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Comparing SQL To Other Programming Languages

SQL is a declarative language that allows users to specify the results they want without detailing the steps, unlike procedural languages which require specifying each step. In SQL, a user can request all sales data from July from the New York showroom without defining how to load, extract, check, and display the data as they would in a procedural language such as C++ or Visual Basic. SQL determines the necessary steps to retrieve the requested information and returns the results.

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JeandelaSagesse
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200 views1 page

Comparing SQL To Other Programming Languages

SQL is a declarative language that allows users to specify the results they want without detailing the steps, unlike procedural languages which require specifying each step. In SQL, a user can request all sales data from July from the New York showroom without defining how to load, extract, check, and display the data as they would in a procedural language such as C++ or Visual Basic. SQL determines the necessary steps to retrieve the requested information and returns the results.

Uploaded by

JeandelaSagesse
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
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Comparing SQL to Other Programming Languages

Now that you know what SQL can be used for, you can compare it to other programming languages. To
be honest, SQL is quite different from the procedural languages such as C++, Visual Basic, Pascal, and
other third-generation programming languages, which allow the programmer to write step-by-step
instructions telling the computer exactly what to do to achieve a specified goal. Taking the car sales
example, your goal might be to select all the information about sales made in July from the New York car
showroom. Very roughly, your procedural language might be along the lines of the following:
1. Load the sales data into the computers memory.
2. Extract the individual items of data from the sales data.
3. Check to see if each item of data is from the month of July and from the New York showroom.
4. If it is, then make a note of the data.
5. Go to the next item of data and keep going until all items have been checked.
6. Loop through the data results and display each one.
SQL, however, is a declarative language, which means that instead of telling it what to do to get the
results you want, you simply tell it what you want, and it figures out what to do and comes back with
the results. In the car sales example, if you were using SQL, youd specify the results you want, something
like this:
SELECT all the data from the sales table WHERE the sales were in July and made at the New York
showroom.
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