Query Language

Synonyms

Data manipulation language

Definition

A query language is a specialized programming language for searching and changing the contents of a database. Even though the term originally refers to a sublanguage for only searching (querying) the contents of a database, modern query languages such as SQL are general languages for interacting with the DBMS, including statements for defining and changing the database schema, populating the contents of the database, searching the contents of the database, updating the contents of the database, defining integrity constraints over the database, defining stored procedures, defining authorization rules, defining triggers, etc. The data definition statements of a query language provide primitives for defining and changing the database schema, while data manipulation statements allow populating, querying, as well as updating the database. Queries are usually expressed declaratively without side effects using logical conditions. However, modern...