This document discusses Structured Query Language (SQL) and its role in relational database management systems. It covers:
1) SQL allows for standardized database access, reducing training costs and increasing application portability.
2) SQL commands include data definition language (DDL) to define schemas, data manipulation language (DML) to query and modify data, and data control language (DCL) to manage privileges.
3) The SELECT statement is used to query tables, allowing the use of functions, expressions, wildcards, and clauses like WHERE, GROUP BY, HAVING, and ORDER BY.