An international standard, SQL, or structured query language, is a programming language used to store, manage, and retrieve data housed in relational databases. Ideal as a stand-alone primer or when used in conjunction with another introductory computer science text, The SQL Programming Language prepares you for future SQL programming courses offered within CS and CIS. With a clear, concise, and descriptive writing style, you will see real-world examples and cases of SQL functionality in database management. Each section focuses on a concrete concept which is illustrated with one or more example queries and the tables of results which they produce. The exercises parallel the examples, allowing you to reinforce the concepts introduced and explore them further. The book includes an example Microsoft Access database, allowing you to run the given example queries and see them in action, and also allows you to work the exercises and check your solutions against those provided.