"SQL originated in one of IBM's research laboratories, as did relational
database theory. In the early 1970's, as IBM researchers performed early
development on relational DBMS (or RDBMS) systems, they created a data
sublanguage to operate on these systems. They named the prerelease version
of this sublanguage SEQUEL (Structured English QUEry Language). However,
when it came time to formally release their query language as a product,
they wanted to make sure that people understood that the released product
was different from and superior to the prerelease DBMS. To do so, they
decided to give the released product a name that was different from SEQUEL
but still recognizable as a member of the same family. So they named it
SQL."
- SQL For Dummies, 3rd Edition, page 23.
> Ok, I have to get in on this one. SEQUEL stands for Structured English
> Query Language, which was the original roots for SQL, which stands
> simply for Structured Query Language. If I remember the texts that I've
> read correctly, the term SEQUEL was dropped in the late 80's (maybe
> early 90's) in favor of the term SQL. So unless your referring to the
> early days of SQL the pronunciation is S-Q-L.
