SQL and Access

[Potatoman]

What is the difference between SQL and Microsoft Access? Are they both database applications?

[stevie21]

They are, yes. Access is aimed at home users and focusses more on the "graphical user interface" (GUI) so has buttons and drop down menus etc.

Although SQL Server has a GUI, it's often used without it. Of the 2, SQL Server is used more for companies : amazon's database of product info (how many in stock, price, description) for everything they sell will be held in a huge database. Access is inappropriate for this : they'd use SQL Server (or an equivalent).

If, finally, you don't mean SQL Server and just mean SQL : then this is the language itself used to enter details into any database, find records in it etc.
e.g.
SELECT name, phoneNumber FROM myAddressBook WHERE gender = "male";

[OBonio]

Access : Home / Small Business database with nice pretty GUI to make things easier for non techy user.

SQL Server : Scalable enterprise solution for large to huge databases.  A fair amount of expertise is needed to design and maintain these babies (the role of a DBA or developer).  More user friendly than Oracle though.

[Damoclese]

SQL is a language (Structured Query Language) and MS has implemented a version of it originally called Transact SQL within their high end RDBMS product - SQL Server. There are other versions of SQL about, notably PL/SQL which is the Oracle variant. They are both reasonable closely based upon the ANSI  88 standard.

MS Access is an enduser database application which supports MS SQL and Visual Basic. It can also be used a front end for a SQL backend database (normally SQL Server). The provision of graphical end user inetrfaces have made it extremely popular with end users and multiuser application supporting up to 25 (ish) users.

SQL Server is not an end user tool since it has almost no user interface, in the same way that no commercial RDBMS has a user interface, they are expected to be used with either bespoke or 3rd party applications.

Hope this explains it all to you.