SQL Introduction

SQL is a standard computer language used for accessing and processing databases.

What is SQL?

  • SQL stands for Structured Query Language
  • SQL enables us to access databases
  • SQL is a standard computer language of ANSI

Editor's note:ANSI, the American National Standards Institute

What can SQL do?

  • SQL is used to execute queries on databases
  • SQL can retrieve data from the database
  • SQL can insert new records into the database
  • SQL can update data in the database
  • SQL can delete records from the database
  • SQL can create new databases
  • SQL can create new tables in the database
  • SQL can create stored procedures in the database
  • SQL can create views in the database
  • SQL can set permissions for tables, stored procedures, and views

SQL is a standard - but...

SQL is an ANSI standard computer language used to access and operate database systems. SQL statements are used to retrieve and update data in the database. SQL can work with database programs such as MS Access, DB2, Informix, MS SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, and other database systems.

Unfortunately, there are many different versions of the SQL language, but in order to be compatible with the ANSI standard, they must support some major keywords in a similar way (such as SELECT, UPDATE, DELETE, INSERT, WHERE, etc.).

Note:In addition to the SQL standard, most SQL database programs have their own private extensions!

Using SQL on your website

To create a website that publishes data from a published database, you need the following elements:

  • RDBMS database programs (such as MS Access, SQL Server, MySQL)
  • Server-side scripting languages (such as PHP or ASP)
  • SQL
  • HTML / CSS

RDBMS

RDBMS refers to a relational database management system.

RDBMS is the foundation of SQL and also the foundation of all modern database systems, such as MS SQL Server, IBM DB2, Oracle, MySQL, and Microsoft Access.

Data in RDBMS is stored in database objects called tables (tables).

A table is a collection of related data items, consisting of columns and rows.