Other CQL 3 enhancements

Cassandra 1.2 introduced many enhancements in addition to the key CQL features.

• New statement for altering the replication strategy: ALTER KEYSPACE.
• Querying ordered data using additional operators such as >=
• Compound keys and clustering.
• Composite partition keys.
• Safeguard against running risky queries.
• Retrieve more information about cluster topology.
• Increased query efficiency by using the clustering order.
• Easy access to column timestamps.
• Improved index updates.
• A table can now consist of only a primary key definition.
• New inet data type.
• New syntax for setting the replication strategy using a map collection.
• Capability to query legacy tables.
• Capability to rename a CQL 3 column.
• Consistent case-sensitivity rules for keyspace, table, and column names.
• Configurable tombstone eviction by setting a CQL table compaction subprop/en/archived/cql/3.0/cql/cql_reference/compactSubprop.htmlerty.