# SQL glossary: Novice level

23 SQL terms at the Novice level, each with a short definition and a link to its full page.

Updated: September 27, 2026

[Study these as flash cards](https://www.ask-codey.com/decks/sql/novice)

- [ASC](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/asc): An ORDER BY direction that sorts from lower values to higher values.
- [BETWEEN Condition](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/between-condition): The BETWEEN condition is used in a WHERE clause to determine if a value is in a given…
- [CHECK Constraint](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/check-constraint): A constraint requiring inserted or updated rows to satisfy a search condition.
- [Column Alias](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/column-alias): A temporary output name assigned to a selected expression or column.
- [Comparison Predicate](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/comparison-predicate): A condition comparing values with operators such as =, <>, <, or >=.
- [DEFAULT Clause](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/default-clause): A clause providing a value when an INSERT omits the column.
- [DESC](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/desc): An ORDER BY direction that sorts from higher values to lower values.
- [DISTINCT](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/distinct): A SELECT option that removes duplicate rows from a result.
- [FROM](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/from): A query clause identifying the source tables, views, or derived tables.
- [Logical Predicate](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/logical-predicate): A condition that combines or reverses other conditions with AND, OR, or NOT.
- [NOT NULL Constraint](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/not-null-constraint): A constraint requiring a column to contain a non-NULL value.
- [NULL](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/null-database): A marker indicating that a value is missing or unknown, rather than zero or an empty string.
- [Numeric Literal](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/numeric-literal): A number written directly in a SQL statement.
- [ORDER BY](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/order-by): A clause that sorts a query result by one or more expressions.
- [Query](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/query): A request for data or another result from a database.
- [Result Set](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/result-set): The rows and columns produced by a query.
- [SELECT](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/select-database): A statement or query clause that chooses expressions and columns for a result.
- [Snake Case](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/snake-case): All letters are lower case, each word is separated by an underscore.
- [SQL Statement](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/sql-statement): A complete SQL instruction sent to a database management system.
- [String Literal](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/string-literal): Text written between single quotation marks in SQL.
- [Structured Query Language (SQL)](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/structured-query-language-sql): The standardized language for defining, querying, and changing relational data.
- [UNIQUE Constraint](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/unique-constraint): A constraint preventing duplicate values or value combinations in specified columns.
- [WHERE](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/where-database): A query clause keeping only rows for which its condition is true.

- Next level: [Apprentice](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/subjects/sql/apprentice)

[Every SQL term, by level](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/subjects/sql)

Source: https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/subjects/sql/novice