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SQL or Sequal?

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  • E Ennis Ray Lynch Jr

    If you are referring to the language the official pronunciation is Sequel[^] if you are referring to the Microsoft Product the pronunciation is S.Q.L. Server to aid in the disambiguation. Whereas a Sequel Server would be any ANSI-SQL database. While I do not have an official reference, reading the Wiki on SQL suggests that SEQUEL is a trademarked name. Thus M.S. would not be able to use Sequel in advertising. Industry best-practice, however, is to fully qualify the product since there is so much confusion with regards to the myriad numbers of SQL based products. Remember, Microsoft isn't the big player in this field (17% market-share vs. Oracle 49%)

    Need custom software developed? I do custom programming based primarily on MS tools with an emphasis on C# development and consulting. I also do Android Programming as I find it a refreshing break from the MS. "And they, since they Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs" -- Robert Frost

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    B_Schalley
    wrote on last edited by
    #51

    You refer to the wikipedia page on SQL[^] and claim that the official pronunciation is Sequel. However I read on the wikipedia page the following: SQL (officially pronounced /ˌɛskjuːˈɛl/ like "S-Q-L" but often pronounced /ˈsiːkwəl/ like "sequel") The revision history shows why. :-D In the last 2 days anonymous editors tried to get "sequel" to be the official pronunciation but the wikipedia moderators overruled them :)

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    • L leonej_dt

      I say squeal.

      Eduardo León

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      deepakbhardwaj933
      wrote on last edited by
      #52

      wanna go for SQL

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      • T twohowlingdogs

        So I post this question to you all since I grew up being told it is S-Q-L Server and the professors getting upset at hearing Sequal Server or just plain Sequal. Then I get this job here and the younger web developer says it is Sequal, not S-Q-L. I stand by my teaching and still say S-Q-L. You?

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        SimonRigby
        wrote on last edited by
        #53

        Sequal .. but ultimately .. if I said either to a colleague, they'd know what I mean :) So does it matter :)

        The only thing unpredictable about me is just how predictable I'm going to be.

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        • T twohowlingdogs

          So I post this question to you all since I grew up being told it is S-Q-L Server and the professors getting upset at hearing Sequal Server or just plain Sequal. Then I get this job here and the younger web developer says it is Sequal, not S-Q-L. I stand by my teaching and still say S-Q-L. You?

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          mwicks1968
          wrote on last edited by
          #54

          twohowlingdogs wrote:

          So I post this question to you all since I grew up being told it is S-Q-L Server and the professors getting upset at hearing Sequal Server or just plain Sequal. Then I get this job here and the younger web developer says it is Sequal, not S-Q-L.

          I stand by my teaching and still say S-Q-L. You?

          In a previous life, I had a similar issue with the mainframe transaction monitor, CICS - On the west side of The Pond, you'd say C I C S. whilst over here we'd call it "Kicks"; I note the opposite seems to be true for SQL - West, "Sequel", East, "S Q L". Personally Sequel brings to mind very bad follow-up films - eg. Police Academy N ....

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          • T twohowlingdogs

            So I post this question to you all since I grew up being told it is S-Q-L Server and the professors getting upset at hearing Sequal Server or just plain Sequal. Then I get this job here and the younger web developer says it is Sequal, not S-Q-L. I stand by my teaching and still say S-Q-L. You?

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            Dave Kerr
            wrote on last edited by
            #55

            Squeal

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            • E Ennis Ray Lynch Jr

              If you are referring to the language the official pronunciation is Sequel[^] if you are referring to the Microsoft Product the pronunciation is S.Q.L. Server to aid in the disambiguation. Whereas a Sequel Server would be any ANSI-SQL database. While I do not have an official reference, reading the Wiki on SQL suggests that SEQUEL is a trademarked name. Thus M.S. would not be able to use Sequel in advertising. Industry best-practice, however, is to fully qualify the product since there is so much confusion with regards to the myriad numbers of SQL based products. Remember, Microsoft isn't the big player in this field (17% market-share vs. Oracle 49%)

