For many companies, SQL standard conformity is an important consideration when choosing a relational database management system (RDMS), so why is this standard considered optional for database ...

OK, while I'm really bad about approving comments (mostly because the platform makes it so painful), I do want to answer a few of them here real quick. First and foremost because this is bothering me.

Every professional programmer (and DBA) should have a library of books on SQL fundamentals. There are many SQL titles to choose from, and a lot of them are very good. But this month's column will ...