SQL – short for Sequel Query Language is a programming language designed to work with data stored in RDBMS (relational database management systems). The data managed by SQL is tabular, meaning it formatted in rows and columns, very much like an Excel spreadsheet.

SQL is broken down into 5 sets of command groups:

DQL = Data Query Language

Querying (SELECT, FROM, etc)

DML = Data Manipulation Language

Data manipulation (INSERT, DELETE, etc)

TCL = Transaction Control Language

Transaction mgt. (COMMIT, ROLLBACK, etc)

DDL = Data Definition Language

Data definition (CREATE, DROP, etc)

DCL = Data Control Language

Data control (GRANT, REVOKE, etc)