Ummm...SQL is *not* an abbreviation *or* an acronym, at least from 
the viewpoint of the international (and ANSI) standard for the language.

Several products have names that include "SQL" and say that the 
letters stand for something, usually "Structured Query Language" 
(sometimes "Standard Query Language").

When people insist to me that it must be an acronym, I tell them 
(inspired by GNU) that it stands for "SQL Query Language", which is 
IMHO an acronym and not an abbreviation.

So there! ;^)
    Jim


At 8/24/2008 11:23 AM, fmeschini@t... wrote:
> >The XML specification, http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/REC-xml-20060816/
>starts with,
> >Extensible Markup Language, abbreviated XML, describes
>...
> >So the spec says, it's an abbreviation ...
>
>Probably because
>'acronymied' is a little bit of a cacophony, and to write 'abbreviated
>through the acronym' was too complex of a sentence.
>
>Technically XML is
>an acronym, as GNU, SQL, FAT, BBC or TARDIS are. Probably we should
>discuss whehter an 'acronym' is a subtype of the more general
>'abbreviation' type which is at the same time disjointed from the
>'contraction' subtype (e.g. Dr. for Doctor).
>
>Fede

========================================================================
Jim Melton --- Editor of ISO/IEC 9075-* (SQL)     Phone: +1.801.942.0144
   Co-Chair, W3C XML Query WG; XQX (etc.) editor    Fax : +1.801.942.3345
Oracle Corporation        Oracle Email: jim dot melton at oracle dot com
1930 Viscounti Drive      Standards email: jim dot melton at acm dot org
Sandy, UT 84093-1063 USA          Personal email: jim at melton dot name
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=  Facts are facts.   But any opinions expressed are the opinions      =
=  only of myself and may or may not reflect the opinions of anybody   =
=  else with whom I may or may not have discussed the issues at hand.  =
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