SQL multimedia and application packages (SQL/MM)

Regular readers of this column will have become familiar with database language SQL -- indeed, most readers are already familiar with it. We have also discussed the fact that the SQL standard is being published in multiple parts and have even discussed one of those parts in some detail[l].Another standard, based on SQL and its structured user-defined types[2], has been developed and published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This standard, like SQL, is divided into multiple parts (more independent than the parts of SQL, in fact). Some parts of this other standard, known as SQL/MM, have already been published and are currently in revision, while others are still in preparation for initial publication.In this issue, we introduce SQL/MM and review each of its parts, necessarily at a high level.