Data & AI
SQL is the standardised query language used to create, read, update, and delete data in relational databases, as well as to define schemas and control access permissions.
SQL's declarative syntax allows developers and analysts to express what data they want — SELECT name, revenue FROM customers WHERE region = 'West' ORDER BY revenue DESC — without specifying the algorithmic steps to retrieve it, as the database query planner determines the optimal execution strategy. Core SQL operations are grouped into DDL (CREATE, ALTER, DROP for schema management), DML (SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE for data manipulation), and DCL (GRANT, REVOKE for access control). Advanced SQL features like window functions, common table expressions (CTEs), and stored procedures enable complex analytical queries and encapsulation of business logic directly in the database. SQL remains the dominant language for data work across teams: developers use it for application queries, data engineers for ETL pipelines, and analysts for business intelligence reporting.
Example
A finance analyst writes a SQL query joining the orders, customers, and products tables to calculate monthly revenue by product category for the last 12 months, producing a pivot table for executive review.
Related terms
NoSQL
NoSQL refers to a broad category of database management systems that store and retrieve data using non-tabular models — including document, key-value, column-family, and graph formats — designed for flexible schemas and horizontal scalability.
Database
A database is an organised collection of structured or semi-structured data stored electronically and managed by a database management system (DBMS) that enables efficient querying, insertion, update, and deletion of records.
ORM (Object-Relational Mapping)
An ORM is a programming library that automatically translates between the object-oriented data models used in application code and the relational tables and SQL queries used in a database, eliminating most manual SQL writing.
ETL (Extract, Transform, Load)
ETL is a data integration process in which data is extracted from one or more source systems, transformed into a consistent and clean format, and loaded into a destination system such as a data warehouse for analysis.
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