SQL
Structured Query Language
Adopt
Formal standard
ANSI / ISO/IEC 9075
Since 1986
Judgement: Adopt
The universal data query language; not a decision.
SQL is the standard query language for relational databases. It is the oldest and most universal de-facto standard in the data world.
Despite vendor-specific dialects, the ISO/IEC 9075 core defines a portable subset that every serious analytical engine implements.
At a glance
- Category
- Query
- Governance
- ANSI / ISO/IEC 9075
- Status
- Stable since 1986; revised regularly (latest SQL:2023)
- First released
- 1986
Links
Related standards
Other standards in Query.
- GQL — Graph Query Language
- SPARQL — SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language
- Substrait
- MDX — Multidimensional Expressions
See SQL in context
Open the interactive Data Landscape to compare SQL against every other open standard, or grab the raw JSON. Spotted something wrong? Open an issue.