Microsoft Query

Microsoft Query by Example (QBE) is a method of creating database queries using examples based on a text string, the name of a document or a list of documents. The QBE system converts the user input into a formal database query. This approach allows the user to perform powerful searches without the need of having to learn a more formalized query mechanism such as Structured Query Language (SQL). It is derived from Moshé M. Zloof's original Query By Example (QBE) implemented in the mid-1970s at IBM's Research Centre in Yorktown, New York.