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Difference Between MySQL and SQL

If you want a career in business analysis or big data, you will need a clear knowledge of SQL and MySQL. Even though they are different, several people confused SQL with MySQL. In this article you will lean about SQL and MySQL in detail. Scroll through this article to learn the difference between MySQL and SQL and improve your understanding for a successful career in a related field. 

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Table of Contents:

1. What is SQL?
2. What is MySQL?
3. Differences between SQL and MySQL
4. Examples of Industries and Applications that Use SQL and MySQL
5. What are the Similarities Between SQL and MySQL?
6. SQL vs MySQL: How to Choose Which is Best to Use?
7. Conclusion
8. FAQs

What is SQL?

SQL (Structured Query Language) is useful for managing, retrieving, and storing data in relational databases. SQL enables you to retrieve several records in a database with only one command. It is used as the standard database language for MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, and more. 

Some basic commands in SQL include:

• SELECT: finds data from a database
• UPDATE: updates data within a database
• ALTER TABLE: modifies a table
• DELETE: removes data from a dataset

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What is MySQL?

MySQL is an open-source relational database management system. It uses SQL commands for managing relational databases. MySQL is written using C and C++ and can be installed on a server or a desktop. MySQL is supported on major platforms like Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Read: What are SQL JOINs: Inner, Outer, and Cross JOINs with Examples.

Differences between SQL and MySQL

Now that we have understood what is SQL and MySQL. Let’s explore the major difference between SQL and MySQL in detail.

Some applications of SQL and MySQL are as follows:

• Healthcare: The healthcare industry uses SQL for analyzing large datasets with patient information. It provides medical professionals with better insights that can lead to better treatment. 
• Finance: Database systems powered by SQL enables financial institutions to offer personalized experiences to customers. They can also gain actionable insights to prevent fraud.
• Social Media: Social media platforms use SQL to preserve the profile information of users. 

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What are the Similarities Between SQL and MySQL?

Now that you know what is the difference between SQL and MySQL, you should learn about some similarities between the two:

• They are useful for managing relational databases.
• They have different data types. 
• They use join operations in the table. 
• They can perform logical and arithmetic operations. 
• They have storage procedures, views, triggers, and indexing. 

Explore: SQL Operators: A Comprehensive Guide to Basic Operators in SQL

SQL vs MySQL: How to Choose Which is Best to Use?

Once you understand what is the difference between SQL and MySQL., you will be able to determine which is the best. SQL server uses a single storage engine. But MySQL uses different engines for different operations. 

Therefore, MySQL provides developers with a lot of flexibility. But at the same time, MySQL is less secure, and anyone can modify data. You should thoroughly compare SQL vs MySQL to determine which one to pick. 

Understand: Inner Join in SQL: Syntax, Examples and Use Cases

Conclusion

In this article, we have learned about the two widely popular and efficient management tools and learn the difference between SQL and MySQL. SQL and MySQL can be used together for improved efficiency, scalability, and performance. In the end, you will have to determine your requirements before choosing what you need. The main difference between SQL and MySQL is that SQL is a query programming language that manages relational database management systems, whereas MySQL is a relational database management system that utilizes SQL as a query language.

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