SQL vs. MySQL: What's the Difference?

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SQL vs. MySQL: What’s the Difference?

SQL (Structured Query Language) is the standard language used to interact with relational databases. MySQL is an open source database system that understands and runs SQL commands. But there’s more to it than that. Their names get mixed up all the time, and if you’re just starting out, it can be confusing to figure out what to learn, what each one does, and how they fit together in real projects.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through their key differences, explain when and why to use each, and show how they work together in real-world applications.

If you’re a beginner or an early career developer trying to learn SQL, fein.antidogm.xyz’s SQL is a great place to learn the basics. To go into more advanced topics, check out the SQL course offered by fein.antidogm.xyz.

Here’s a quick side-by-side comparison of SQL and MySQL

Differences between SQL and MySQL

SQL	MySQL
A programming language for managing Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS).	A relational database management system that uses SQL.
Used to query and process information in databases.	Allows you to store, delete, modify, and retrieve data in an organized manner.
Follows a simple standard and does not have regular updates.	Has many variants and gets regular updates.
Not subject to licensing because it is a programming language.	An open-source database; hence, it is free but may have some premium or commercial versions with additional features.

SQL-related key terms

Before we discuss the definitions of SQL and MySQL, you should be familiar with some key terms that will be used in this guide.

Database

A database is an organized collection of data stored electronically and structured in a way that makes data easily accessible.

Relational Database Management System (RDBMS)

A relational database management system allows you to identify and access data in relation to another piece of data in the database. It stores data in rows and columns in tables to make processing and querying efficient.

Storage engine

A storage engine is the software that a database management system uses to create, read, and update data from a database.

Open source

Open source software has publicly accessible code that anyone can use, modify, or share.

What is SQL?

SQL stands for Structured Query Language. It is the standard data query language used to interact with relational databases, including Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQL Server Express. Most database queries for fetching, adding, and manipulating data are based on SQL syntax.

If you work as a database administrator or a developer, SQL enables you to create, read, update, and delete data also known as CRUD operations. You can also use SQL to maintain and optimize database performance.

Given a table Users with four columns userid, firstname, lastname and age that looks like this:

You can use SQL to fetch all the users from the table using the command below:

SELECT * FROM Users;

The code above is a simple SQL statement that gets all the data from the Users table. However, you can also fetch specific columns from the table instead of all the data. The code snippet below shows how to get the FirstName and LastName of each user in the Users table.

SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Users;

The result of the query looks like this:

Features of SQL

This section will show you some of SQL’s most unique features, which include:

• Easy to understand: SQL uses familiar English verbs like SELECT, CREATE, and UPDATE, making its syntax intuitive, even for non-developers. Columns and tables usually have meaningful names, and you can read SQL statements as English sentences.

CREATE TABLE Users (UserId int, FirstName varchar(255), LastName varchar(255));

In the code above, even as a non-technical English speaker, you can understand what the SQL statement is doing by just reading it. It creates a table called Users with columns UserId, FirstName, and LastName.

• High performance: SQL allows you to insert, modify, and delete data in a short amount of time. You can also use it to retrieve a large amount of data quickly and efficiently.

• Portability: SQL can be used across multiple RDBMS such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, etc.

• Security: SQL enables the security of database systems by ensuring that only authorized users can view specific information in a database management system. For example, if you want to prevent a user from accessing a table, you can use the code below:

REVOKE SELECT ON Salaries FROM 'user123'@'localhost';

What is MySQL?

MySQL is an open source relational database management system owned by Oracle. It stores and manages data in tables of rows and columns and uses SQL for query execution.

Features of MySQL

The main features of MySQL include:

• Open source: MySQL is an open source RDBMS. You can use it for free and customize its source code to meet your needs.
• Cross-platform compatibility: MySQL can run on various platforms, including Linux, Windows, and UNIX operating systems.
• Regular updates and development: MySQL has a huge developer community that provides fixes and regular updates.
• Tooling: MySQL workbench offers a GUI for managing databases.

How do they show up in real projects?

When working on a real project, such as creating an e-commerce application and storing the order and user data, you need to choose a database system like MySQL. You will have to connect your backend service with the MySQL database, and either write raw SQL commands or use an Object Relation Mapper (ORM).

Let’s walk through how SQL and MySQL work together in a basic CRUD application built with Python.

1. First, you need to set up your environment by installing the required tools. The necessary tools include:

   • Python (version 3.8+)
   • MySQL server
   • pip (Python package manager)
   • MySQL driver to access the MySQL database

   To install the MySQL driver, run the command below:

   pip install mysql-connector-python

2. Next, create a connection to your MySQL database using the username and password from your database. Then, create a file called application.py and paste the code below into it.

   import mysql.connector
   
   db = mysql.connector.connect(
     host="localhost",
     user="<username>",
     password="<password>"
   )

3. Create the database usersDatabase using the code below:

   cursor = db.cursor()
   cursor.execute("CREATE DATABASE usersDatabase")

   The code above shows the SQL command for creating a database, which is executed by the MySQL driver.

