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SQL was initially developed at IBM by Donald D. Chamberlin and Raymond F. Boyce after learning about the relational model from Edgar F. Codd [12] in the early 1970s. [13] This version, initially called SEQUEL (Structured English Query Language), was designed to manipulate and retrieve data stored in IBM's original quasirelational database management system, System R, which a group at IBM San ...
Broadly, query languages can be classified according to whether they are database query languages or information retrieval query languages. The difference is that a database query language attempts to give factual answers to factual questions, while an information retrieval query language attempts to find documents containing information that is relevant to an area of inquiry.
A query language, like for example Structured Query Language (SQL), is used to prepare the queries. SQL is an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standardized query language developed specifically to write database queries. Each database management system may have its own language, but most are relational. [clarification needed]
Queries allow the user to describe desired data, leaving the database management system (DBMS) to carry out planning, optimizing, and performing the physical operations necessary to produce that result as it chooses. A query includes a list of columns to include in the final result, normally immediately following the SELECT keyword.
Queries over relational databases often likewise return tabular data represented as relations. The main purpose of relational algebra is to define operators that transform one or more input relations to an output relation. Given that these operators accept relations as input and produce relations as output, they can be combined and used to ...
Formally, a "database" refers to a set of related data accessed through the use of a "database management system" (DBMS), which is an integrated set of computer software that allows users to interact with one or more databases and provides access to all of the data contained in the database (although restrictions may exist that limit access to particular data).
The database translates the query into a "query plan" which may vary between executions, database versions and database software. This functionality is called the "query optimizer" as it is responsible for finding the best possible execution plan for the query, within applicable constraints. The SELECT statement has many optional clauses:
The purpose of DQL commands is to get the schema relation based on the query passed to it. Although often considered part of DML, the SQL SELECT statement is strictly speaking an example of DQL. When adding FROM or WHERE data manipulators to the SELECT statement the statement is then considered part of the DML.