Table of contents

Introduction

Types of Database languages in DBMS

2.1.

Data Definition Language (DDL)

2.2.

Data manipulation language (DML)

2.3.

Data control language (DCL)

2.4.

Transaction Control Language(TCL)

Examples of database languages

3.1.

SQL

3.2.

XQuery

3.3.

OQL

Frequently Asked Questions

4.1.

What is the best database language?

4.2.

Properties of 'DELETE' and truncate' commands indicate that?

4.3.

What is the name of the language used by applications to request data from the DBMS?

4.4.

Which keyword is used with Data Control Language (DCL) statements?

Conclusion

Last Updated: Jul 9, 2024

Easy

Database Languages in DBMS

Author Muskan Gupta

Introduction

A DBMS (database management system) provides necessary database languages that allow users to express database updates, queries, and requests for data. There are various database languages to choose from, including SQL, the standard programming language for many databases. Database languages are divided into four sublanguages that perform different tasks.

In this blog, we will learn about the concept of Database Languages

So, let's begin!

Also See, Schema in DBMS and Checkpoint in DBMS

Types of Database languages in DBMS

The four types of Database languages and their uses are discussed below.

Data Definition Language (DDL)
Data Manupulation Lanugage (DML)
Data Control Language (DCL)
Transaction Control Language(TCL)

Types of Database Languages

Source: https://hackr.io/blog/dbms-interview-questions

Also See, Multiple Granularity in DBMS And Recursive Relationship in DBMS

Data Definition Language (DDL)

The database schema is defined using DDL. It's used to create tables, schemas, indexes, constraints, and other things, in a database.

Some of the DDL commands are:

CREATE: It is used to create the object in the database instance
ALTER: It is used to alter the structure of the database
DROP: It is used to delete an object from the To drop database instances
TRUNCATE: It is used to remove all data from tables in a database instance
RENAME: It is used to rename an object from database instances
Comment: To Comment

Data manipulation language (DML)

Data manipulation language (DML) is a programming language that handles user requests and allows users to access and modify the data stored in databases. Some of its most typical functions are inserting, updating, and retrieving data from a database.

The following is a list of DML statements:

INSERT: Adds new data to a database table that already exists.
UPDATE: Changes or updated values in the table
DELETE: It is used to remove rows or records from a table.
SELECT: .It is used to retrieve data from a table or multiple tables in the database.
Merge: Combines records from two tables based on a specified condition.
Call: Executes a stored procedure or function in a database.
Explain Plan: Displays the execution plan for a SQL query.
Lock Table: Restricts access to a table to prevent concurrent data modifications.

Data control language (DCL)

DCL (data control language) is a programming language that controls who has access to the data that users store in a database. Essentially, this language manages the database system's rights and permissions. It allows users to grant or revoke database privileges. The following is a list of DCL statements:

GRANT: This allows a user to access the database.

REVOKE: Removes a user's access to the database

Transaction Control Language(TCL)

TCL is used to perform or roll back the modifications we made to the database using DML commands.

COMMIT: It is used to keep the database's modifications made by DML commands.

ROLLBACK: It is used to restore the modifications made to the database.

Check out this article - File System Vs DBMS

Examples of database languages

Here are three examples of database languages and their uses :

SQL

Structured Query Language, or SQL, is one of the most well-known and long-running database languages. It includes data definition and data manipulation languages and the ability to write database queries. SQL is a programming language that allows you to retrieve and manipulate data from a relational database management system. This type of DBMS organizes data into groups called relations. Because SQL is the database language used by most relational databases, many professions in the IT industry may need employees to know it.

XQuery

XQuery is a database language that lets you extract and manipulate data in XML forms, a type of data that can be shared over the internet. You can use XQuery to access and retrieve any XML-formatted data source. You can use XQuery to generate reports on data stored in an XML database, search for data in text documents on the web, and extract data for usage online.

OQL

The standard language for object-oriented databases, which describe data as variables, functions, or data structures, is OQL, which stands for Object Query Language. Companies that need to store vast amounts of complex data frequently use these databases. OQL allows to conduct queries and retrieve data in object databases like SQL does in relational databases.

Recommended Topic, B+ Tree in DBMS

Check this out: R Programming language

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best database language?

The best database language depends on the use case. SQL is widely regarded as the most versatile and powerful for relational databases. NoSQL languages like MongoDB's query language are preferred for unstructured data and high scalability.

Properties of 'DELETE' and truncate' commands indicate that?

After the execution of 'DELETE' OPERATION, commit AND rollback statements can be performed to retrieve the lost data, while TRUNCATE does not allow it.

What is the name of the language used by applications to request data from the DBMS?

Statements in the Data Manipulation Language (DML) are used to manage data in a database.DML commands are not auto-committed. It means changes made by the DML command are not permanent to a database. It can be rolled back.

Which keyword is used with Data Control Language (DCL) statements?

GRANT is the keyword that is used with Data Control Language statements.

Conclusion

In this article, we have extensively discussed the concepts of database languages, and their uses are discussed and frequently asked questions. Database Language is a special type of programming language used to define and manipulate a database. A combination of DDL, DML, and DCL commands is implemented in the DBMS software.