# Lexical Structure in ksqlDB for Confluent Platform ksqlDB’s lexical structure defines the tokens, identifiers, and operators used in its SQL grammar. ksqlDB extends the ANSI SQL-92 standard with constructs for streaming queries, which SQL-92 doesn’t define. SQL is a domain-specific language for managing structured data with well-defined types and relationships across entities. Originally built for relational databases, SQL is now also widely used for stream processing. [ksqlDB’s SQL grammar](https://github.com/confluentinc/ksql/blob/master/ksqldb-parser/src/main/antlr4/io/confluent/ksql/parser/SqlBase.g4) was built initially around Presto’s grammar and has been extended judiciously. ## Syntax SQL inputs are made up of a series of statements. Each statement is made up of a series of tokens and ends in a semicolon (`;`). The tokens that apply depend on the statement being invoked. A token is any keyword, identifier, backticked identifier, literal, or special character. By convention, tokens are separated by whitespace, unless there is no ambiguity in the grammar. This happens when tokens flank a special character. The following example statements are syntactically valid ksqlDB SQL input: ```sql INSERT INTO s1 (a, b) VALUES ('k1', 'v1'); CREATE STREAM s2 AS SELECT a, b FROM s1 EMIT CHANGES; SELECT * FROM t1 WHERE k1='foo' EMIT CHANGES; ``` ## Keywords Some tokens, such as `SELECT`, `INSERT`, and `CREATE`, are *keywords*. Keywords are reserved tokens that have a specific meaning in ksqlDB’s syntax. They control their surrounding allowable tokens and execution semantics. Keywords are case insensitive, meaning `SELECT` and `select` are equivalent. You can’t create an identifier that is already a reserved word, unless you use backticked identifiers. A complete list of keywords can be found in [Keywords and Operators](keywords-and-operators.md#ksqldb-keywords-and-operators-keywords). ## Identifiers Identifiers are symbols that represent user-defined entities, like streams, tables, columns, and other objects. For example, if you have a stream named `s1`, `s1` is an *identifier* for that stream. By default, identifiers are case-insensitive, meaning `s1` and `S1` refer to the same stream. Under the hood, ksqlDB capitalizes all of the characters in the identifier for all future display purposes. Unless an identifier is backticked, it may be composed only of characters that are a letter, number, or underscore. There is no imposed limit on the number of characters. To make it possible to use any character in an identifier, you can enclose it in backticks (```) when you declare and use it. A *backticked identifier* is useful when you don’t control the data, so it might have special characters, or even keywords. When you use backticked identifiers, ksqlDB captures the case exactly, and any future references to the identifier become case-sensitive. For example, if you declare the following stream: ```sql CREATE STREAM `s1` ( k VARCHAR KEY, `@MY-identifier-stream-column!` INT ) WITH ( kafka_topic = 's1', partitions = 3, value_format = 'json' ); ``` You must select from it by backticking the stream name and column name and using the original casing: ```sql SELECT `@MY-identifier-stream-column!` FROM `s1` EMIT CHANGES; ``` ## Constants There are three implicitly typed constants, or literals, in ksqlDB: strings, numbers, and booleans. ### String constants A string constant is an arbitrary series of characters surrounded by single quotes (`'`), like `'Hello world'`. To include a quote inside of a string literal, escape the quote by prefixing it with another quote, for example `'You can call me ''Stuart'', or Stu.'` ### Numeric constants Numeric constants are accepted in the following forms: 1. **\`\`digits\`\`** 2. **\`\`digits\`\`**`.[`**\`\`digits\`\`**`][e[+-]`**\`\`digits\`\`**`]` 3. `[`**\`\`digits\`\`**`].`**\`\`digits\`\`**`[e[+-]`**\`\`digits\`\`**`]` 4. **\`\`digits\`\`**`e[+-]`**\`\`digits\`\`** where **\`\`digits\`\`** is one or more single-digit integers (`0` through `9`). - At least one digit must be present before or after the decimal point, if there is one. - At least one digit must follow the exponent symbol `e`, if there is one. - No spaces, underscores, or any other characters are allowed in the constant. - Numeric constants may also have a `+` or `-` prefix, but this is considered to be a function applied to the constant, not the constant itself. Here are some examples of valid numeric constants: - `5` - `7.2` - `0.0087` - `1.` - `.5` - `1e-3` - `1.332434e+2` - `+100` - `-250` ### Boolean constants A boolean constant is represented as either the identifier `true` or `false`. Boolean constants are not case-sensitive, meaning `true` evaluates to the same value as `TRUE`. ## Operators Operators are infix functions composed of special characters. A complete list of operators can be found in [Keywords and Operators](keywords-and-operators.md#ksqldb-keywords-and-operators-operators). ksqlDB doesn’t allow you to add user-space operators. ## Special characters Some characters have a particular meaning that doesn’t correspond to an operator. The following list describes the special characters and their purpose. - Parentheses (`()`) retain their usual meaning in programming languages for grouping expressions and controlling the order of evaluation. - Brackets (`[]`) are used to work with arrays, both in their construction and subscript access. They also allow you to key into maps. - Commas (`,`) delineate a discrete list of entities. - The semi-colons (`;`) terminates a SQL command. - The asterisk (`*`), when used in particular syntax, is used as an “all” qualifier. This is seen most commonly in a `SELECT` command to retrieve all columns. - The period (`.`) accesses a column in a stream or table. - The arrow (`->`) accesses a field in a struct data type. - The dollar sign/brace combination (`${...}`) combination references a [defined variable](../../developer-guide/ksqldb-reference/define.md#ksqldb-reference-define). ## Comments A comment is a string beginning with two dashes. It includes all of the content from the dashes to the end of the line: ```sql -- Here is a comment. ``` You can also span a comment over multiple lines by using C-style syntax: ```sql /* Here is another comment. */ ``` #### NOTE Block comments using C-style syntax aren’t supported in Confluent Cloud. ## Lexical precedence Operators are evaluated using the following order of precedence: 1. `*`, `/`, `%` 2. `+`, `-` 3. `=`, `>`, `<`, `>=`, `<=`, `<>`, `!=` 4. `NOT` 5. `AND` 6. `BETWEEN`, `LIKE`, `OR` In an expression, when two operators have the same precedence level, they’re evaluated left-to-right based on their position. You can enclose an expression in parentheses to force precedence or clarify precedence, for example, `(5 + 2) * 3`.