Chapter 3. An Introduction to SQL

Structured Query Language (SQL) is a database query language that was adopted as an industry standard in 1986. A major revision of the SQL standard, SQL2, was released in 1992. Its successor, SQL3, also contains object-oriented components. Currently, ANSI SQL92 is the most important standard.

This language enables you to pose complex questions to a database. It also provides a means of modifying databases. SQL is widely used. Many databases support SQL, which means that if you learn how to use SQL, you can apply this knowledge to MS SQL Server, DB2, Oracle, PostgreSQL, and countless other databases. SQL works with relational databases, which store data in objects. An object can be a table, for example. A database ...

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