4. Then, create the Users table using the SQL command Create Table, as shown in the code below.

   cursor.execute("CREATE TABLE users (id int, firstName VARCHAR(255), lastName VARCHAR(255))")

5. Next, insert a record into the Users table:

   db = mysql.connector.connect(
     host="localhost",
     user="<yourusername>",
     password="<yourpassword>",
     database="usersDatabase"
   )
   cursor = db.cursor()
   
   sqlStatement = "INSERT INTO users (id, firstName, lastName) VALUES (%s, %s, %s)"
   value = (1, "John", "Doe")
   cursor.execute(sqlStatement, value)
   db.commit()

   In the code above, the SQL command that inserts a value into the Users table is defined with INSERT INTO and executed using cursor.execute(...). The other lines of code are specific to the Python MySQL driver. Finally, db.commit() is called to make the changes to the MySQL database; otherwise, data is not written to the database.

6. Let’s read the user data from the Users table. To do that, we will use the SELECT statement, as seen in the code below:

   db = mysql.connector.connect(
     host="localhost",
     user="<yourusername>",
     password="<yourpassword>",
     database="usersDatabase"
   )
   cursor = db.cursor()
   cursor.execute("SELECT * FROM users")
   result = cursor.fetchall()
   print(result)

   In the code above, we fetch the users using SQL from the Users table in the MySQL database and print the result to the console.

7. We can update the user data using the SQL UPDATE statement. The code to do this is shown below:

   db = mysql.connector.connect(
     host="localhost",
     user="<yourusername>",
     password="<yourpassword>",
     database="usersDatabase"
   )
   cursor = db.cursor()
   sql = "UPDATE users SET firstName = 'Jane' WHERE id = 1"
   cursor.execute(sql)
   db.commit()

   The SQL command in the code above is used to update the database using the UPDATE, SET, and WHERE SQL statements.

8. To delete data, we will use the SQL DELETE statement.

   db = mysql.connector.connect(
     host="localhost",
     user="<yourusername>",
     password="<yourpassword>",
     database="usersDatabase"
   )
   cursor = db.cursor()
   sql = "DELETE FROM users WHERE id = 1"
   cursor.execute(sql)
   db.commit()

You can also use SQL and MySQL in small to large-scale applications such as:

• A website that stores user data in MySQL database
• An e-commerce site that stores orders, inventory, and users in a MySQL database
• A logistics application that stores the number of deliveries made daily in a MySQL database

Alternatives to MySQL and SQL

Depending on your project, you may want to use a relational database management systems other than MySQL. Some other popular systems include:

• PostgreSQL: A popular open source RDBMS known for its reliability, scalability, and support for open technical standards.
• Microsoft SQL Server: A robust and enterprise RDBMS from Microsoft.
• Oracle database: A powerful database system used for large scale applications. You require a commercial license to use it.
• Amazon Aurora: A cloud-based database system managed by AWS.
• MariaDB: An open source relational database that directly replaces MySQL. It was developed by the same developers who created MySQL.
• SQLite: A lightweight, file-based database suitable for small-scale applications.

If you’re exploring alternatives to SQL-based databases, you can look into NoSQL or graph databases. Some of the common non-relational databases include:

• MongoDB: A document database that stores data in JSON formats. It has a flexible schema and does not use SQL for its query operations.
• Redis: An in-memory store that saves data in key-value pairs. It is often used for caching and real time analytics.
• Neo4j: A graph database that stores data as nodes, relationships, and properties instead of tables or documents.

Choosing the right database systems

Choosing the right database system depends on what you’re building, your team’s needs, and the data you are dealing with. The following are factors to consider when choosing the right database system for your project.

1. Data structure and type: As a developer, you should know how your data is structured and the relationship between your entities. If you have many related entities, such as many-to-many or one-to-many relationships, you should consider relational databases, but if you have mostly one-to-one relationships, then a document database is sufficient.

2. Query complexity: If you have complex data and want to merge it using joins or subqueries, you should consider using relational databases. However, if you are performing simple CRUD operations on simple entities or key-based access, you should go for document databases.

3. Cost and licensing: This is an important factor to consider because it helps to manage your resources. It is sufficient for you to use the open-source versions of the database systems if you are working on small to medium sized applications. If you want more features and a higher level of security, then the licensed version is a better option.

4. Developer familiarity: You should also consider how familiar you are with the database systems. When you know SQL, it is easier for you to work with other relational databases. Make sure you are familiar with whatever database system you decide to use

What should you learn first: SQL or MySQL?

You should start with SQL because it is the foundation and once you know it, you will be able to work with any relational database management system. SQL’s syntax is approachable for English speakers, which makes it a common first step in learning database management.

Once you know the basics of SQL, you can move on to learning MySQL. You can transfer your knowledge of MySQL to other relational database systems like PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, etc.

What to do next: Follow a learning path that works

Learning SQL and MySQL could seem overwhelming at first, but you don’t have to master everything at once. You also don’t have to choose between SQL and MySQL. You can start with SQL and learn the basic commands, and then MySQL will make sense to you when you pick it up.

Learning SQL prepares you to work with any relational database management system, including MySQL. You’ve already seen how SQL and MySQL work together in a real app. Now you can explore more by following the roadmap’s SQL track. You can also check out roadmap’s SQL course for a comprehensive course on mastering SQL.