SQL Web Hosting

SQL Web Hosting - This article contains a definition and history of Structured Query Language (SQL). Keep reading to learn more about SQL web hosting. Don't miss out on the tips on what to look for when trying to find an SQL web hosting company.

Structured Query Language, or SQL, was developed by Raymond F. Boyce and Donald D. Chamberlin at IBM in the 1970s. It was originally called SEQUEL and was linked to a relational database product from IBM called System R. SQL was designed to manipulate and retrieve data from System R. The SQL language was standardized in 1986 under the name SQL-86.

A variety of outgrowths of SQL add extensions that add capabilities. Some of these extensions were later incorporated into the SQL standard. These have been created by vendors that specialize in database management systems (DBMS) for various purposes.

Some of the important outgrowths include:

• Interbase/Firebird's PSQL
• IBM's SQL PL
• Microsoft/Sybase's T-SQL
• Microsoft's MSSQL
• MySQL's SQL/PSM
• Oracle's PL/SQL
• PostgreSQL's PL/pgSQL, which is based on Oracle PL/SQL
• PostgreSQL's PL/PSM, which implements MySQL's SQL/PSM

The last two are free software. The idiosyncratic handling in the various incarnations mean that code most be modified in order to be used with a different database system than the one it was originally developed for.

Finding SQL Web Hosting

The incompatibility of different forms of SQL means that one has to take care when finding hosting involving SQL and find a web host that offers relational databases period, as well as the form of SQL you want to work in. MySQL has been a very popular implementation of SQL, compatible with Windows, Linux, and UNIX servers. It is part of the popular LAMP platform (Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP/Perl/Python) used on many servers.

For hosting companies that offer a stepped set of plans, it is often the case that the lowest level will not offer a database or a database that is so small that it may not be capable of holding the information you need it to hold. Even when a web host does have a language you want, such as MySQL, it may not run it on ever server type. Network Solutions, for example, offers MySQL only on Unix and MSSQL on its Windows servers. GoDaddy, on the other hand, offers MySQL on its Linux servers and a choice of MySQL or MSSQL on its Windows servers.