Firebird SQL

Here's where we see the beauty of open source software. "Open source software", according to Opensource.com, means that the software's source code is freely accessible and can be inspected, modified and enhanced by any programmer, plus it's freely shared so anyone can use it for free without worrying about license fees.

Firebird SQL is a relational database management system much like the Microsoft owned SQL Server, except it's open source. Yay! Proprietary software is opposite to open source software in that the creators have exclusive ownership of the source code and it's not free.

Firebirdsql.org lists all the features of Firebird SQL which are compatible with the ANSI SQL standard which means you don't have to learn another standard other than SQL (Structured Query Language), which the WhoIsHostingThis website describes as the standard language for Database Administrators; you can continue using your SQL skills with Firebird. The server-side scripting however, is different from Microsoft SQL Server's Transact SQL as portrayed by the DB-Engines website. You will have to learn PostgreSQL which is not that much different so can be easily learned especially if you know Transact SQL.

This means a great deal for developers and developers in training and many organizations in that by using Firebird SQL they get the same benefits of SQL Server for free and can use it on a number of hardware and software platforms whereas Microsoft SQL Server supports only the Windows operating system and Linux as of SQL Server 2017.

References:

1. Opensource (n.d.) What is Open Source? [online] Available from: https://opensource.com/resources/what-open-source [Accessed 18 July 2018]
2. Firebirdsql (n.d.) Features [online] Available from: https://www.firebirdsql.org/en/features/ [Accessed 18 July 2018]
3. WhoIsHostingThis [n.d.) ANSI SQL Standards [online] Available from: https://www.whoishostingthis.com/resources/ansi-sql-standards/ [Accessed 18 July 2018]
4. DB Engines (n.d.) Firebird vs Microsoft SQL Server [online] Available from: https://db-engines.com/en/system/Firebird%3BMicrosoft+SQL+Server [Accessed 18 July 2018]