B5 - Week 6 Blog Post - Group B, Price

What is SQL and Why is it Important?

SQL stands for Structured Query Language and is a computer language used to create, modify, and retrieve and manipulate data from relational database management systems.  It is used by most large scale databases to facilitate user and administrator interactions.  Many computer programs need to store and retrieve data.  Instead of implementing their own system of storing and retrieving the data, SQL systems can be used.

SQL works similarly to how an excel spreadsheet is set up; it looks at data in terms of tables.  Within these tables, SQL allows the user to place data, read data, change data, and remove data from these tables.  SQL also allows for the interaction of several tables at a time to manage data.  Some modern programmers find this approach to be antiquated because “SQL only knows tables, and every operation produces tables. It either "produces" a table by modifying an existing one, or it returns a new temporary table as your data set.” This can pose problems with many programs today that utilize object-oriented programming that focus on nested objects and parent-child relationship coding techniques.  However, since SQL only provides basic framework, programmers have learned to adapt and change their programs to incorporate all of SQL’s various functions.

SQL is important because it is the most popular language for defining relational database models, which have been the standard in the data industry for roughly the past four decades. Relational databases, as opposed to hierarchical databases, are composed of tables for which the creator explicitly defines the links or relationships. For hierarchical databases, every segment is already implicitly defined in a hierarchical path. The main advantage of relational databases is that they do not limit the user to a strict hierarchy of data and allow the programmer more liberty in regards to defining how the information is joined. As a result, they are more desirable in instances that demand flexible data structures. It is also relatively simple to edit and manipulate those structures. 

Just like Young, I don't have much experience with databases, but I did learn about them in INFO 210 last term.  The experience I had was understanding how to create a table with attributes and entities for a certain type of database, which is what we had to do for a project in the INFO class.

As Dmitry stated in his blog, SQL is an extremely important tool for large companies because it allows them to easily manage large quantities of information virtually.  For instance, Nike has a lot of users that use their Nike+ program.  If they were to sign up on paper and have to send it in, the company would have a difficult time managing all the information.  Not only does it make it easier to manage, but it also makes it easier to update the program/app based on end user needs and interests.  

References:

Chapman, Daniel R. "What Is SQL and Why It Is Important?" Ezine Articles, 28 Feb. 2012. Web. 09 Feb. 2015.

Chapple, Mike. "Structured Query Language (SQL)." About.com Databases. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2015.