In computer programming, different languages are used to write commands that are then processed by the computer. Since there is a wide variety of computer applications and programs, there also exists a wide variety of programming languages. Each has its own specific purpose and allows programmers to accomplish tasks specific to that language. An example of one of those specialty languages is SQL.
SQL is a programming language that stands for “Structured Query Language.” Its design is based on tuple relational calculus and relational algebra and includes a data definition language and a data manipulation language. The structured query language was designed to be used in managing information in a relational database management system (RDBMS) and for stream processing in a relational data stream management system (RDSMS). Currently, SQL is the most widely-used language for programming databases.
This special purpose programming language includes procedural elements, though it’s often described as a declarative language. Its functions include queries, data inserts, update and delete functions, data access controls, and schema creation and modification. The elements of this language are clauses, expressions, predicates, statements, and queries. It also has an insignificant white space feature that allows for increased readability. The language became a standard for the American Nation Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1986 and 1987 respectively. Though it’s become highly standardized, most code written in SQL is not completely transferable among varying databases or systems without some changes being made.
This language was initially created in the early 1970s at IBM by Raymond F. Boyce and Donald D. Chamberlin. Originally, it was called SEQUEL (Structured English QUEry Language), and designed to access and manipulate data in IBM’s database management system. The name was later shortened to SQL because “SEQUEL” was a trademark already in use by a UK-based aircraft company. In June of 1979, SQL was made commercially available for the first time by Relational Software, Inc. In that same year and the years that would follow, IBM also developed a commercially available form of the language.
