Relational database management systems and SQL are the mainstay of the database industry. Nearly every organization is using these products. This site provides an overview of database systems and links to relational database product vendors.
Much of the interest in relational database systems is derived from E. F. Codd's work. His A relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks, published in the Communications of the ACM in June 1970, is a seminal paper on the subject. The paper contained an explanation of the relational structure, operations, and a discussion of redundancy and consistency.
SQL is a database sublanguage that is used for accessing most relational databases. (Although, there are some who argue that SQL is not relational, the two terms are synonymous for most people.) The most commonly used version of SQL is SQL-92. SQL-92 forms the basis for JDBC, SQLJ, and SQL:1999, the most recent version of SQL. As relational databases move to the SQL:1999 model, they are becoming more object-relational. More on object-relational databases and other related topics can be found on the references at the end of the page.
More on database theory and SQL can be found in the articles described in the next section.
A common initialism used for a relational database management systems is RDBMS.
Database articles
Interested in how database products work? Want to know when you should consider using these products? What are some architectures that take advantage of these products yet preserve your existing systems investment? These articles provide answers to these questions and more. Check out the articles on relational databases.
Product listing
A listing of relational database vendors with links to their respective websites is available on this site. See the websites for relational database products.
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Related topics on this website
Relational databases can work with many of the following products described on this site. Be sure to check them out.