9/26/24, 6:27 PM (4) Behind the Scenes of SQL: Understanding SQL Query Execution

Behind the Scenes of SQL: Understanding SQL

Query Execution
Taking A Step Back
SEATTLEDATAGUY
SEP 17, 2024

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Here is something school probably didn't teach you about SQL

Or at the very least you likely forgot.

When you write a query, hit submit, and then run the query or that little triangle
in DBBeaver…

…what exactly happens?

Sure, you likely understand that data is pulled from multiple tables, data is
filtered, and aggregations occur.

But behind the scenes, what is going on?

How does SQL go from English into the lingua franca of data?

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In this article we will answer that question.

Query Execution Components

Let’s go through how your query gets parsed, and concepts like an execution plan.

My goal is to try to make this more exciting than my professor did in my database
course.

Also, I am going to use the term SQL engine instead of RDBMS just because you
have solutions like Trino or other similar solutions that are not a RDBMS.

Parser and Validation

The very first step in the process is lexical analysis(another term for this is
tokenization). The goal of lexical analysis is to break down the SQL query into a
series of tokens. Tokens are the smallest units of meaning in the SQL query, such
as keywords, identifiers, operators, literals, and punctuation marks. This means
your SELECT, FROM and WHERE for keywords and tables, and columns for
identifiers, and <, = and <= for operators.

From there, you’ll likely have two more steps, depending on the SQL engine you’re
using.

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Syntax Check - This ensures that the SQL query follows the correct grammar
and structure as defined by the SQL language. It identifies syntax errors like
missing commas, misplaced keywords, or unmatched parentheses and that
keywords are in the proper order.
Semantics Check - The SQL engine checks the query for semantic
correctness. This involves checking whether the tables, columns, and other
database objects referenced in the query exist and whether the operations are
valid (e.g., ensuring data types are compatible).

Now as I said, this is dependent on what SQL engine you’re using. For example,
here is an expert from Understanding MySQL Internals,

MySQL’s parser, like many others, consists of two parts: the lexical scanner
and the grammar rule module. The lexical scanner breaks the entire query
into tokens (elements that are indivisible, such as column names), while
the grammar rule module finds a combination of SQL grammar rules that
produce this sequence, and executes the code associated with those rules.
In the end, a parse tree is produced, which can now be used by the
optimizer. - Understanding MySQL Internals.

The end result will be something like the parse tree below.

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Source

Now on to the next step!

Translator/Algebrizer/Query Transformer

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Depending on what SQL engine you’re using will impact the next step in the
process. For example, SQL Server has an Algebrizer component. Oracle has their
Query Transformer, and still other query engines have other names for this
component.

Circling back to Microsoft SQL Server and it’s Algebrizer, it’s responsible for
converting the logical SQL query into an algebraic representation(e.g. relational
algebra)

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Now if you’re like me, the only time you’ve ever seen relational algebra was in your
database course where we had to hand-write out relational algebra for far more
complex queries. But if you’re really curious about the relational algebra for your
query, you can just use this online tool.

I do want to point out a few quick follow-ups here.

There can be multiple equivalent relational algebra expressions; these will be

evaluated in a future step.
Relational algebra is not always explicitly used in the implementation of every
SQL database.

Optimizer
The next step in the process is for all of those logical operations plans to map to
physical operations. Now sometimes, I find that the terms logical and physical get a
little abstract.

Like logical and physical data modeling.

The way you can think about it is that when we refer to logical, it's more like the
blueprint of a house. Blueprints don’t necessarily know all the implementation
details.

Whereas physical references the actual construction process and building of the
house. Now, you’re dealing with the concrete details: the materials (bricks, wood,
nails), the plumbing, wiring, and each room’s actual dimensions. The focus is on

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how to practically build the house, ensuring that it stands strong and functions as
intended.

And here is the thing; just because something might have seemed to be well
planned out logically, sometimes someone puts a bolt in a weird corner that a
carpenter can’t actually hammer in.

Similarly, just because one logical operation flow might seem best, in
implementation, it might not be.

To give an example, when you write the word “JOIN”, the query engine has a few
options on how to implement it. It could be a Nested Loops Join, Merge Join, or
Hash Join.

The query optimizer will generate as many possible candidate execution plans in
some constrained space. From there, the ​Optimizer selects the query which is
having a low cost; thisOptimizer uses the statistics about the data.

Execution Plans
Now I wanted to talk a little bit about Execution plans. After all, it's one of the few
concepts here that you can likely actually examine.

Once you’ve worked with SQL for a while, you’ve likely heard of the term
“execution plan.” It might be somewhat dependent on what SQL engine you’re
working with but most of them allow you to see both the actual and estimated
plans your query engine will/has taken to query your data.

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Kind of like we have been discussing above.

For me, this was the first type I saw from Microsoft SQL Server:

Source

I used it a lot when I was trying to deal with queries that were taking longer than
expected and trying to figure out if there was somewhere I could optimize it.

Also, for those who might be more familiar with a more tabular version of an
execution plan, you might see something like the table below, which I pulled from
Oracles Optimizer.

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Every SQL engine I have used has allowed me to use the EXPLAIN PLAN
command to get this.

So if you’re looking for a practical takeaway from this article, here it is!

Execution
Now that the optimizer has selected the optimal query. The execution plan will be
sent off to the query execution engine. Now perhaps in the future, someone will
build an agnostic Optimizer that automatically goes through and looks at
Presto/Trino, Snowflake, DuckDB, Spark, etc., and picks the best engine for the
job. Depending on whether you’re looking for cost-effective or fast (honestly,
perhaps this already exists and if it does, I’ll add it to this article if someone wants
to send it over). However, I imagine most individuals will want to be able to
personally select which engine is used when vs. having the Optimizer select it.

