For a while now, I’ve been talking about specific functions used within SQL Server. For example, I’ve talked about DATALENGTH, REPLICATE, and STUFF, along with many others. And all that is great and should be known if you work with SQL Server on a regular basis. But today, I want to talk about the different kinds of commands that you’ll work with within SQL Server.
Today, I want to talk about what is called Data Manipulation Language (DML).
The DML Commands are many of those that we’ve been working with for quite some time now. Some of them are as follows:
- SELECT
- INSERT
- UPDATE
- DELETE
They’re called DML commands because those commands allow the user to manipulate the data in multiple ways quite easily.
All of the functions that I listed above – DATALENGTH, REPLICATE, and STUFF – all fit into this category. They’re all functions that allow me to change or learn something about the data.
A large amount of the functions that a person who works with data will use are found under the category of Data Manipulation Languages.
Sometimes, it is important to remind yourself that you truly are manipulating data – even if it’s just to get data to an end-user – because sometimes we all forget that even just finding the length of a string is more than just displaying it to an end-user.
Next time, we’ll go over some of the other categories that you’ll work with within SQL Server – or any other language that allows you to use data.
As a bonus, I thought we’d end today’s blog post with a catchy song that I grew up thinking of as the “Manipulation Song” – Bend Me, Shape Me by the American Breed.