Developers often dispute the merits of SQL as a legitimate programming language, but this misses the point. SQL is a powerful 4GL for accessing data.

So if you want a lucrative programming career (even the lowest paid SQL developers make upwards of $60,000 a year), it’s imperative that you learn a database programming language like SQL.

In other attempts at ranking the popularity of programming languages, SQL was No. 12 in a list developed by LangPop.com last October. Meanwhile, Python garnered the "language of the year" prize in the ...

Maybe it's not the sexiest programming language, but SQL continues to be important--at least according to one measurement.