SQL (Structured Query Language) is the standard language for interacting with relational database management systems. It was developed in the 1970s and has become the industry standard.

SQL allows you to:

• Query data (SELECT)
• Insert records (INSERT)
• Update records (UPDATE)
• Delete records (DELETE)
• Create database objects (CREATE)
• Modify database objects (ALTER)
• Remove database objects (DROP)

Basic SQL Query Structure

The most common SQL command is SELECT, which retrieves data from one or more tables. The basic structure of a SELECT query is:

SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
WHERE condition;

Where:

• SELECT specifies which columns you want to retrieve
• FROM indicates which table(s) to query
• WHERE (optional) filters rows based on a condition