You need to think about where you want to go with your procedural programming skills before you take on a language. There are many options available, so it is important to do your research before you dive in.
It’s a great place to dip your toes in the SQL water, regardless of how you pronounce it. T-SQL can be integrated with business tools such as PowerBI and Dynamics. It adds user-defined functions and takes math functions to the next level.
T-SQL’s complex syntax allows you to do more, regardless of whether you are a database administrator, developer, or engineer. T-SQL is the best way to improve your SQL knowledge.
T-SQL 101
Let’s first understand the context of T-SQL before we get into it. In the 1970s, plain SQL was developed by researchers in System R. At that time, the relational database model wasn’t yet invented. Researchers wanted to improve the technology, even though it was innovative. It seemed like a sensible next step to come up with a simple way to maintain these models.
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Start trainingSystem R was used to demonstrate that new methods of building databases could deliver new levels of transaction speed. They also needed a flexible and powerful way to write and manipulate data. SQL was born.
Many vendors started to develop their own relational systems as SQL became more popular. They took them apart, starting with Relational Software, Inc. (later Oracle), and continuing with Sybase, Borland, Sybase, Microsoft, and finally with Microsoft.
Microsoft teamed up in 1988 with Ashton-Tate (makers of dBASE) to compete in the SQL market. Sybase also helped in 1988. Their goal was two-fold. They wanted to save Ashton-Tate’s failing dBASE sales and expand dBASE to a client-server model. Until that point, dBASE was only available on local machines. There was no data sharing across the network.
This partnership resulted in SQL Server. This partnership placed them in the enterprise-level SQL server market, alongside Oracle and IBM. The first version ran on IBM OS/2. Sybase and Ashton-Tate had both ended their Microsoft relationships by 1993. The first version of SQL Server for Windows NT was released by the tech giant.
Increased Competition and Specialization
All vendors created and updated their systems continuously. Today, vendors are everywhere and you can’t turn a corner without running into one.
We’ve already spoken of the big players like SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft. Sybase, Ashton-Tate and IBM’s System R are no more. Open-source databases have taken over the development scene. MySQL, MongoDB and PostgreSQL are just a few of the many options available.
But we are here to talk about Microsoft SQL Server. What makes SQL Server so special? What is T-SQL, and how does it differ from SQL Server?
It is worth noting that ANSI, ISO and ISO established standards for SQL syntax back in 1988. These standards have remained the foundation of SQL’s popularity in computing to this day. SQL is not owned by IBM or any other company. It’s a language that’s used in this context, and not a product.
This allowed Microsoft to extend the standard SQL with their own extensions. These extensions became known as Transact SQL, or T-SQL. Microsoft’s new transaction controls gave rise to the “transact” name. These controls allowed applications to flow with procedural programming.
T-SQL: The Nuts and Bolts
Procedural programming introduces the concept subroutines, and functions. Subroutines and functions can be used to refresh your programming skills. They are given a name and called by name in your code. Then you pass some arguments to the function or subroutine and it does its job.
Subroutines, functions, and functions make your code more concise, easier to read, less likely to be killed, and more readable by humans.
