What is Structured Query Language - By: Musarrat Sheikh

Description : SQL stands for Structured Query Language that lets you access and manipulate databases. This is a database computer language designed for managing data in relational database management systems and originally based upon relational algebra and calculus. The scope of this language will include data insert, query, update and delete, data access control, schema creation and modification. This language was one of the first commercial languages despite it not adhering to the relational model it still is the most widely used database language. Structured Query Language is an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard. This language standard is capable of several functions that will include:
Creating new databases
Inserting records in a database
Executing queries against a database
Retrieving data from a database
Updating records in a database
Deleting records in a database
Creating new tables in a database
Crating views in a database
Creating stored procedures in a database.
Setting permissions on tables, procedures as well as views
There are also a number of versions of the Structured Query Language and it is important to note that a majority of the Structured Query Language database programs also have their own proprietary extensions in addition to the Structured Query Language standard. You can also use Structured Query Language to build your website that will be able to show some data from a database and this will require you to have the following:
An Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) database program such as MS Access, Structured Query Language server, MySQL among others
A server side scripting language such as PHP or ASP
Structured Query Language
HTML/CSS

RDBMS is the basis for Structured Query Language as well as for all modern database systems such as MS SQL server, Oracle, IBM DB2, MYSQL as well as MS Access. The data in RDBMS is stored in a database object called a table which is a collection of related data entries that consists of columns and rows. It is also important to keep in mind that Structured Query Language is not case sensitive. Several database systems will require a semicolon at the end of each of the Structured Query Language statements. The semicolon is the standard way of separating each Structured Query Language statement in a database system in order to allow more than one Structured query Language statement although some database programs will force you to use it.

Structured can be divided into two parts namely The Data Manipulation Language and The Data Definition Language. The query and update commands are what form the DML part of the Structured Query Language. The Select command extracts data from a database, the Update command updates the data in a database, the Delete command deletes data from a database while the Insert Into command inserts new data into a database. The DDL part of Structured Query Language permits database tables to be created or deleted and also defines indexes, imposes constraints between tables, as well as specifies links between tables. The most important DDL statements will include Create Database, Alter Database, Create Table, Alter Table, Drop Table, Create Index and Drop Index.

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Author Resource : This article touched the basics of the topic. I have 2 more resources related to the above. They are stored procedure and SQL. They are worth a read.