B5 - What is SQL

SQL is the shorthand name for “Structured Query Language” or “Structured English Query Language” and sometimes it is also pronounced as “Sequel” depending on the application or preference. Originally developed in the 1970’s, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) made SQL the standard programming language for working with relational databases. SQL allows users to locate specific information stored in a relational database and forms the basis for most relational database management systems (RDBMS). The language is structured in a way that it is similar to the English language making it relatively easy to understand when compared to other programming languages such as C++ or Java which to the untrained can’t really be understood. SQL allows a for expansion of data tables to significant sizes without sacrificing the ability to retrieve data; consider, for example, a data set in Excel with tens of thousands of data points, to find a specific point of data would be nearly impossible without already knowing where to look; SQL allows for a user to search for a data point by specifying some parameters about that data. Part of what makes SQL important is that it forms the basis of many systems which are reliant on relational databases. Additionally, SQL allows data to be added and removed from large data sets with ease making it much easier to manage data. One of the major advantages SQL had over earlier database languages such as Cobol which was developed in 1959 was that it was much easier to learn and thus train people to use. The ease of learning led to the adoption of SQL by many companies despite some of the shortcomings of SQL in its earlier days. Prior to adoption SQL was hampered by its being less efficient than the Cobol at the time; it took up more memory and had a longer run time than other languages. This was a problem in the past due to the limited computing power of computers at the time. Moore’s law helped to address this and make SQL feasible and helped to turn it into the standard that it is today.

Sources:

Brooks, C. (2014). “What is SQL?” Business News Daily, <https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5804-what-is-sql.html> (Feb. 11, 2019).

Heller, M. (2017). “What is SQL? Structured Query Language explained.” InfoWorld, InfoWorld, <https://www.infoworld.com/article/3219795/sql/what-is-sql-structured-query-language-explained.html> (Feb. 11, 2019).

“What is a Relational Database Management System?” (n.d.). Codecademy, <https://www.codecademy.com/articles/what-is-rdbms-sql> (Feb. 11, 2019).

“What is SQL?” (n.d.). LinkedIn, <https://www.linkedin.com/learning/learning-sql-programming/what-is-sql> (Feb. 11, 2019).

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Comments on Other Posts:

Tyler, the types of database solutions you mentioned seem to serve construction companies pretty well, but do you see any potential options for other models than those mentioned?

Alec, I agree there needs to be a change in the “how we’ve always done it” mindset in construction, but how do you propose making the transition to a more data oriented model?

Yicheng, What are some of the disadvantages of SQL and what are some potential cases where it may be better not to use it?