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Once the execution engine has run the execution plan, it will return the results
(assuming it doesn’t run out of memory). And now we are back to where you likely
are accustomed to thinking of a query.

SQL -> Data.

But hopefully, we’ve filled in a few of the steps in between!

Side note: There are a few other steps and components that I didn’t include such
as security and the query cache.

Why I Think It’s Important To Know

Be Better At Optimizing Queries - If you understand how the optimizer
functions, you’ll likely be able to write better queries or a the very least
improve the performance of queries that are slow. Why? Because you’ll
eventually learn about the different types of joins(and I don’t mean left, inner,
cross, etc) and understand why your database might pick them. Don’t worry, I
will be covering this topic in an upcoming article!
Start-ups And SQL Replacements - If you’re out there trying to build a Text
to SQL start-up, a cost optimization start-up or trying to replace SQL. I’d
argue you need to understand what is going on underneath the hood. If you’re
understanding of how SQL functions is limited to the high level queries
themselves, then you won’t be able to understand the technical space at a
granular enough level to see the real causes of your technical challenges.

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Not All Query Engines Are The Same

Most query engines have most of the steps discussed above, perhaps by a different
name. So I wanted to share a few articles that discuss some of these concepts more
in depth and in some cases for more specific engines. I also included Snowflake's
white paper; it’s less about how a query is parsed and more focused on how to run
a distributed query.

I spent 6 hours learning how Apache Spark plans the execution for us by
Vu Trinh
Database Performance Tuning Guide 11g Release
Queryparser, an Open Source Tool for Parsing and Analyzing SQL by Uber
How A Query Engine Works
The Snowflake Elastic Data Warehouse

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Going Back To The Basics

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In my last article, I discussed digging deeper into the basics. So I wanted to go

back and focus on something all of us data people use but probably take for
granted. After all, I just hit submit and the data comes back.

Every once and a while, as much as I like to harp on business value, I believe it is
important to stop and dig into a subject. Enjoy learning about how things work.
Even if it’s just for the sake of it.

Also, because there are points where understanding things at lower levels does
start to provide value, you can start to make more decisions based on more
compact areas of knowledge.

As always, thanks for reading!

Join Us For The Data Engineering And Machine

Learning Summit 2024!

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Join us on October 3rd and 4th for the Data Engineering And Machine Learning
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Immerse yourself in a confluence of data engineering and data science where the
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curated lineup includes dozens of speakers, all of whom are leading practitioners
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🚀 Cutting-Edge Innovations
Explore the latest tools, platforms, and methodologies that are revolutionizing
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🙋🏻 Who Should Attend

Whether you’re an aspiring data engineer, an experienced data scientist, or simply
a data aficionado, the summit promises a wealth of knowledge, inspiration, and
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Special Thanks to Databricks for sponsoring DEML 2024 and Accel Events for
making it so easy to manage the event.

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Join My Data Engineering And Data Science Discord

If you’re looking to talk more about data engineering, data science, breaking into
your first job, and finding other like minded data specialists. Then you should join
the Seattle Data Guy discord!

We are now well over 7000 members!

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Join My Technical Consultants Community

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Technical Freelancer Community! We have over 700 members!

You’ll find plenty of free resources you can access to expedite your journey as a
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Articles Worth Reading

There are 20,000 new articles posted on Medium daily and that’s just Medium! I
have spent a lot of time sifting through some of these articles as well as
TechCrunch and companies tech blog and wanted to share some of my favorites!

OLTP Vs OLAP – What Is The Difference

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If you’re relying on your OLTP system to provide analytics, you might be in for a
surprise. While it can work initially, these systems aren’t designed to handle
complex queries. Adding databases like MongoDB and CassandraDB only makes
matters worse, since they’re not SQL-friendly – the language most analysts and

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data practitioners are used to. Over time, these systems simply can’t keep up with
the demands of performing analytics.

Why does this matter? After all, data is data, right? Well, there’s a big difference
between online transaction processing (OLTP) and online analytical processing
(OLAP). Each has its own unique requirements in terms of software and design.
That’s why solutions like Teradata and Vertica have played such a large role in
many enterprises. In fact, Teradata was one of the first data warehouse systems to
handle a TB of data for Walmart.

But here’s the thing: Why go through the trouble of duplicating your data and
creating a separate analytics system? In this article, we’ll explore the reasons why
you need to develop an analytical system if you want to answer your business
questions effectively.

Read More Here

Data Model Building Blocks (Intro)

By Joe Reis

I often find that people working with data don’t understand its building blocks.
Data is frequently treated as something that’s stored, queried, and cobbled together.
Consequently, data models are often an unintentional side effect or artifact
created without deliberate thought.

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Before we build a data model, we must grasp the critical building blocks forming
it.

Read More Here

End Of Day 143

Thanks for checking out our community. We put out 3-4 Newsletters a week
discussing data, tech, and start-ups.

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Mehran Sep 17
Thank you! It would be really valuable if you could write an article explaining
how the indexing mechanism works, for example, in PostgreSQL.
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Ramona C Truta Ramona C Truta Sep 17
Excellent post, Ben!
After being a TA marking hand-written RA queries, as a teacher instituted a
LaTeX-typed one. I provided the students with a small stub with everything
they needed, and it worked really well.
I would also include Alex Xu's diagram, or yours if you have it, on how a
typical query gets evaluated, the one with the blocks etc.
Not knowing data design and not knowing these deep fundamentals on
query evaluations result in so much overhead cost. It's really great you're
bringing this into focus!
I do know of a startup working on using AI to optimize queries. I can send
that info separately, we had a chance to talk at a low-key event.
Please include index-only queries in your index post :)
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