[CRConrad]

> I think general programming languages are better for general programs than SQL. Specifically they have: Type systems, compilers, debuggers, text editors, package managers, C FFI etc.

Non sequitur. SQL is typed; SQL can be edited in any text editor; there are lots of SQL IDEs and, arguably, debuggers and package managers. Sure, the package managers are specific to each RDBMS, but so what? Npm is no use in COBOL either. And sure, the “debuggers”, to the extent they can be said to exist, are radically different from those of “conventional” – of other – programming languages. But again, so what? A Smalltalk debugger is no use to fix the output from Intel’s latest C compiler either, or vice versa.

IOW: There is no such “SQL vs programming languages” dichotomy. SQL is just another programming language, with its own strengths and weaknesses, just like all the rest of them. “The rest” are not distinguished from SQL by somehow magically all having the attributes you claim for them: Some have them, some don't; some have this but not that, some others, the other way around. Someone built all those IDEs and debuggers and package managers for (some / many / most of) those other languages; you can build them for SQL too.