25.1. Introduction
A database is an organized collection of data. There are many different strategies for organizing data to facilitate easy access and manipulation. A database management system (DBMS) provides mechanisms for storing, organizing, retrieving and modifying data for many users. Database management systems allow for the access and storage of data without concern for the internal representation of data.
Today’s most popular database systems are relational databases, where the data is stored without consideration of its physical structure (Section 25.2). A language called SQL—pronounced “sequel,” or as its individual letters—is the international standard language used almost universally with relational databases to perform queries ...
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