SQL Database Training

A Small History of SQL

In 1970, while working for IBM, Dr. E. F. "Ted" Codd described the first relational database model. Codd envisioned a system where non-technical users could store and retrieve large amounts of information. The access would be with English like commands and the data would be stored in tables.

Based on Codd's model, IBM developed a language called Structured English Query Language (SEQUEL). This language later became known as SQL.

Although IBM invented the concept and defined the standard, it was Honeywell in 1976 that release the first commercial relational database system.

In 1978, IBM finally released their first relational database called System/R.

In 1979, Relational Software, Inc (now Oracle) released their first commercial implementation of SQL.

In the 1980s, fields such as medical, multimedia and high energy physics required more flexibility in how the data is represented and accesses. This led to the advent of object oriented databases.

In the early 1990s the first object oriented database management systems were released by companies such as Objectivity.

Oracle developed their products based on the industry accepted standard. This standard was defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the International Standards Organization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

What is SQL?

SQL is a data sublanguage. The purpose of SQL statements is to provide an interface to a relational database. It processes sets of data as a group rather than as individual units. It provides automatic navigation to the data. It uses statements that can be complex and powerful, thus stand-alone. Flow control statements were added in the 1996 release.

SQL lets users work with the data at a logical level. They do not need to be concerned with the implementation details.

SQL Today

Today, there are free and commercial versions of SQL servers. MySQL and PostgreSQL are popular free SQL servers. Many commercial database products exist today including Microsoft's SQL Server, Oracle's database products, IBM's Informix products, and many others.

If you currently design web pages or write engineering software, you might need a relational database to store data and their associations. The most professional and powerful web sites use SQL databases behind the scenes. Even the most basic applications can use databases, at little or no cost.

Relational Databases vs Flat Files

Relational databases are far better than flat-file data storage for a number of reasons. With a database, you clearly define what your "entities" are and what data values they contain. You also define the relationships between those entities, for example, one "Music CD" contains many "Song Tracks". This gives you the ability to perform powerful queries with SQL to obtain the right cross-sections of data whenever you need them.

Relational database are extremely changeable and scalable once created. Adding new fields of data to any entity (or deleting some) is simple and easy, and doesn't affect the remaining fields. With flat files, the position of data is important, as in "the third comma-separated field is the Music CD album name". With flat files, small data changes can result in severe code changes, introducing new bugs and affecting the stability of your application. SQL databases are not nearly so sensitive to data changes.

Why Should You Learn SQL?

Most SQL database training courses are 5 days long. Fastech Learning Center will enable you to learn SQL using mySQL in just 3 days. Our hands-on, instructor led, high tech industry tested training will give you the skills you need to design relational databases and implement them in just a few days and for a reasonable cost. Your improved SQL database skills will save money in the long run.

You can spend many non-productive hours trying to teach yourself how to design and implement databases. You will end up with many misconceptions and holes in your knowledge. The result will be slower applications due to inadequate use of the database.

See Also

Check out our curriculums for detailed course suggestions depending on your background and interests.