What are we dealing with here?

There are a couple of questions I believe one must be aware of.



Difference between SQL,  PL/SQL and T-SQL?  


  • SQL is a query language to operate on sets.

    It is more or less standartized, and used by almost all relational database management systems:SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL, DB2, Informix, etc.

  • PL/SQL is a proprietary procedural language used by Oracle

  • TSQL is a proprietary procedural language used by Microsoft in SQL Server.
SQL is a set-based, declarative query language, not an imperative language such as C or BASIC. 

Therefore, procedural languages are designed to extend the its abilities while being able to integrate well withSQL. These include:


SourceCommon
Name		Full Name
ANSI/ISO StandardSQL/PSMSQL/Persistent Stored Modules
Interbase/FirebirdPSQLProcedural SQL
IBMSQL PLSQL Procedural Language (implements SQL/PSM)
Microsoft/SybaseT-SQLTransact-SQL
Mimer SQLSQL/PSMSQL/Persistent Stored Module (implements SQL/PSM)
MySQLSQL/PSMSQL/Persistent Stored Module (implements SQL/PSM)
OraclePL/SQLProcedural Language/SQL (based on Ada) 
PostgreSQLPL/pgSQLProcedural Language/PostgreSQL Structured Query Language (based on Oracle PL/SQL)
PostgreSQLPL/PSMProcedural Language/Persistent Stored Modules (implements SQL/PSM)


Are there Major differences in language constructs?

More or less, but it will not affect us because the basic commands will be the same.

The international standard for this programming language is referred to as ANSI SQL. 

ANSI stands for American National Standards Institute. ANSI is a collective governing body that determines what the standard language will be. For example, ANSI decides such things as the word INSERT will be used in the programming language as apposed to the work ADD to insert a new record into a database.


To understand the differences, let us compare MySQL and SQL Server.

Following are some specific technical differences in MySQL and SQL Server when it comes down to the ANSI SQL standard:

MySQL does not support Triggers, SQL Server does.

MySQL does not support User Defined Functions, SQL Server does.

MySQL does not have Cursor Support, SQL Server does.

MySQL does not support Stored Procedures, SQL Server does.

MySQL does not have FULL JOIN capabilities, SQL Server does.

MySQL has limited Import/Export capabilities, SQL Server has full support for Import/Export.

MySQL has limited Transaction Support while SQL Server offers full Transaction Support.

Difference between MySQL & Oracle's iSQL*PLUS



Amity Labs use iSql*Plus. I'm using MySQL Community Server.

http://www.pythian.com/news/601/from-mysql-to-oracle-a-few-differences/