What sets SQL apart from every other programming language available today? In one word: Portability? The SQL language has been ported to pretty much all of the modern operating systems and environments. Even NoSQL engines that do not support SQL natively are being extended to support SQL. So, at the end of the day, if you want to develop a skill that can be used just about anywhere, SQL is at the top of the list.
It is the very nature of SQL that makes it so powerful. You can define and create data storage with the Data Modeling Language features of the SQL syntax. Creating tables, indexes, relationships, constraints, default values and much more is built right into the basics of the SQL Language.
Then, in contrast, you can manipulate data using a common syntax that has very little variance from one implementation to the next.
The biggest thing I find useful in the SQL language is the querying capability. There are so many ways you can gather, manipulate, aggregate, and format data, all in a standardized format that is unlike that of any other language. It’s quite amazing that there are still so many reporting engines using SQL as the basis for gathering and pre-processing data prior to presentation.
This doesn’t mean you can’t write a program without using SQL. I guess the question you may want to ask yourself is, “why should you?” There are so many great tools built around the SQL Language and SQL storage engines that it has become a common practice to first consider using SQL for data storage. Think about it, even the companies who have made big investments in NoSql engines and alternative data storage, still continue to use SQL for many of their own applications. Ebay, Rack Space, Twitter, NetFlix, Amazon, and Google are all examples of companies with core business services on alternative data storage, yet they all use SQL when the solution is the best fit.
Take time to become an SQL expert. It will be worth the effort.
Cheers,
Ben