What is a SQL Server?

SQL Server is a relational database management system. Its job is to retrieve and store information as it is needed by applications that are on the same computer or on a different one. Developed by Microsoft, it consists of tables that store a specific set of structured data. 

SQL and SQL Server

As one would likely guess from the name, SQL Server is connected to the special-purpose programming language, SQL. It is SQL’s job to manage the data that is held in a relational database management system. The connection between the two is the server executes the commands and queries given to it by SQL. 

History of SQL Server

SQL Server was first released in 1989 and it was built for IBM OS/2. This was Microsoft’s first step into the enterprise-level database area. Since then, it has gone through numerous versions and is currently on 15.0, which was released in November 2019. 

Editions

Microsoft offers various editions of SQL Server that provide different uses depending on what a company needs. Editions include:

• Enterprise
  Enterprise delivers high-end datacentre capabilities and enables mission-critical workloads and end-user access to data insights. 
• Express
  Express is the entry-level form. It’s perfect for learning the uses of this relational database management system. 
• Developer
  Allows developers to build applications and according to Microsoft, it offers the same capabilities as the Enterprise edition, but it’s to be used as a development and test system – not as a production server. 
• Web
  The Web edition is for web hosters to provide scalability.
• Standard
  The Standard edition offers basic data management and business intelligence database for smaller organisations to run their applications. 

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