There are different types of jobs in the programming and software domains. To get a programming job, you must acquire skills specific to the job. However, skills like Python programming and SQL are common in many jobs. In this article, we will discuss the differences between Python and SQL. We will also discuss if you should learn SQL or Python first to get the desired job in 2023.

What is Python Programming Language?

Python is one of the most popular programming languages right now. Guido Van Rossum developed it in the early 1990s. It is a general-purpose language that supports modular architecture. Python can be used for practically anything that can be done with a programming language, including software development, machine learning, web development, and web scraping.

Python gained popularity among software engineers as a result of its object-oriented features and modular architecture. Programming with Python is a piece of cake thanks to the availability of various python libraries created for specialized tasks. Python is easier to learn than other programming languages for beginners due to its syntax resembling English.

What is SQL (spelled Sequel)?

The word “SQL” stands for “structured query language.” As the name suggested it is used for querying and manipulating relational databases. As the relational databases store structured tabular data, we name the language as structured query language.

SQL is one of the most popular programming languages used for processing data. Why? Most companies store data in relational databases. To store, manipulate, and access data from relational databases, we need SQL. Due to this, the popularity of SQL is maintained and it will be so till companies keep using relational databases.

Features of Python Programming Language

Following are some of the features of Python programming language that make it one of the most popular programming languages.

• Python is a general-purpose programming language. You can use python for tasks like data analysis, and data mining. machine learning, software engineering, and every other software domain. Any task that you can think of can be done using python. 
• Python is a high-level language and portable language. You can write a python program on a 32-bit machine and run it on a 64-bit machine efficiently. The high portability of python codes makes it easy for us to share the code and run it on different machines. 
• Python has a huge collection of libraries. There are specific libraries for each and every task. This helps you do everything with ease. If you want to analyze a dataset, you can use libraries like matplotlib, pandas, and numpy. On the other hand, if you want to create an API, you can use python libraries like Flask and Django. 
• You can also use codes written in other programming languages in Python programs. If a library is written in Java or C++, you can use it in python using the advanced integration support that python provides. You can also choose to write different modules of an application in other programming languages and then you can assemble them in python to create an entire application. So, python also provides you an option to write code in a different programming language while developing your web application.
• Due to a large user base, python has a thriving community of developers. You can find a solution to almost any of your problems in the community-run python forums of websites like StackOverFlow and Reddit. You can search for existing solutions to a problem and you will find answers from various experienced developers. If you don’t find any solution, you can also post new questions in the forums. This helps you save a lot of time as you don’t need to solve each problem on your own. 

Features of SQL

Unlike Python, SQL is a purpose-oriented language. You can only use it in database management systems for handling data. Following are some of the features of SQL.

• SQL is easy to learn. Just like Python, SQL has an English-like syntax too. In fact, SQL statements sound as if you are talking to someone to perform a task. For example, if you have to select “Name” and “Marks” from a “Student” table, the command for the operation is written as “SELECT “Name”, “Marks” FROM “Student”;”. You can observe that the statement sounds as if we are ordering someone to select the desired columns.
• SQL helps us to store data without introducing redundancy. Data stored in text files or other traditional file systems cannot be guaranteed not to be kept in another text file because there is no mechanism in place to prevent it. This leads to inefficiency and resource waste. SQL offers us different functions to ensure that there are no duplicate records in the database in order to get around the redundancy problem.
• SQL helps ensure data security. It has different transaction control and data control statements that help us ensure that data access and manipulation can only be performed by authorized users. No person other than the specified users can access the database. 
• SQL is certified by ANSI and ISO. Due to standardization, SQL codes created by many developers for a particular task are essentially identical. It makes code review and debugging simple for programmers. You’ll find it easier to complete tasks at work even if you are working with SQL code written by other programmers.
• You can perform a lot of operations on a dataset using SQL. It provides you with data definition language (DDL), data query language (DQL), data manipulation language (DML), data control language (DCL), and transaction control language (TCL). Each of these subsets of SQL has statements for specific tasks. 
• SQL is scalable. You can work with 10 rows of data or 10 million rows of data. For a single task, the SQL statement is the same for every size of the dataset. You don’t need to rewrite the code if you get a large amount of data. For a particular operation, the only time you need to change the codes is when the schema of your database changes.
• SQL is very fast. If you are well versed in SQL and are able to write efficient statements, you can gain any insight from a billion data points within seconds. 

Suggested Reading: C Sharp and Sequel Programming Languages

SQL or Python: What Should You Learn First?

As discussed above Python is a multipurpose language whereas SQL is a purpose-oriented language used only for data processing. If you want to get into domains like software engineering or machine learning, you need to learn python first. If you want to get into domains like data analytics and data science, you can choose to learn SQL first. 

Should I learn SQL or Python First For Data Science?

In data science, SQL is a must for handling data stored in databases. You will also need python programming to implement machine learning algorithms and create models. However, there are various roles in data science that don’t require you to work on machine learning algorithms. In such cases, you can learn SQL first. For statistical analysis of data, you can choose to learn python alternatives such as R and Scala. 

For data science, I would suggest you learn SQL first and then try Python programming. Instead of Python, you can also choose R or Scala programming languages. Focus on python only if you want to get into machine learning. 

Should I learn SQL or Python First For Software Engineering?

Data processing is a very small part of software development. Most of the time, you need to create web apps, APIs, mobile applications, etc. For these use cases, you need to learn python first. After getting a better understanding of Python, you can choose to learn SQL so that you can integrate data operations into your applications. So, for software development, I would suggest you learn Python first and then learn SQL. 

• It is possible that the organization you choose to work for doesn’t use python programming for web and app development. However, if it uses a relational database, SQL is a must.  So, you can also choose to learn SQL and a different programming language like Java, Kotlin, C++, or C# according to your requirements. 
• It is also possible that your organization uses NoSQL databases. In such cases, you won’t need knowledge of SQL. Only programming knowledge and understanding of the NoSQL database that your company is using will suffice for your job responsibilities.

Suggested Reading: How Netflix uses python

Conclusion

You can observe that the skills required for the same job can change drastically depending on the organization you work in. Computer science is a relatively new field and new tools and technologies are being developed every day. Therefore, instead of focusing on a particular skill, focus on developing a learning mindset. To excel in your job, you need to learn new things every day.

In this article, we discussed the features of Python and SQL programming. We also discussed if one should learn SQL or python first in 2023. To learn more about programming, you can read this article on data cleaning. You might also like this article on data analysts vs data scientists.

I hope you enjoyed reading this article. Stay tuned for more informative articles.

Happy Learning!

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