GomorraSQL is an easy and straightforward interpreted SQL dialect that allows you to write simpler and more understandable queries in Neapolitan Language.

Set up

GomorraSQL can be used either as a Java library or as a standalone SQL database client.

Java library

To use it as a Java library, download the latest jar in the release section and import it into your project, along with the driver of the database you want to use. Then, you can use the methods exposed by the class co.aurasphere.gomorrasql.GomorraSqlInterpreter which allow you to either execute a GomorraSQL query against your database (to which you will provide a connection) or just translate it into plain old SQL. GomorraSQL throws a CaggiaFaException with useful debugging information whenever an error occurs.

Database client

To use GomorraSQL as a database client, download the latest jar in the release section and execute it with the command:

java -cp gomorra-sql-1.0.0.jar;<path_to_your_db_driver> co.aurasphere.gomorrasql.GomorraSqlShell

The client will ask for a JDBC string representing the database to connect to (including credentials). After the connection is established, you can start running commands.

Language basics

Before delving into the specific commands, it’s important to consider some general rules to avoid “cuoppo” mistakes:

• parenthesis are not valid characters in GomorraSQL queries. In the following examples, they are just used to distinguish between (mandatory parameters) and [optional parameters]
• GomorraSQL doesn’t allow multi-line queries. Therefore, there’s no end-of-query character (like ; in SQL)
• spacing is very important when using operators! A query using a condition a = 5 will work but the same query with a= 5 or a =5 or a=5 will not

Data Manipulation Language

Likewise standard SQL, GomorraSQL allows performing data manipulation. Here’s a list of supported operations:

Retrieving data

To retrieve data, you can use the ripigliammo command. Here’s the command syntax:

ripigliammo (<comma_separated_column_names> || tutto chillo ch'era 'o nuostro) mmiez 'a <table_name> [pesc e pesc <table_name>...] [arò <condition>]

The first argument for the ripigliammo command is the columns to retrieve. They can be specified either as a list of comma-separated values or with the tutto chillo ch'era 'o nuostro which will return all the columns.

After the columns, the following parameter is the name of the table where to fetch the data with mmiez 'a. Data can be fetched from multiple tables by using the optional join operator pesc e pesc followed by another table name. Currently, there’s no limit on the number of pesc e pesc that can be applied to a single ripigliammo. The join condition is specified in the arò clause, along with the row filtering.

Finally, you can filter the rows using the optional arò clause, followed by one or more conditions. The conditions work exactly like in SQL, with a slightly different syntax for some operators (check the Language Reference section).

Here are some sample queries:

ripigliammo tutto chillo ch'era 'o nuostro mmiez 'a user  # retrieves all users' data
ripigliammo email mmiez 'a user arò id = 6 o name è nisciun  # retrieves all the emails of the users with id 6 or null name
ripigliammo email mmiez 'a user pesc e pesc city pesc e pesc account arò user.id = 6 e user.birth_city = city.id e user.account_id = account.id  # retrieves the data of the user with id 6 along joined with his birth city and his account data

Deleting data

Data deletion can be performed using the facimm na' strage command which supports a subset of options from the ripigliammo command. Here’s the syntax:

facimm na' strage mmiez 'a <table_name> [arò <condition>]

Here are some sample queries:

facimm na' strage mmiez 'a user  # deletes all users' data
facimm na' strage mmiez 'a user arò name nun è nisciun o deleted è true  # deletes the users with name not null or with deleted = true

Updating data

The command rifacimm is used to update data in a table. The syntax is:

rifacimm <table_name> accunza <column_1> accussì <value_1>, <column_2> accussì <value_2>, ... [arò <conditions>]

The accunza operator marks the begin of a list of column/values assignments using the assignment operator accussì.

Here are some sample queries:

rifacimm user accunza name accussì "Pippo"  # sets the name "Pippo" for all the users
rifacimm user accunza name accussì "Pinco", surname accussì "Pallo" arò name è nisciun  # sets the name to "Pinco" and surname to "Pallo" for all users with null name

Inserting data

Data insertion can be performed using the nzipp 'ngoppa operator as following:

nzipp 'ngoppa <table_name> (<column_1>, <column_2>...) chist <value_1>, <value_2>...

After the table name, you can specify a list of columns whose data are being inserted. If not present, GomorraSQL will default to all columns. The chist keyword marks the beginning of a comma-separated list of values to insert. Each insert statement can only add one row.

Here are some sample queries:

nzipp 'ngoppa user chist 1, "Pinco", "Pallo"  # inserts a new user with all his data
nzipp 'ngoppa user name chist "Pinco"  # inserts a new user with only his name set

Transaction support

Being a fully ACID compliant language, GomorraSQL offers basic transaction management. To begin a transaction, you can issue the command ua uagliò. You can then commit the transaction with the command iamme bello ia' or perform rollback with the command sfaccimm.

Language reference

Follows a table that roughly maps GomorraSQL language to standard SQL:

GomorraSQL keyword	SQL equivalent	Valid in…
ripigliammo	SELECT	SELECT
rifacimm	UPDATE	UPDATE
nzipp	INSERT	INSERT
‘ngoppa	INTO	INSERT
facimm na’ strage	DELETE	DELETE
pesc e pesc	INNER JOIN	SELECT
mmiez ‘a	FROM	SELECT, DELETE
tutto chillo ch’era ‘o nuostro	*	SELECT
arò	WHERE	SELECT, UPDATE, DELETE
e	AND	ANY WHERE CLAUSE
o	OR	ANY WHERE CLAUSE
nisciun	NULL	ANY WHERE CLAUSE
è	IS	ANY WHERE CLAUSE
nun è	IS NOT	ANY WHERE CLAUSE
chist	VALUES	INSERT
accunza	SET	UPDATE
accussì	= (assignment)	UPDATE
>	>	ANY WHERE CLAUSE
<	<	ANY WHERE CLAUSE
= (comparison)	= (comparison)	ANY WHERE CLAUSE
!=	!=	ANY WHERE CLAUSE
<>	<>	ANY WHERE CLAUSE
<=	<=	ANY WHERE CLAUSE
>=	>=	ANY WHERE CLAUSE
sfaccimm	ROLLBACK	TRANSACTION
iamme bello ia’	COMMIT	TRANSACTION
ua uagliò	BEGIN TRANSACTION	TRANSACTION

Supported Database

GomorraSQL has been extensively tested with MySQL and H2. Other databases may not work properly.

Training

Video lessons on GomorraSQL syntax and philosophy are available here. If you are also interested in corporate training, feel free to contact me for pricing.

Certifications

If you have an issued certification, you can check it out at the following URL by replacing the “user” parameter with your name (replace spaces with hyphens): https://aurasphere.co/gomorra-sql/certificate.html?user=donato-rimenti.

Contributions

Improvements are always appreciated! If you want to contribute to this project though, remember to open an issue with your suggestion before doing any changes. This will help you avoid working on something that won’t get merged.

Project status

This project is considered completed and won’t be developed further.

Contacts

You can contact me using my account e-mail or opening an issue on this repo. I’ll try to reply ASAP.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Federica Lisci for the logo!

License

The project is released under the MIT license, which lets you reuse the code for any purpose you want (even commercial) with the only requirement being copying this project license on your project.

_{Copyright (c) 2021 Donato Rimenti}