What is the difference between SQL server and SQL?

The difference between SQL and SQL server is simple:

SQL (Structured Query Language) is a language used to interact with databases. It allows you to retrieve, insert, update, and delete data. This is what you'll be learning in this course.

SQL server, on the other hand, is a database management system (DBMS). It's a software that stores, organizes, and processes data, allowing you to execute SQL commands efficiently.

For example,

SELECT * FROM Customers;

If you run this command, SQL Server is the system that reads this SQL command, fetches the data from the database, and gives you the result.

Think of it like this: SQL is the language, and SQL server is a tool that understands and runs SQL commands.

Note: Besides SQL Server, there are other popular database systems too like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Oracle DB. They all use SQL (with slight differences), but are different pieces of software.