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SQL is powerful. A DSL that "fixes" things in this area getting all the other language feature interactions right isn't trivial, all the while users have to lea

SQL is powerful. A DSL that "fixes" things in this area getting all the other language feature interactions right isn't trivial, all the while users have to learn yet another language. Take PRQL for example: https://prql-lang.org https://prql-lang.org. It looks nice, but the examples are very basic. What about window functions, grouping sets, lateral, DML, recursive SQL, pattern matching, pivot/unpivot etc. Might be doable, but perhaps, they've already made a decision that won't enable one of those features without adding new kludges. Besides, every single "fix" will be a proprietary solution, while SQL is an ISO/IEC standard that's here to stay and universally adopted. > A good DSL can do much better. Stonebraker's QUEL was "better", before SQL, and yet, where is QUEL today?

lmm 4y ago
> Besides, every single "fix" will be a proprietary solution, while SQL is an ISO/IEC standard that's here to stay and universally adopted. And yet in practice the fixes end up more portable. How many of the things on your list of non-basic SQL have consistent syntax across databases, yet alone consistent behaviour?
- lukaseder 4y ago
  All of them
int_19h 4y ago
A good DSL is not easy to implement, of course. But the point here isn't just that it can be more regular than SQL. Integrating with the syntax of the host language is also a considerable advantage, ideally with static type checking.
maximilianroos 4y ago
[PRQL core-dev here] Thanks for the PRQL shout-out! > Take PRQL for example: https://prql-lang.org https://prql-lang.org. It looks nice, but the examples are very basic. What about window functions, grouping sets, lateral, DML, recursive SQL, pattern matching, pivot/unpivot etc. Window functions are very much supported! Check out the examples on the home page & in the docs. The others aren't yet, but not because of a policy — we've started with the most frequently used features and adding features as they're needed.

lmm 4y ago

> Besides, every single "fix" will be a proprietary solution, while SQL is an ISO/IEC standard that's here to stay and universally adopted. And yet in practice the fixes end up more portable. How many of the things on your list of non-basic SQL have consistent syntax across databases, yet alone consistent behaviour?

lukaseder 4y ago
All of them

int_19h 4y ago

A good DSL is not easy to implement, of course. But the point here isn't just that it can be more regular than SQL. Integrating with the syntax of the host language is also a considerable advantage, ideally with static type checking.

maximilianroos 4y ago

[PRQL core-dev here] Thanks for the PRQL shout-out! > Take PRQL for example: https://prql-lang.org https://prql-lang.org. It looks nice, but the examples are very basic. What about window functions, grouping sets, lateral, DML, recursive SQL, pattern matching, pivot/unpivot etc. Window functions are very much supported! Check out the examples on the home page & in the docs. The others aren't yet, but not because of a policy — we've started with the most frequently used features and adding features as they're needed.