Re: about truncate

Peter Eisentraut <peter_e@gmx.net> writes:
> The SQL standard uses a recursive-by-default language.  For example, the 
> rules for the DELETE command state:

Actually, I'm not convinced.  Take a look at the SELECT WITH HIERARCHY
OPTION stuff in SQL99 and later, in particular this from SQL99
12.2 <grant privilege statement>:
        7) Let SWH be the set of privilege descriptors in CPD whose action           is SELECT WITH HIERARCHY OPTION,
andlet ST be the set of           subtables of O, then for every grantee G in SWH and for every           table T in
ST,the following <grant statement> is effectively           executed without further Access Rule checking:
 
             GRANT SELECT ON T TO G GRANTED BY A

It's difficult to read that any other way than that privileges are *not*
auto-recursive, and they have chosen to spell "*" in GRANT as "WITH
HIERARCHY OPTION" (gackk).

On the other hand, it's hard to square that reading with the lack of any
UPDATE or DELETE WITH HIERARCHY OPTION syntax.  What am I missing here?
        regards, tom lane