Query languages like SQL are declarative

query specifies the result, not the exact computation

multiple alternatives are common with vastly different runtime characteristics
So,deciding which alternative to choose is important which is the job of the que
ry optimizer.
Query optimization is a function of many relational database management systems.
The query optimizer attempts to determine the most efficient way to execute a g
iven query by considering the possible query plans.
Generally, the query optimizer cannot be accessed directly by users: once querie
s are submitted to database server, and parsed by the parser, they are then pass
ed to the query optimizer where optimization occurs. However, some database engi
nes allow guiding the query optimizer with hints.
A query is a request for information from a database. It can be as simple as "fi
nding the address of a person with SS# 123-45-6789," or more complex like "findi
ng the average salary of all the employed married men in California between the
ages 30 to 39, that earn less than their wives." Queries results are generated b
y accessing relevant database data and manipulating it in a way that yields the
requested information. Since database structures are complex, in most cases, and
especially for not-very-simple queries, the needed data for a query can be coll
ected from a database by accessing it in different ways, through different data-
structures, and in different orders. Each different way typically requires diffe
rent processing time. Processing times of the same query may have large variance
, from a fraction of a second to hours, depending on the way selected. The purpo
se of query optimization, which is an automated process, is to find the way to p
rocess a given query in minimum time. The large possible variance in time justif
ies performing query optimization, though finding the exact optimal way to execu
te a query, among all possibilities, is typically very complex, time consuming b
y itself, may be too costly, and often practically impossible. Thus query optimi
zation typically tries to approximate the optimum by comparing several common-se
nse alternatives to provide in a reasonable time a "good enough" plan which typi
cally does not deviate much from the best possible result.
Structured Query Language (SQL)
SQL is a tool for Managing, retrieving, organizing data stored in a computer dat
abase.
SQL is a nonprocedural language. Nonprocedural means what rather than how. For e
xample, SQL describes what data to retrieve, delete, or insert, rather than how
to perform the operation.
The characteristic that differentiates a DBMS from an RDBMS is that the RDBMS pr
ovides a set-oriented database language. For most RDBMSs, this set-oriented data
base language is SQL. Set oriented means that SQL processes sets of data in grou
ps.
The most common operation in SQL, the query, makes use of the declarative SELECT
statement. SELECT retrieves data from one or more tables, or expressions.
Queries allow the user to describe desired data, leaving the database management
system (DBMS) to carry out planning, optimizing, and performing the physical op
erations necessary to produce that result as it chooses.
A query includes a list of columns to include in the final result, normally imme
diately following the SELECT keyword. An asterisk ("*") can be used to specify t
hat the query should return all columns of the queried tables. SELECT is the mos
t complex statement in SQL, with optional keywords and clauses that include:
The FROM clause, which indicates the table(s) to retrieve data from. The FROM cl
ause can include optional JOIN subclauses to specify the rules for joining table
s.
,the query. The WHERE clause eliminates all rows from the result set where the c
omparison predicate does not evaluate to True.
The GROUP BY clause projects rows having common values into a smaller set of row
s. GROUP BY is often used in conjunction with SQL aggregation functions or to el
iminate duplicate rows from a result set. The WHERE clause is applied before the
GROUP BY clause.
The HAVING clause includes a predicate used to filter rows resulting from the GR
OUP BY clause. Because it acts on the results of the GROUP BY clause, aggregatio
n functions can be used in the HAVING clause predicate.
The ORDER BY clause identifies which column[s] to use to sort the resulting data
, and in which direction to sort them (ascending or descending). Without an ORDE
R BY clause, the order of rows returned by an SQL query is undefined.
The DISTINCT keyword eliminates duplicate data