Buzz
In the modern digital world, there is always a vast amount of electronic data being collected, processed, and stored in databases every day. To accomplish that, we naturally need a tool to work with databases. This is the purpose SQL was created for.
What is SQL?
Short for Structured Query Language, SQL is a type of computer language designed to manage (create, edit, and retrieve) data stored in relational database management systems. It is particularly useful in handling structured data, including relationships between various entities/variables of the data.
SQL offers two main advantages over older read/write APIs such as ISAM or VSAM. First, it introduces the concept of accessing multiple records with a single command; and second, it eliminates the need to specify how to reach a record, for example: with or without an index.
What is SQL used for?
Here are some tasks you can accomplish with SQL:
Defining data
Data in relational databases is stored in the form of tables. SQL commands allow you to create a variety of components such as tables, schemas, stored procedures, indexes, domains, character sets, or even an entirely new database. In addition to creating new elements, SQL also has the ability to remove existing components, modify database object attributes, rename database tables, and delete all data from tables. Data Definition Language (DDL) statements – a part of SQL – are responsible for performing these tasks.
Data Manipulation
Once you've defined your data, you need to manage it. With the help of syntactic components in Data Manipulation Language (DML), SQL can select, insert, delete, and update data records from a table in any database. This allows you to flexibly modify the database as needed.
An SQL code snippet
Data Control
With a plethora of information organized in databases, safeguarding sensitive data is paramount. To enhance security, prevent data misuse, and thwart unauthorized access to critical data, SQL enables you to control access to such data in the database through one of its components – Data Control Language (DCL). With DCL syntax, one can easily grant or revoke privileges for a specific user to access or modify the database.
Database Transaction Management
Any modification operation performed on a database has the potential to corrupt the entire data, rendering it unusable. Hence, a function to maintain data integrity in any database is crucial. Through commands in Transaction Control Language (TCL), SQL helps you avoid such unfavorable situations by allowing you to manage changes made by DML statements. Besides being able to permanently save transactions, SQL also enables you to identify transaction points so that you can restore the database to that point in case of errors or mishaps.
The list of SQL's roles doesn't stop here; the above are just a few of the many uses of SQL. As the most widely used programming language for databases, SQL is a vast and extremely powerful concept. Its capabilities are extensive and can yield unexpected results, making everyone's work easier.
Why Should You Learn SQL?
As analyzed above, SQL is a very powerful language in terms of interacting with databases. But besides that advantage, what else can SQL bring to you to decide that you should learn it? Below is the answer.
1. SQL is the most widely used database language
We are living in an era where data is the most valuable asset and it is placed at the center of every decision-making process. Despite the explosion of NoSQL in recent years, SQL is still reclaiming its position – becoming the common interface for data analysis purposes.
It is the language used in the most popular database engines worldwide such as MySQL, SQL Server, SQLite, and PostgreSQL.
Ranking of the most popular database management systems, 2017
2. Learning SQL is not difficult at all
SQL is not a programming language, it is a query language. The main purpose of SQL is to provide the ability for ordinary people to retrieve the data they are interested in from the database. It is also a language similar to English, so anyone who knows basic English can easily write SQL queries.
The good news is that most database engines are compatible with all SQL codes. So, once you've learned SQL, you can work on any relational database.
3. SQL is one of the most in-demand skills
Let's take a look at some real statistics from the job market:
- On Indeed.com:
There are a total of 149,124 jobs for developers (as of August 2018).
Out of these, there are 105,146 job postings for SQL Developers or where SQL is a required skill. - On Stackoverflow:
SQL is one of the most popular languages among web developers, desktop developers, sysadmins/DevOps, and data scientists.
This is understandable because all companies, regardless of their industry, rely on data to exist, need to organize and understand information properly. Most likely, they will have to work with many SQL databases. Therefore, they always need a professional database employee. 4. Master SQL, you can earn a lot of money.
As the above reasons analyzed, the demand for recruiting SQL staff is very high. Corresponding to that is the income level for this profession is also very high. According to 2018 data from Indeed.com, in the United States, the average salary of SQL developers and database administrators is over $84,000 per year!
Through this article, have you understood what SQL is, the role of SQL, and the reasons to learn SQL? To master SQL is not difficult at all, just love this language and persevere for a while. Wish you soon become a professional SQL developer!
