Structured Query Language (SQL)
SQL (pronounced "ess-que-el") stands for Structured Query Language. SQL is used to communicate with a database. According to ANSI (American National Standards Institute), it is the standard language for relational database management systems. SQL statements are used to perform tasks such as update data on a database, or retrieve data from a database.
Some common relational database management systems that use SQL are: Oracle, Sybase, Microsoft SQL Server, Access, Ingres, etc. Although most database systems use SQL, most of them also have their own additional proprietary extensions that are usually only used on their system. However, the standard SQL commands such as "Select", "Insert", "Update", "Delete", "Create", and "Drop" can be used to accomplish almost everything that one needs to do with a database. This tutorial will provide you with the instruction on the basics of each of these commands as well as allow you to put them to practice using the SQL Interpreter.
SQL is a standard language for accessing databases. SQL is a special-purpose programming language designed for managing data held in a relational database management system (RDBMS).
Originally based upon relational algebra and tuple relational calculus, SQL consists of a data definition language and a data manipulation language. The scope of SQL includes data insert, query, update and delete, schema creation and modification, and data access control. Although SQL is often described as, and to a great extent is, a declarative language (4GL), it also includes procedural elements.
SQL deviates in several ways from its theoretical foundation, the relational model and its tuple calculus. In that model, a table is a set of tuples, while in SQL, tables and query results are lists of rows: the same row may occur multiple times, and the order of rows can be employed in queries (e.g. in the LIMIT clause). Furthermore, additional features (such as NULL and views) were introduced without founding them directly on the relational model, which makes them more difficult to interpret.
Critics argue that SQL should be replaced with a language that strictly returns to the original foundation: for example, see The Third Manifesto. Other critics suggest that Datalog has two advantages over SQL: it has a cleaner semantics which facilitates program understanding and maintenance, and it is more expressive, in particular for recursive queries.
Relational Database Management System (RDBMS)
RDBMS stands for Relational Database Management System. RDBMS is the basis for SQL, and for all modern database systems such as MS SQL Server, IBM DB2, Oracle, MySQL, and Microsoft Access.
The data in RDBMS is stored in database objects called tables. A table is a collection of related data entries and it consists of columns and rows.
