What SQL is and why it's worth learning

Every time a shopping site shows your order history, a database is answering a question. SQL is the language you use to ask those questions yourself.

SQL stands for Structured Query Language. You describe the result you want, and the database works out how to get it.

Starting today, I’m teaching it from the basics, one short post each weekday. No coding background needed.

Here’s what a question looks like in SQL:

SELECT name, city
FROM customers
WHERE city = 'Hyderabad';

Read it almost like English:
Show me the name and city,
from the customers table,
only where the city is Hyderabad.

That’s a complete query. Over the next few weeks, you’ll learn what every word does and start writing your own.