Introduction to Databases for the Web: Pt. 1 - Page 7

August 16, 1998

The Basics of the SQL Database

As we said, SQL (Structured Query language) is the language of choice for most modern multi-user, relational databases. That is because SQL provides the syntax and idioms (language) you need to talk to (query) relational databases in a standardized, cross-platform/product way (structured).

The beauty of SQL is that it idiomizes the relational model. Rather than refer to data as a set of pointers, SQL provides predefined procedures to allow you to use any value in a table to relate other tables in a database. So long as a database is structured using the relational model, SQL will be a natural fit because SQL was designed to make sense in a relational system. SQL by its very design is a language that can be used to talk about relating tables.

For the rest of Part One and Two, we will examine how you will use SQL to access relational databases. However, first we should say a little bit about the structure of SQL databases before we plunge into usage.

SQL databases (most modern relational databases), as you will recall, are composed of a set of row/column-based "tables", indexed by a "data dictionary". To access data in the tables, you simply use SQL to navigate the system and produce "views" based on search criteria defined in the SQL query.

Okay, that was quite a bit of jargon all at once. Let's step back for a moment and look at each of these terms.

SQL Tables

We have already discussed the concept of tables in the last part, but let's just refresh our memory in terms of how tables relate to SQL. A table is a systematic way to store data. For the most part, a table is just like a spreadsheet. Tables are composed of rows (records) and each row is composed of columns (fields).

Employee Table
Employee ID Number Employee Name Employee Phone Salary
001 Lim Li Chuen 654-3210 90,000 USD
002 Lim Sing Yuen 651-0987 40,000 USD
003 Loo Soon Keat 123-4567 50,000 USD

How the tables are stored by the database you are using does not really make a difference for you. The beauty of SQL is that it works independently of the internal structure of the database. The tables could be stored as simple flat files on a local PC or as complex, networked, compressed, encrypted and proprietary data structures.

All you need to know is the table's name. If you know the name, you can use SQL to call up the table.

We'll look at manipulating tables in detail a bit later. But first, let's look at the data dictionary.

The Data Dictionary

How does the database know where all of these tables are located? Well, behind the scenes, the database maintains a "data dictionary" (a.k.a. catalog) which contains a list of all the tables in the database as well as pointers to their locations.

Essentially, the data dictionary is a table of tables containing a list of all the tables in the database, as well as the structure of the tables and often, special information about the database itself.

When you use SQL to talk to the database and provide a table name, the database looks up the table you referred to in the data dictionary. Of course, you needn't worry about the data dictionary; the database does all the searching itself. As we said before, you just need to know the name of the table you want to look at.

It is interesting to note that because the data dictionary is a table, in many databases, you can even query the data dictionary itself to get information about your environment. This can often be a very useful tool when exploring a new database.

Okay, so how do you actually grab table data using the data dictionary? Well, in an SQL database you create "views". Let's examine views a bit.

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