10 interesting facts about SQL for beginners

10 interesting facts about SQL for beginners

1. SQL stands for Structured Query Language. It is a database programming language that acts a means of communication between two other programs such as a website and a database.
2. SQL helps to structure and manage information in a database as well as carry out searches for information using structures. Some of these structures might include putting all the information about cars into tables comprising of makes, models, year of manufacture, and colour.
3. SQL makes an enquiry (or Query as the name suggests) to a database by sending a request. This request could come from a website such as Autotrader or a search engine.
4. SQL can perform all of these functions in a fraction of a second.
5. There are different developers of SQL, such as Oracle, Sybase, and Microsoft, however their SQL programs all fundamentally work the same way.
6. MySQL is an opensource version of SQL, meaning it is open to the public to upgrade through the internet and best of all… free. This makes it very popular with developers.
7. SQL falls into the middleware category of software. Middleware typically functions in between two other programs, such as a website (the front end) and a database (the backend) allowing them to communicate.
8. Three good examples of websites that use SQL in some capacity are Ebay, Autotrader, and Amazon.
9. The types of people that may use SQL include Applications Developers, Programmers, and Database Administrators (i.e. the people that look after large databases).
10. One type of commonly known database program that works well with SQL is ‘Microsoft Access’. This works with Microsoft’s own version of SQL (Microsoft SQL) which is typically stored on business servers (i.e. central computers). This type of set up allows thousands of employees to access data through their own PCs from the server. This data could be anything from financial information, customer details or retail goods that their company might sell.