Structured Query Language (sql)

Why is Structured Query Language (SQL) such an important tool? Explain Structured Query Language's role in the database world.

Structured Query Language is the standard language used to communicate with database software. SQL is a complex and powerful language that can be used to create access, manipulate, query, and delete data from databases. While there are many different versions of the SQL language, the ANSI standard requires the keywords to all be similar (Select, Delete, Insert, and etc.). This makes SQL universally understandable and useable be all users.

Flexibility - SQL uses like methods on all major platforms. This allows users easy of use and transporting data from DBMS to DBMS. Once a user as the fundamental knowledge of SQL, they can work with any SQL platform.

Query of Data - SQL operates on sets of data rather than on individual data elements. The user does not have to worry about details when manipulating data, SQL will retrieve all rows satisfying the condition in a single step and can be passed as unit to the user. You do not have to deal with the rows one by one. This allows the user to query and manipulate data from the database in a much easier fashion.

SQL is Non-Procedural - The user specifies the data or information required, not the navigation and operations required to access the data. Navigating data in this manner is very user friendly.

SQL is frequently used in used in host languages. It is common for programs such a COBOL or C to be host languages with SQL added or placed in these programs, when query commands are needed. While this adds to the complexity of the program, it also shows the versatility SQL.

In order to provide Web access to a database, additional software capabilities are needed between the user's browsers and the database software. It is also common to use SQL in building these applications. SQL has many uses in today's database programming world.

* SQL provides automatic navigation to data.

* SQL operates on sets of data, rather than on individual data elements.

* SQL is declarative, not procedural, and does not provide procedural control.

* SQL programming is done at the logical level; there is little