SQL For Dummies, 8th Edition

Chapter 1

Relational Database Fundamentals

In This Chapter

Organizing information

Defining “database” in digital terms

Deciphering DBMS

Looking at the evolution of database models

Defining “relational database” (can you relate?)

Considering the challenges of database design

SQL (pronounced ess-que-ell, not see’qwl, though database geeks still argue about that) is a language specifically designed with databases in mind. SQL enables people to create databases, add new data to them, maintain the data in them, and retrieve selected parts of the data. Developed in the 1970s at IBM, SQL has grown and advanced over the years to become the industry standard. It is governed by a formal standard maintained by the International Standards Organization (ISO).

Various kinds of databases exist, each adhering to a different model of how the data in the database is organized.

SQL was originally developed ...