced SQL users, SQL:1999 focuses on the language's capabilities, from the basic to the advanced, and the ways that real applications take advantage of them. Throughout, the authors illustrate features and techniques with clear and often entertaining references to their own custom database. Gives authoritative coverage from an expert team that includes the editor of the SQL-92 and SQL:1999 standards. Provides a general introduction to SQL that helps you understand its constituent parts, history, and place in the realm of computer languages. Explains SQL:1999's more sophisticated features, including advanced value expressions, predicates, advanced SQL query expressions, and support for active databases. Explores key issues for programmers linking applications to SQL databases. Provides guidance on troubleshooting, internationalization, and changes anticipated in the next version of SQL. Contains appendices devoted to database design, a complete SQL:1999 example, the standardization process, and more.