SQL is a standard language for accessing and manipulating databases. SQL stands for Structured Query Language SQL lets you access and manipulate databases SQL became a standard of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in 1986, and of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1987 What Can SQL do? SQL can execute queries against a database SQL can retrieve data from a database SQL can insert records in a database SQL can update records in a database SQL can delete records from a database SQL can create new databases SQL can create new tables in a database SQL can create stored procedures in a database SQL can create views in a database SQL can set permissions on tables, procedures, and views SQL is a Standard - BUT.... Although SQL is an ANSI/ISO standard, there are different versions of the SQL language. However, to be compliant with the ANSI standard, they all support at least the major commands (such as SELECT , UPDATE , DELETE , INSERT , WHERE ) in a similar manner.

Note: Most of the SQL database programs also have their own proprietary extensions in addition to the SQL standard! Using SQL in Your Web Site To build a web site that shows data from a database, you will need: An RDBMS database program (i.e. MS Access, SQL Server, MySQL) To use a server-side scripting language, like PHP or ASP To use SQL to get the data you want To use HTML / CSS to style the page RDBMS stands for Relational Database Management System. RDBMS is the basis for SQL, and for all modern database systems such as MS SQL Server, IBM DB2, Oracle, MySQL, and Microsoft Access. The data in RDBMS is stored in database objects called tables. A table is a collection of related data entries and it consists of columns and rows. Look at the "Customers" table: The columns in the "Customers" table consist of CustomerID, CustomerName, ContactName, Address, City, PostalCode and Country. A column is a vertical entity in a table. A record, also called a row, is each individual entry that exists in a table. For example, there are 91 records in the above Customers table. A record is a horizontal entity in a table. Video: SQL Introduction W3Schools Adventure App Coding fundamentals as a game. Bite-sized lessons and challenges. If you want to use W3Schools services as an educational institution, team or enterprise, send us an e-mail: sales@w3schools.com If you want to report an error, or if you want to make a suggestion, send us an e-mail: help@w3schools.com