Ik krijg elke dag een mailtje van de mensen van Oxford University Press met de ethymologische verklaring van een bepaald woord of begrip.

Wel best leuk.

Ik lees de mail niet elke dag – er zijn nu eenmaal zoveel dingen op een dag te lezen – maar sommige zijn wel echt leuk en verwacht ik ook niet onmiddellijk te krijgen.

Neem nu dat van gisteren: SQL.

SQL, n.
DRAFT ENTRY Mar. 2004

Computing.

Brit. /skjul/, /sikw()l/,
U.S./skjul/, /sikw()l/

[Initialism < Structured Query Language s.v. STRUCTURED ppl. a., sometimes reinterpreted as an acronym
and pronounced /sikw()l/, app. after SEQUEL n. (see note).

The S of SQL has sometimes also
been interpreted as the initial letter of Standard.
The pronunciation /sikw()l/ is commonly
reported as having arisen later than the preferred /skjul/ and
does not appear to be related to the earlier Sequel system (see below).]

A computer language designed for the retrieval and manipulation of information in databases (originally and chiefly relational databases).

Quot. 1975 refers to a short-lived, slightly earlier system, Structured English Query Language, on which SQL was based.

[1975 M. M. ASTRAHAN & D. D. CHAMBERLIN in Communications ACM 18 580/1 SEQUEL is a relational data sublanguage intended for ad hoc interactive problem solving by non-computer specialists.]
1979 M. M. ASTRAHAN et al. in IBM Techn. Disclosure Bull. 22 1657 The System R optimizer chooses both join order and an access path for each table in a SQL (sequential query language)-type statement given to System R.
1988 Computer Weekly 14 Apr. 34/1 Fundamental to the change has been the decision by IBM to opt for a single standard database query language, SQL, across its entire products range.
1992 Computing 19 Nov. 30/1 This argument is based on the growing acceptance of SQL as the standard interface between applications and the database engine.
2000 Wired Apr. 184/2 It sucks when I have to ditch out on her because my SQL server crashed or there’s an emergency phone call with the board of directors.