Why the “Non” in “ExecuteNonQuery”?

Question

I know this is not a hell of an useful question but I can't help being bugged by it.

So,
Why said method (in *Command classes) is called
ExecuteNonQuery instead of ExecuteQuery?

Aren't those SQL statements we throw at DBs, queries?

Answer 1

Semantically, a query is something you execute to return data. You're 'querying' the database to find all the X in the Y.

If you're not expecting back results, it's not so much a query as it is a statement or command.

Answer 2

Not if they are INSERTs, DELETEs, CREATE TABLEs, etc.

Answer 3

I would think of it as a query is asking the database for records back. Actions that alter the data/database would not be a query.