# About this guide

For general information about the Derby documentation, such as a complete list of books, conventions, and further reading, see Getting Started with Derby.

For more information about Derby, visit the Derby website at http://db.apache.org/derby. The website provides pointers to the Derby Wiki and other resources, such as the derby-users mailing list, where you can ask questions about issues not covered in the documentation.

- Purpose of this document
  This document, the Derby Reference Manual, provides reference information about Derby.
- Audience
  This document is a reference for Derby users, typically application developers.
- How this guide is organized
  This guide includes the following sections.
- SQL syntax used in this manual
  SQL syntax is presented in modified BNF notation.