Structured Query Language: History, and Usage - Report Example

Structured Query Language (SQL Its History, Use and Future Section Number of Structured Query Language (SQL): Its History, Use and Future Structured Query Language (SQL), is a language used to create relational databases and manage or manipulate data in such databases. SQL is an open standard database language. It is supported by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and has become the language of choice for designing, querying and updating relational databases. SQL is supported by all the major database players such as Oracle, Sybase, Microsoft SQL Server, IBM DB2, MySQL, Microsoft Access and Lotus Approach. Knowledge of SQL is essential for both database administrators and programmers. SQL is use in varied environments of client-server programming, web programming and host-based database programming. Database Concepts Knowledge about databases is a prerequisite to understanding SQL. The Webster’s Dictionary defines a database as ‘a usually large collection of data organized especially for rapid search and retrieval.’ Taken as such, a database could even not be associated with computers and simply be paper based in the form of organized data on paper. Databases are however closely associated with computers because computers represent the simplest, fastest and most efficient way to store, manage, retrieve and update data. Computer-based databases, which are the databases referred to in this paper, can range from the older Legacy mainframes often with the Virtual Storage Access Method (VSAM), dBase and other file-based databases, the Relational Data Base Management Systems (RDBMS) and the recent XML and Object-oriented databases. There have essentially been three types of database models – Hierarchical Databases, Network Databases and Relational Databases. In the hierarchical model, the data is structured in what is known as a parent-child relationship. In this model, the basic logic hinges on the assumption that a child element can have only one parent, while a parent can have many children. This relationship in a database design is termed the ‘one-to-many’ relationship as opposed to the elementary ‘one-to-one’ where a single element can be linked only to another single element. The hierarchical model is nagged by the problem of data redundancy. The Network model was developed to eliminate this problem of redundancy. It represents data using set theory instead of a hierarchy. In this structure, a child element has more than one parent resulting in a child having many parents and a parent having many children in what is termed as the ‘many-to-many’ relationship. Both the hierarchical and network models had limitations. Their indexing systems are linked to the hard disk sectors in which the data resides. Moving the data across sectors leads to problems. Moreover, querying data from multiple tables requires sophisticated programming that uses proprietary languages. Relational Database and SQL History The relational database concept of SQL was developed to overcome the constraints of the hierarchical and network models. RDBMSs come with much better data integrity. They are much above just storing and retrieving data. The Data Base Management System (DBMS) itself keeps track of all table relationships independent of hardware or the external programming language. The user needs to understand only the logical structure of the data and not how it is physically stored. Data is stored in simple two-dimensional tables which consist of rows and columns. The main difference was that while the predecessors of RDBMS stored data very well, the database itself had no control over what went into or came out of it. External programs were used for implementing data integrity rules. RDBMSs on the other hand, take responsibility of data integrity right down to the level of the database itself. The external programs still had to know the data integrity rules, but the database took some of the responsibility to make the data much safer. The principles of relational database structures and a Structured English QUEry Language (SEQUEL) were first introduced by EF Codd of IBM in the late 1960s. The acronym SEQUEL was later shortened to SQL. The basic objective behind SQL, as has already been stated, was to increase data integrity and cut down on costs by reducing data redundancy and other inherent problems of the earlier database models. It was however only in the later half of the 1970s that companies such as Oracle and Sybase began creating true relational database systems starting in mainframe computing. These systems looked at database architecture in a new way, running on multiple platforms and offering a higher potential for sharing data across multiple systems. In the 1980s, the American National Standards institute (ANSI) came up with the ANSI-SQL which defined the specifications for SQL. ANSI-SQL brought about better compatibility between vendors, and ensured that the expertise built around one RDBMS was also applicable to other competing systems. This has helped in increasing the number of developers in the SQL community. The ANSI specifications require different levels of compliance. Most of the major RDBMS products, including SQL Server, are classified as being entry-level ANSI compliant which implies that a database meets the basic defined ANSI for the SQL syntax. The Microsoft SQL originated from Sybase SQL Server when Microsoft partnered with Sybase in 1989 to develop a version of SQL Server for OS/2. In 1993, SQL Server migrated to Windows NT, with version 4.2. Microsoft and Sybase parted company after the release of SQL Server version 6.0. From version 6.5, SQL Server has been an entirely Microsoft product. Version 7.0 marks a milestone as it almost completely overhauled the product, and took SQL to the domain of Windows. This was followed by SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005 which incorporated features that were far more than the usual RDBMS. These included full-text search, English query, analysis services, replication, and data transformation services. The latest version SQL Server 2008 has been released only recently. In an overview of SQL Server 2008, Dumler (2008) states that Microsoft meets present day needs “by providing a solution that organizations can use to store and manage many types of data, including XML, e-mail, time/calendar, file, document, geospatial, and so on, while providing a rich set of services to interact with the data: search, query, data analysis, reporting, data integration, and robust synchronization. Users can access information from creation to archiving on any device, from the desktop to a mobile device. Microsoft SQL Server™ 2008 delivers on this vision.” SQL Uses and the Future The case of Microsoft is cited as an example of SQL development. Other companies such as Oracle and IBM have also not lagged behind. Today, every significant database company offers either a SQL-based relational database product or SQL-based access to its non-relational products. All the major packaged enterprise applications including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Supply Chain Management (SCM), Human Resource Management (HRM), Sales Force Automation (SFA), and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) are built on SQL databases. SQL is fast emerging as the standard for specialized databases in front-end applications such as data warehousing, mobile laptop databases and embedded applications in telecom and data communication networks. SQL-based access to databases is an integral feature of Windows, available on the vast majority of personal computer systems, and it is a built-in capability of popular PC software products such as spreadsheets and report writers. SQL-based access to databases is a standard part of Internet application servers, required by the J2EE specification (Vaswani, 2004). The future of SQL is closely linked to the Internet which is increasingly being used to deliver all communication services, information services and e-business interactions. Distributed databases will gain more prominence as more applications will be used on an enterprise or even wider basis. This together with mobile computing and other mobile information appliance devices will drive heavy demand for data distribution, database integration, data synchronization, data caching, data staging, and distributed database technology. SQL will have to meet the challenge of distributed databases in the future. SQL-based databases are responding to the needs of Internet-based architectures by incorporating XML and integrating with application servers. The Internet provides ample scope for all organizations to accumulate information on an unprecedented scale. Companies treat this information as a valuable corporate asset that can provide tremendous competitive advantage. Collection and warehousing of data along with business analysis in real time will therefore assume greater importance. With its inherent features, SQL could be the ideal choice under such circumstances. Similarly, the increase in proliferation of embedded database applications could fuel a new era of growth potential for SQL and relational database technology. SQL will however have to have greater integration with object-oriented technologies as modern application development tools and methodologies are all based on object-oriented technologies. The core row/column principles of the relational data model and SQL, however, are rooted in a much earlier COBOL era of records and fields, not objects and methods. SQL-based databases have responded successfully to the challenges of the object model, with SQL extensions in object/relational databases (Vaswani, 2004). SQL has come a long way and established itself as one of the most important foundation technologies of the computer market in the present-day world. Its flexibility and robustness accords it the potential to hold sway in the future too. . References -01 Dumler, M., 2008, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Product Overview, 2008 Microsoft Corporation. Vaswani, V., 2004, The Future of SQL, MySQL [Online] Available. http://www.devshed.com/c/a/MySQL/The-Future-of-SQL/8/ [March 8, 2007] Read More