Comments on: Why SQL Sucks

By: Jamin Ohmoto-Frederick

Jamin Ohmoto-Frederick — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 05:31:30 +0000

I have been trying to figure this out too, as SQL has always seemed clunky and unintuitive to me. I happened across The Third Manifesto by Date & Darwen a few years ago, where there is a clear criticism of the current, sad state of affairs. Something that was once a simple model (original Codd model based on relational algebra) went astray and grew into the ugly beast of SQL. Not only that but the three-value logic that includes UNKNOWN (i.e., NULL) can lead to data inconsistencies.

By: andy

andy — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 20:08:06 +0000

I find it curious how many commenters are actually defending SQL.

SQL DOES suck. Its syntax is clunky, and outdated. Not only that, but the syntax hasn’t even evolved since it was originally created. Not one bit. Sure, more functionality has been added over time, but that’s about it.

I’d have to single out the JOIN syntax as a key example of what I’m talking about.

With Hibernate, I can simply say something like this (don’t get me wrong, I hate Hibernate as well):

select id
from table1
where
table1.table2.table3.table4.table5.table6.something = “blah”

Quite a long and involved query, to be sure, but the above syntax makes it about as succinct as it can get.

Case in point -> Now consider the monstrosity you’d get with the same query, in SQL:

select t1.id
from table1 as t1
inner join table2 as t2
on t1.foo = t2.bar
inner join table3 as t3
on t2.foo = t3.bar
inner join table4 as t4
on t3.foo = t4.bar
inner join table5 as t5
on t4.foo = t5.bar
inner join table6 as t6
on t5.foo = t6.bar
where t6..something = “blah”

Again, SQL’s syntax is one of the most obtuse I’ve ever encountered, and it would do well to evolve even slightly

By: John

John — Tue, 31 May 2011 01:12:16 +0000

I’m glad everyone is writing about this. I’m currently starting a PL/SQL class.
Frankly, it’s frustrating and time-consuming to learn. The entity relationship model is easy to understand in an abstract manner. The language used to articulate the model and manipulate its information is difficult.
I have not gotten as frustrated when learning .Net, Java, data structures, etc. It’s not that I can’t easily imagine solutions to problems using sql. But I can’t easily implement or challenge my understanding of concepts like I can in other languages. I can’t just jump right into testing my understanding of aggregate function with my own made up problem as easily as I could test my knowledge of a queue, gui placement, serial over bluetooth, interfaces, etc.
Constructively, do I know another(or better) way? No, I don’t have enough experience to know of any other way but I do have enough experience to say it is frustrating.

By: Peter Coleman

Peter Coleman — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 11:40:09 +0000

Well, SQL may suck that is true. A lot of things in the IT business suck. At least SQL also swallows what it sucks.

By: Patatpatat

Patatpatat — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 06:25:57 +0000

SQL easy to understand? Perhaps. But it’s a chore to perform any moderately complex calculation just with SQL alone. Yes, any SQL sympathetic would say that calculations is not what SQL is for. But it would make development so much easier if something like the model clause was implemented more widely.

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 17:01:15 +0000

Like Lee above, I have programmed in many languages, and I agree — SQL sucks. It appears to have been designed by people who only wanted to ensure their job security, like bureaucrats who create needlessly arcane processes.

To Dave above: simpler is a relative term. Because something is simple to you does not mean it could not be simpler than it is.

By: Dave_Eels

Dave_Eels — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:13:05 +0000

If you cant understand that beauty. Try going back to SQL 101.

The Solution is actually very simple. If you dont like SQL dont use it. If you dont want to use SQL / dont dislike it. You will very soon find out how easy it really is comparing to other Database Sotware. Try adding the same effort into learning SQL as Complaining about it. It sometimes helps.

Tutorial 1
– Making the First Letter of a Word Uppercase.
- Hold in shift and press the letter. ( Dont make it difficult by turning Caps Lock on , Press the letter and turn caps lock off )

Everything is Simpler if you know how to use it.

By: Lee

Lee — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:20:27 +0000

I completley agree: SQL sucks.
I do C,C++,Python,Pascal, embedded everything etc and SQL just sucks as a language. It reminds me of the first BASIC. I often just find myself dumping it all to CSV and parsing it a homebrew info-structure way.

By: rolfen

rolfen — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 21:51:17 +0000

So, what’s the alternative?

By: Jens Schauder

Jens Schauder — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 06:10:46 +0000

Hi notnot,
ich habe keinerlei Interesse SQL durch etwas imperatives zu ersetzen. In der Tat ist die deklarative Natur von SQL eine Stärke, ebenso wie die mathematischen Fundamente.

Das ist aber in keiner Weise ein Gegenargument gegen meine Argumente. Mein Beispiel von Fortran als moderne Sprache war in dieser Hinsicht vielleicht etwas ungeschickt. Es ging mir dabei nur um ein Beispiel für eine Sprache, die zumindest grundlegende Mechanismen der Modularisierung unterstützt.