SQL For Dummies®, 7th Edition

Chapter 4. Building and Maintaining a Simple Database Structure

Computer history changes so fast that sometimes the rapid turnover of technological generations can be confusing. High-level (so-called third-generation) languages such as FORTRAN, COBOL, BASIC, Pascal, and C were the first languages used to build and change large databases. Later languages included some specifically designed for use with databases — such as dBASE, Paradox, and R:BASE. (So were these third-and-a-half-generation languages? Never mind.) The next step in this progression was the emergence of development environments such as Access, PowerBuilder, and C++ Builder, the so-called fourth-generation languages (4GLs). Now things have moved beyond the numbered generations to rapid application development (RAD) tools and integrated development environments (IDEs) such as Eclipse and Visual Studio .NET, which can be used with any of a number of languages (such as C, C++, C#, Python, Java, Visual Basic, or PHP). You use them to assemble application components into production applications.

Note

Because SQL is not a complete language, it doesn't fit tidily into one of the generational categories I just mentioned. Nor is it an IDE. It makes use of commands in the manner of a third-generation language — but is essentially nonprocedural, like a fourth-generation language. No matter how you classify SQL, you can use it in conjunction with an IDE or with older third- and fourth-generation development tools. You can write ...