Обсуждение: Newbie basic and silly question

hi all,
i am new to databases. i have been doing a bit of reading and have come
across the terms sql,mysql,postgres.
now my understanding is that sql is a db language which is used by both
mysql and postgres. also mysql is a subset of postgres. a lot of
features in postgres come from mysql.
can somebody please clarify this and clear my doubts.
thanks.

On Feb 22, 2006, at 14:04 , sconeek@gmail.com wrote:

> now my understanding is that sql is a db language which is used by
> both
> mysql and postgres.

I think this wikipedia entry will clear up a lot of your questions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQL

> also mysql is a subset of postgres. a lot of
> features in postgres come from mysql.

No. PostgreSQL and MySQL are different database management servers
(DBMS) (with completely different origins) that both support the SQL
language. Other DBMSs include Firebird, MSSQL Server, DB2, and Oracle.

I'm sure there are other Wikipedia entries that may help you as well.

Michael Glaesemann
grzm myrealbox com

> On Feb 22, 2006, at 14:04 , sconeek@gmail.com wrote:
>
> > now my understanding is that sql is a db language
> which is used by
> > both
> > mysql and postgres.
>
> I think this wikipedia entry will clear up a lot of
> your questions.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQL
>
> > also mysql is a subset of postgres. a lot of
> > features in postgres come from mysql.
>
> No. PostgreSQL and MySQL are different database
> management servers
> (DBMS) (with completely different origins) that both
> support the SQL
> language. Other DBMSs include Firebird, MSSQL
> Server, DB2, and Oracle.
>
> I'm sure there are other Wikipedia entries that may
> help you as well.

just to add a bit on what Michael said, the different
dbs may also have some custom sql syntaxes.  iow,
while most of the dbs support most of the standard sql
syntax, this isn't always the case.

this usually isn't an issue unless 1. your db of
choice (postgress is great, btw) has an easy way to do
something that might not be in the sql standard and 2.
when you change dbs, since all the sql may not be portable.

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