16. The computer system of claim 15 wherein: the group definition syntax provides for assignment of a group ID to each defined group; the group IDs can be used in SQL functions as an argument in SQL functions in place of a column name; the defining of the first group of columns includes assignment of a first group ID to the first group of columns; and the performance of the first group function includes placing the first group ID into an argument portion of an SQL function.
21. The computer system of claim 16 wherein the group definition syntax includes: providing for definition of an alphanumeric character string; and automatically placing into a group any columns of a table that have names sufficiently matching the alphanumeric character string.