A Case for SQL Metrics

摘要

Are database query languages such as Structured Query Language (SQL), considered a true programming language? The answer to that question is beyond the scope of this paper. What is for certain is the fact that database queries, like most programming applications, need to be maintained, modified, and enhanced. This goal can be achieved by constructing quality database queries. A measure of a quality query could be that it returns the correct result, with a minimal amount of execution time, using the least amount of database/hardware resources. A quality database query should also be able to be maintained for the lifetime of a typical programming application. Therefore there is a need to construct database queries with a set of specifications. Metrics are also needed to measure the SQL specifications' efficiency, and database query complexity. By knowing the query complexity, it is possible to construct better queries, and to better distribute workload, both on developers and on the database engine/hardware itself.