*Dear SQL Development Team,* I hope this message finds you well.
I'd like to propose a new feature for consideration in future versions of SQL — the ability to perform a column-level DELETE operation, allowing removal of specific column values without affecting the entire row. *Proposal Summary* Currently, SQL provides two core commands: - DELETE – to remove entire rows. - UPDATE – to change or nullify column values. However, there’s no specific, expressive way to *delete the value of a column* directly. The typical workaround is to use: UPDATE Customers SET Address = NULL WHERE CustomerID = 103; While this works fine, it doesn't semantically express that the developer intends to *remove* the value — not just update it. *Proposed Syntax Examples* Here are some ideas for possible new syntax: DELETE Address FROM Customers WHERE CustomerID = 103;-- or REMOVE COLUMN Address FROM Customers WHERE CustomerID = 103; And even: DELETE Address, PostalCode FROM Customers WHERE Country = 'India'; These would act as a shortcut or expressive alias for setting one or more column values to NULL. *Why This Matters* - *Improved readability* and code clarity. - More intuitive for developers coming from languages or NoSQL systems where fields can be "deleted" from an object/document. - Emphasizes intent: *deleting* a value is conceptually different from *updating* it to NULL. - Opens doors for potential enhancements in tooling and IDE support. I understand this would require careful consideration within the SQL standards, but I believe it could make SQL more expressive and beginner-friendly while preserving its power. Thank you for your time and for all the work you do to maintain and improve SQL systems. Warm regards, *Abhishek Hatgine* SQL Learner Your Email – hatgineabhishe...@gmail.com Location – Pune
