It frustrates me how "SQL" has become synonymous with "serious database work".

SQL is a terrible and inaccessible language, it doesn't compose, it's easy to misuse, it hasn't actually been standardized for decades, it's impossible to abstract over. It's full of obvious language design errors that wouldn't be considered acceptable in any other context.

Yes, relational databases are important as a concept. Yes, database reliability is important. Neither of these points require *or* imply SQL, and frankly SQL is holding society back in building good systems.

We need and deserve something better.