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BOL Syntax Frustration

  • September 14, 2009 at 12:28 pm

    #226130

    So I have a database I was trying to take OFFLINE, and it hung, so now I can do nothing through the GUI. I thought I'd look up the T-SQL syntax and try again.

    BOL shows this:

    ::=

    { ONLINE | OFFLINE | EMERGENCY }

    and:

    ::=

    {

    |

    |

    |

    (What does the double colon ::= mean ?)

    and:

    ALTER DATABASE AdventureWorks

    SET ALLOW_SNAPSHOT_ISOLATION ON

    making me think the syntax is :

    alter database My_Database

    set db_state_option offline

    (or maybe an '=' sign is needed ?)

    But it's wrong. Why can't BOL give an example ?

  • September 14, 2009 at 12:39 pm

    #1053387

    The ::= means "replace this placeholder with one of these options", basically.

    Here's the syntax you're looking for:

    use master;

    go

    alter database proofofconcept set offline;

    "proofofconcept" is the database name. You'll have to plug in the one you want, of course.

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  • September 14, 2009 at 12:49 pm

    #1053395

    Thanks ..... so where does "db_state_option " fit in ?

  • September 14, 2009 at 12:51 pm

    #1053396

    like mentioned above db_state_option is the placeholder and ::= indicates to replace the placeholder with a valid option.

  • September 14, 2009 at 1:13 pm

    #1053414

    Read this:

    http://qa.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Books+Online/67607/

    or: search this site for 'BNF'

    or: Google 'BNF' or 'Backus Naur Form'

    Understanding BNF is essential for good info from BOL

    -MarkO

    "You do not really understand something until you can explain it to your grandmother" - Albert Einstein

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