What is the Difference Between SQL and MySQL?

SQL is query programming language to manage RDBMS while MySQL is RDBMS that uses SQL.
In this article, we will discuss the key differences between SQL (Structured Query Language) and MySQL.

SQL and MySQL are two of the most popular and efficient data management tools. While SQL is the language to perform operations on the data in relational databases, MySQL is a relational database management system. This blog will explore the key differences between SQL and MySQL. Before we move on to the differences, let us understand the meaning and properties of these two terms in detail.

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Table of Contents

• What is Database?
• RDBMS Overview
• What is SQL?
• What is MySQL?
• Difference Between SQL and MySQL
• Conclusion

Before we dive into understanding the difference between SQL and MySQL, let us take a look at some SQL related key terms:

What is Database?

A database is an organized collection of data or information that is stored electronically in a computer system. It enables us to store any type and huge volumes of data for easy accessibility and use. To know more, read our post – What is a Database?

Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) Overview

A DBMS (Database Management System) is a system that enables us to manage, retrieve, store and maintain the database. RDBMS (Relational Database Management System) is an advanced version of a database management system.

A relational database enables users to identify and access data in relation to another piece of data in the database. It stores data in rows and columns in a series of tables. This makes processing and querying efficient. RDBMS enables users to arrange, maintain, retrieve and manage databases in a tabular format.

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RDBMS is widely used by many companies, data analysts, and database administrators for handling large amounts of data. A few examples of popular RDBMS include MySQL, Oracle, and the Microsoft SQL Server database.

Some of the benefits of RDBMS include:

• Easy access to data
• Data Accuracy
• Data integrity
• Flexibility
• High security
• Limited data redundancy
• Multiple users can access data

Also Read: 100+ SQL Interview Questions and Answers

What is SQL?

Structured Query Language or SQL is the language that is used to store and manage data in RDBMS. Using SQL, we can query a database to add, modify, alter, update, or delete data relational databases. The language also helps us to create and modify database schemas.

It can help users manage multiple relational database management systems, such as MySQL, Oracle, and MS Access. Most of the database queries for retrieving, adding, or manipulating data are based on the standard SQL syntax, except for a few minor syntax changes.

According to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), SQL is the standard language for managing a relational database management system. One key benefit of SQL is that it allows users to retrieve multiple records in a database with a single command.

Also Read: SQL Tutorial for Beginners

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SQL can retrieve data, insert, update, delete records from the database. Using SQL you can create new database, table in database, views and even set permission on tables, procedures and views.

Advantage of SQL

• High Performance – Many data can be retrieved quickly and efficiently.
• Scalability – SQL database is vertically scalable, i.e., the load can be increased by adding more RAM, SSDs or CPU.
• Security and Authentication – It has an encrypted communication feature over SSL/TLS and DPAI to encrypt data at rest, authentication, and authorization.

What is MySQL?

MySQL is an open-source RDBMS (relational database management system). It uses SQL queries to perform specific operations in a database. It is written in the C and C++ programming languages and is compatible with all major platforms, such as Windows, Linux, macOS X, etc.

Developed in 1995 by MySQL AB, MySQL is now owned and managed by Oracle Corporation. MySQL is used by many top companies such as Netflix, Amazon, and Uber to manage a large volume of data.

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It is fast, scalable, reliable, easy to use, and allows multiuser access to databases. MySQL is a core component of LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) – an open-source web-service stack.

Advantages of MySQL:

• Data security
• Open-source flexibility
• High performance
• On-demand scalability
• Robust database management

Also Read: Understanding SQL Server Data Types

Must Read: All about DML Command in SQL

Must Read: SQL ACID Properties

Difference Between SQL and MySQL

Here are the key differences between SQL vs MySQL:

Conclusion

In this blog, we explored the key differences between SQL and MySQL. We learned that SQL is a Structured Query Language for performing various operations on the databases. On the other hand, MySQL is an open-source RDBMS (Relational Database Management System) that uses SQL for performing all the database operations. To learn more about DBMS and RDBMS, read our post – What is the Difference Between DBMS and RDBMS?