SQLlike

SQLlike denotes query languages and interfaces whose syntax and concepts resemble SQL. The term is used for both standard SQL dialects and dialects that extend or adapt SQL to different engines, data models, or data volumes. SQL-like languages are commonly used to query structured data in relational databases, data warehouses, and increasingly in big‑data and NoSQL systems that expose SQL‑style interfaces.

Typical features include declarative SELECT statements with FROM, WHERE, and often GROUP BY, HAVING, ORDER BY, and LIMIT. Many dialects support joins, subqueries, and set operations such as UNION. Beyond base SQL, dialects may add functions, data types, and procedural elements or extensions (for example, T-SQL or PL/pgSQL), as well as features for semi-structured data and nested queries.

Examples and domains include standard SQL implementations in MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, and SQL Server, as well as big‑data and analytics engines with SQL‑like interfaces such as HiveQL (Hive), Spark SQL, Presto/Trino SQL, and Google BigQuery SQL. Some NoSQL databases offer SQL‑like interfaces, such as Cassandra's CQL, to enable querying without adopting full relational semantics.

Portability across SQL-like dialects is often limited by variations in syntax, supported features, data types, and semantics. The label "SQL-like" highlights similarity to SQL rather than compatibility, and practitioners typically verify dialect specifics when migrating queries between systems.