              Need custom software developed? I do custom programming based primarily on MS tools with an emphasis on C# development and consulting. I also do Android Programming as I find it a refreshing break from the MS. "And they, since they Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs" -- Robert Frost

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              jsc42
              wrote on last edited by
              #56

              Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote:

              If you are referring to the language the official pronunciation is Sequel[^]

              Err! Wikipedia (article as linked above) actually says: SQL (officially pronounced /ˌɛskjuːˈɛl/ like "S-Q-L" but often pronounced /ˈsiːkwəl/ like "sequel"). This concurs with my undersatanding. We always called it ess-kew-ell in the olden days. There were many SQL servers for mainframes and minis; then a late-starter called MicroSoft entered the picture and wanted a different name for people who had grown up with PCs and not with real computers, so they decided that their SQL server would be pronounced Sequel (or Sequal) Server just as a differentator. I like the distinction in names because: * You can tell a person's provenance in the relational database world by what they call their DB engine - have they had a good grounding in the theory or do they just know one vendor's odd name for a proprietary implementation? * There is an unitentional truism in calling it 'Sequel' as the word means 'what follows; or continues thes story of an earlier one', which fits well with the idea that it is just a 'me too' product.

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              • T twohowlingdogs

                So I post this question to you all since I grew up being told it is S-Q-L Server and the professors getting upset at hearing Sequal Server or just plain Sequal. Then I get this job here and the younger web developer says it is Sequal, not S-Q-L. I stand by my teaching and still say S-Q-L. You?

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                edmurphy99
                wrote on last edited by
                #57

                Cloud

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                • T twohowlingdogs

                  So I post this question to you all since I grew up being told it is S-Q-L Server and the professors getting upset at hearing Sequal Server or just plain Sequal. Then I get this job here and the younger web developer says it is Sequal, not S-Q-L. I stand by my teaching and still say S-Q-L. You?

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                  Tomz_KV
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #58

                  The Microsoft product is a SQL Server and may be pronounced as Sequal server or S Q L server. Here is a discussion: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3594718/how-do-you-pronounce-microsoft-sql-server[^]

                  TOMZ_KV

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                  • T twohowlingdogs

                    So I post this question to you all since I grew up being told it is S-Q-L Server and the professors getting upset at hearing Sequal Server or just plain Sequal. Then I get this job here and the younger web developer says it is Sequal, not S-Q-L. I stand by my teaching and still say S-Q-L. You?

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                    codingjam
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #59

                    I've always considered "Sequal" the pronunciation of IBM's SEQUEL (Structured English Query Language) product and "es queue el" the correct pronunciation for the ANSI standard specification for SQL. Hence, I almost always say "es queue el" or "es queue el Server" or "My es queue el". I know I am in the minority with this, I'm sure when IBM changed their product name from SEQUEL to SQL the pronunciation stuck amongst IBMers. I don't have a ref handy, but I do remember that in their original SQL standard, ANSI declared that the official pronunciation is "es queue el" and referred to "sequel" as slang. The closest ref I have is this article which remembers the same. http://databases.about.com/od/sql/a/sqlfundamentals.htm have a good one.

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                    • T twohowlingdogs

                      So I post this question to you all since I grew up being told it is S-Q-L Server and the professors getting upset at hearing Sequal Server or just plain Sequal. Then I get this job here and the younger web developer says it is Sequal, not S-Q-L. I stand by my teaching and still say S-Q-L. You?

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                      Dave Buhl
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #60

                      Depends on what camp you are in. If you are working with Microsoft tech, their documentation actually identifies the pronounciation as Sequal. If you are working in Oracle/MySQL they specify in their documentation that you pronounce each letter as S Q L. In the big picture, as long as Select * from table works.......

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                      • T twohowlingdogs

                        So I post this question to you all since I grew up being told it is S-Q-L Server and the professors getting upset at hearing Sequal Server or just plain Sequal. Then I get this job here and the younger web developer says it is Sequal, not S-Q-L. I stand by my teaching and still say S-Q-L. You?

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                        Danny Mullen
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #61

                        Save oxygen, say sequel!

