By Mike Chapple
Introduction
The Structured Query Language (SQL) comprises one of the fundamental building blocks of modern database architecture. SQL defines the methods used to create and manipulate relational databases on all major platforms. At first glance, the language may seem intimidating and complex but it's really not all that bad. In a series of articles over the next few weeks we'll explore the inner workings of SQL together. By the time we're through, you'll have the fundamental knowledge you need to go out there and start working with databases!
The Structured Query Language (SQL) comprises one of the fundamental building blocks of modern database architecture. SQL defines the methods used to create and manipulate relational databases on all major platforms. At first glance, the language may seem intimidating and complex but it's really not all that bad. In a series of articles over the next few weeks we'll explore the inner workings of SQL together. By the time we're through, you'll have the fundamental knowledge you need to go out there and start working with databases!
This week, our first article in the SQL series provides an introduction to the basic concepts behind SQL and we'll take a brief look at some of the main commands used to create and modify databases. Throughout this article, please keep our goal in mind: we're trying to get the "big picture" of SQL -- not a mastery of the individual commands.......