I guess that the answer is dependent on the SQL implementation, but anyway:

In general: are there sql implementations in other languages than English , so that if one make use of a tool written in another language one might get sql syntax in non-english? For example the key words JOIN, EXIST, UNION, INTO, etc. (I am quite sure there are, especially for other language types such as arabic, chinese, etc, but now I am asking about those languages that share the same (set of) code pages, and mainly about the western worlds' languages, spanish, french, german, etc.)

If so, generally speaking: is it safe to assume that the various common servers will handle their own syntax regardless of which local language the query is written in?

Any other relevant issues to be aware of?

D.

I don't know of any database engine that implements SQL like syntax using a non-English language. I'm almost certain that the SQL standard calls for the keywords and sequences as literals, so translation of the syntax would be inappropriate, although translation of messages (error text) is both allowed and encouraged.

-PatP

In Europe/"western" countries, ok. But what about countries with completely different character sets, even now with Unicode etc., I guess it is not english words used in SQL in Arabic speaking countries, or China for that matter? Do they not have server software in their own language, even for the sql syntax?

D.

SQL is SQL, no matter what kind of data it is manipulating. The keywords stay the same, so to extract a rowset you use SELECT even if the column names are in arabic, hirigana, or sanscrit. The order of the clauses is the same too, so the column list (SELECT) comes before the table list (FROM), then the row selection criteria (WHERE), then the agrigation (GROUP BY), etc.

While you could implement an SQL-like language using a non-English base, it wouldn't pass the ISO/ANSI test cases, so it couldn't be called SQL.

-PatP