2023

Short description: 2023 edition of the SQL standard

SQL:2023 or ISO/IEC 9075:2023 (under the general title "Information technology – Database languages – SQL") is the ninth edition of the ISO (1987) and ANSI (1986) standard for the SQL database query language. It was formally adopted in June 2023.

New features

SQL:2023 includes new and updated features.^[1] The changes can be grouped into three main areas:

Property graph queries
- The new part 16, “Property Graph Queries (SQL/PGQ)”,^[2] has been added to the SQL standard.

New features related to JSON^[3]
- JSON data type (T801)
- Enhanced JSON data type (T802)
- String-based JSON (T803)
- Hex integer literals in SQL/JSON path language (T840)
- SQL/JSON simplified accessor (T860–T864)
- SQL/JSON item methods (T865–T878)
- JSON comparison (T879–T882)

Various smaller changes to the existing SQL language (all optional features):
- UNIQUE null treatment (F292)
- ORDER BY in grouped table (F868)
- GREATEST and LEAST (T054)
- String padding functions (T055)
- Multi-character TRIM functions (T056)
- Optional string types maximum length (T081)
- Enhanced cycle mark values (T133)
- ANY_VALUE (T626)
- Underscores in numeric literals (T662)

Property Graph Queries (SQL/PGQ)

SQL/PGQ reduces the difference in functionality between relational DBMSs and native graph DBMSs. Basically, this new feature makes it easier to query data in tables as if it were in a graph database, providing a possibly more intuitive alternative to writing complex join queries.^[4]

In comparison, the emerging GQL standard for graph DBMSs will add graph updates, querying multiple graphs, and queries that return a graph result rather than a binding table.^[5]