# query (10-query.com)

A query is a question you ask to get information. You might query a librarian about a book, or query a friend about their weekend. It is simply the act of asking.

## What a model may hear
- database query (SQL and database systems): generate or execute a structured command to retrieve, insert, update, or delete data from tables
- search query (information retrieval and web search): parse the input as keywords or parameters to match against an index and rank results
- API query (web services and REST APIs): construct a URL with parameters or a JSON payload to fetch specific resources from a server
- graph query (knowledge bases and graph databases): traverse nodes and edges to find relationships and paths between entities

## Where people and models part ways
- Says: "I have a query about my account"
  Means: the person wants to ask a general question about their account status
  May be taken as: the model may generate a database query to access account tables, or ask for schema details
  Say instead: "I want to ask a question about my account"
- Says: "query the results"
  Means: the person wants to look at or ask about the results
  May be taken as: the model may write a SQL SELECT statement or filter syntax instead of summarizing
  Say instead: "look at the results and tell me what you find"
- Says: "my query is not working"
  Means: the person's question is not getting answered well
  May be taken as: the model may debug SQL syntax or suggest index optimizations
  Say instead: "my question is not getting the answer I need"
- Says: "run this query for me"
  Means: the person wants the model to ask something on their behalf
  May be taken as: the model may execute code against a database or API endpoint
  Say instead: "ask this question for me or find this information"

## Tips
- Say 'question' instead of 'query' when you just want to ask something
- If you want database help, say 'write a SQL query' to be clear
- Say 'search for' rather than 'query' when looking things up online
- Specify the system if you mean a technical query: 'a query for Google' or 'a query in PostgreSQL'
- Avoid 'query' in prompts if you do not want structured data retrieval

## Often confused with
- question: purely human speech act, no technical execution
- prompt: input to a language model, not a data system
- command: directive to act, not necessarily to retrieve
- request: general ask, less bound to formal syntax
- inquiry: formal investigation, rarely technical
- search: information lookup without structured syntax