SQL or Sequal?

[Dave Kerr]

Squeal

[jsc42]

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.

[edmurphy99]

Cloud

[Tomz_KV]

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

[codingjam]

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.

[Dave Buhl]

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.......

[Danny Mullen]

Save oxygen, say sequel!

[BC3Tech]

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

[steve_wong]

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

[Alexander DiMauro]

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.

[twohowlingdogs]

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.

[Pete Schultz]

That really bothers me even in print. :shudder:

[BobRoeder]

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)

[MatrixDud]

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.

[Sterling Camden independent consultant]

C#: I call it Java redux.

Contains coding, but not narcotic.

[Sterling Camden independent consultant]

Which is, oddly, better than J++

Contains coding, but not narcotic.

[Branco Medeiros]

In the original paper that introduced the language, it was explicitly called [SEQUEL]. But then it was Structured ENGLISH Query Language... :)

[dbraseth]

seek well?

[User 3589018]

In wikipedia[^] it says, "The acronym SEQUEL was later changed to SQL because "SEQUEL" was a trademark of the UK-based Hawker Siddeley aircraft company" So, obviously it was intended to be called Sequel - the acronym had to be shortened - the pronunciation stayed the same.

[KP Lee]

Microsoft says "an SQL" which doesn't make any sense until I heard the explanation that SQL SOUNDS like Ees Queue El. I'll take it any way you want to say it. I generally say sea quill.