SQL
{{stub}} {{language|SQL|bnf=http://savage.net.au/SQL/sql-2003-2.bnf.html}} {{Language programming paradigm|Declarative}}
'''[[wp:SQL|Structured Query Language]]''' (SQL) is the ''lingua franca'' for modifying and performing queries in database systems based on Dr. Edgar F. Codd's relational model. (Dr. Codd did not create the SQL language itself.)
SQL has come a long way and it does carry its 30-year-old legacy. But with legacy comes traction and robustness, and up to date, SQL has been the unchallenged means of querying and interoperating with RDBMS.
Some non-RDBMS have even started to adopt SQL-esque languages as their querying interfaces because of the simplicity and expressiveness of SQL.
It is mostly declarative, but each database vendor has extended their dialect of SQL in various incompatible ways to give it more power or to simplify their implementation.
==See Also==
[[SMEQL]]