Editing Data definition language (section)

{{short description|Syntax for defining data structures}}
{{Distinguish|Data manipulation language}}

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{{Refimprove|date=December 2012}}
{{Cleanup|reason=the article focuses almost entirely on SQL.|date=June 2020}}
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[[File:UY3OsG1vuT-saving-a-ddl-file-in-Oracle-Developer.png|alt=Saving a ddl file in Oracle SQL Developer|thumb|Saving a ddl file in Oracle SQL Developer]]
In  the context of [[SQL]], '''data definition''' or '''data description language''' ('''DDL''') is a syntax for creating and modifying database objects such as tables, indices, and users. DDL statements are similar to a computer [[programming language]] for defining [[data structure]]s, especially [[database schema]]s. Common examples of DDL statements include <code>CREATE</code>, <code>ALTER</code>, and <code>DROP</code>. If you see a .ddl file, that means the file contains a statement to create a table. Oracle SQL Developer contains the ability to export from an ERD generated with Data Modeler to either a .sql file or a .ddl file.