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                        • T twohowlingdogs

                          So I post this question to you all since I grew up being told it is S-Q-L Server and the professors getting upset at hearing Sequal Server or just plain Sequal. Then I get this job here and the younger web developer says it is Sequal, not S-Q-L. I stand by my teaching and still say S-Q-L. You?

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                          BC3Tech
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #62

                          sequel here... and nothing bothers me more than when somebody refers to TCL as "tickle" :omg:

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                          • B BillW33

                            Everyone around here says Sequal.

                            Just because the code works, it doesn't mean that it is good code.

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                            steve_wong
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #63

                            SQL i think it's kind of wierd to say sequal. but some professor in my college say sequal :|

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                            • T twohowlingdogs

                              So I post this question to you all since I grew up being told it is S-Q-L Server and the professors getting upset at hearing Sequal Server or just plain Sequal. Then I get this job here and the younger web developer says it is Sequal, not S-Q-L. I stand by my teaching and still say S-Q-L. You?

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                              Alexander DiMauro
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #64

                              What I was told is that it was originally 'Sequel', for 'Structured English Query Language'. Then they dropped the 'English' part, and it became S-Q-L. Another (unconfirmed by me...anyone?) reason for the change was that I heard that the 'Sequel' infringed on a trademarked name somewhere in Europe (UK, I think?), and so they originally changed it to S-Q-L in Europe, which then spread to prominent use. The first part I am pretty sure is true. The second part, as I said, I have not personally confirmed that info, it's what I heard.

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                              • B BC3Tech

                                sequel here... and nothing bothers me more than when somebody refers to TCL as "tickle" :omg:

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                                twohowlingdogs
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #65

                                Funny you should bring TCL up. My first job out of college was converting Perl, K-shell and C-shell scripts to TCL/TK. My boss called it "Tickle/TK". :~ I called it that too since it was the first time I'd ever heard of it! :~ I didn't think others would understand so I reverted to calling it TCL/TK.

                                I have nothing more to say.

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                                • B BC3Tech

                                  sequel here... and nothing bothers me more than when somebody refers to TCL as "tickle" :omg:

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                                  Pete Schultz
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #66

                                  That really bothers me even in print. :shudder:

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                                  • T twohowlingdogs

                                    So I post this question to you all since I grew up being told it is S-Q-L Server and the professors getting upset at hearing Sequal Server or just plain Sequal. Then I get this job here and the younger web developer says it is Sequal, not S-Q-L. I stand by my teaching and still say S-Q-L. You?

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                                    BobRoeder
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #67

                                    I use S-Q-L since Sequal is an personal ambulatory oxygen system. Maybe if they get oxygen then they couls say it right. RC Roeder (had not had enough coffee yet, still cranky)

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                                    • T twohowlingdogs

                                      So I post this question to you all since I grew up being told it is S-Q-L Server and the professors getting upset at hearing Sequal Server or just plain Sequal. Then I get this job here and the younger web developer says it is Sequal, not S-Q-L. I stand by my teaching and still say S-Q-L. You?

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                                      MatrixDud
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #68

                                      I've heard both quite a bit but sequel predominates. Even in bastardizations of SQL like SOQL they themselves (Salesforce) pronounce it like SO-QUELL. I vote for sea-quell. What gets me though is this guy at work who insists on pronouncing VARCHAR like VAR-KAR and is bugged if others don't pronounce it his way. Everyone else I know calls it VAR-CHAR as in charbroiled. He looses my respect on a daily basis.

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                                      • S Soulus83

                                        Sequel... what? how do you call C#? "Ci-pound??" ...runs behind the chair and cover his ears, after knowing that he has just started a new flame war....

                                        "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--either way, you are right." — Henry Ford

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                                        Sterling Camden independent consultant
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #69

                                        C#: I call it Java redux.

                                        Contains coding, but not narcotic.

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                                        • U urbane tiger

                                          Xiangyang Liu 刘向阳 wrote:

                                          Ok, S minus Q minus L, I still don't know the answer! :)

                                          maybe J- or -J :^)

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                                          Sterling Camden independent consultant
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #70

                                          Which is, oddly, better than J++

                                          Contains coding, but not narcotic.

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