What is the difference between data manipulation language and data definition language?

Java

DDL or Data Definition Language is used to define the database and other related functions like creating tables, views, indexes etc. Some commands in DDL are:

• CREATE TABLE
• ALTER TABLE
• CREATE VIEW
• DROP TABLE
• etc.

DML or Data Manipulation Language is used to modify the contents of the data in a database. Ex:

• SELECT
• INSERT
• UPDATE
• DELETE
• ORDER BY
• GROUP BY
• etc.

DDL

Data Definition Language (DDL) statements are used to define the database structure or schema. Some examples:

• CREATE - to create objects in the database
• ALTER - alters the structure of the database
• DROP - delete objects from the database
• TRUNCATE - remove all records from a table, including all spaces allocated for the records are removed
• COMMENT - add comments to the data dictionary
• RENAME - rename an object

DML

Data Manipulation Language (DML) statements are used for managing data within schema objects. Some examples:

• SELECT - retrieve data from the a database
• INSERT - insert data into a table
• UPDATE - updates existing data within a table
• DELETE - deletes all records from a table, the space for the records remain
• MERGE - UPSERT operation (insert or update)
• CALL - call a PL/SQL or Java subprogram
• EXPLAIN PLAN - explain access path to data
• LOCK TABLE - control concurrency