SQL Language Pros and Cons

I need to know about SQL language pros and cons.

If you know what you are doing, and you understand the data model, this is great. If you do not, then you’ll write queries that consume resources without giving you a good result.

I know it can have a lot better specificity and quality of data reports.

Another problem with SQL is the large number of standards per vendor. While Oracle is the Microsoft of databases, you have to agree that they have a standard language, standard set of certifications and professional training resources.

And the price tag to match.

For SQL databases, one of the biggest problems is IT security.

That’s the price you pay for its flexibility.

Backwards compatibility is another weakness of SQL.

I only plan on upgrades, not downgrades.

It creates problems when you want to link version X with version Y to create those fancy queries.

What else do you think I should know?

SQL is good for giving you relation data from a database. It is not as good if you normalize the data too much.

I’ve heard someone say you can store all your data in an SQL database and find it with SQL queries.

SQL is a bad choice if you have unstructured data like documents. A document management system like Sharepoint, eRoom or even PTC’s Windchill are better than SQL for document libraries.

But it is good for database applications with a website, right?

SQL does not relate well with object oriented software, which wants to emphasize compound objects.

That’s why you use SQL language queries in a separate language.

Let’s just say that you do not want anyone accessing your SQL database writing their own queries, but a direct data pull like tell me about my order is fine.

Why is searching bad, assuming no SQL injection or viruses?

SQL is going to convert a whole table to a search string if you do not call indexes on tables, so it consumes a lot of resources if things are not designed right – either the database or the query. And it is easy for someone to accidentally crash it.

So I do not let casual users do complex searches. How hard is it for the admin to learn?

SQL is complicated, and it is not something you can pick up over a week unless you already know Oracle and Mongo DB and are otherwise a whiz with databases.

If I knew those other languages, I’d probably already be making a lot of money as a DB admin.

And if you know those other database applications and respective query languages, you’d make more than if you knew SQL.