Joe Celko takes us through quantifier predicates:
SQL is based on set theory and logic. The only bad news is that many programmers have never had a class on either of those topics. They muddle through using the Boolean operators in their programming language and think that’s all there is to formal logic.
Let’s flashback to the early days of logic and play catch up. We need to start with syllogisms. Syllogisms are logical forms made up of combinations of two statements about classes of things that lead to a conclusion. They were invented by the Greeks and written up by Aristotle in Prior Analytics. You might have run into them, If you had a philosophy class that included lectures on formal fallacies. The three forms of statements allowed are:
Click through to receive a brief primer on formal logic and learn more about how SQL implements these concepts.