It is a very well-known language. But, do you know why SQL has this name?
If you have ever had your hands in computer programming, you have most certainly come across SQL sooner or later. It is surely the most famous database manipulation language. You probably know the meaning of its acronym, by the way: Structured Query Language.
Square then Sequel then SQL
But do you know why the two designers of SQL, Don Chamberlin and Ray Boyce, chose this name? This requires delving into the pages of the IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, a scientific journal dedicated to computing. In issue 34 of the publication, published in the fourth quarter of 2012, Don Chamberlin goes back to the origins of SQL.
We are then at the beginning of the 1970s. Chamberlin and Boyce think that it is possible to design a relational language accessible to the greatest number, without them needing to have specific training in computer programming or mathematics. Originally, the two partners produce a first draft, which they call Square (Square, in English).
Square stood for “Specifying Queries as Relational Expressions”, which translates to “Specifying Queries as Relational Expressions”. In 1973, Chamberlin and Boyce started a similar project, which they named Sequel. Again, the name can be unfolded to explain the meaning of the project: “Structured English Query Language” – “structured query language in English”.
All is well in the best of all possible worlds until 1977. On this date, Chamberlin discovers that Sequel is a name that can get him in trouble in the field of trademark rights. The decision is then made to compress the Sequel name in SQL, ejecting all the vowels. And, this is how the language got its definitive name.