ESQL is an SQL upward-compatible database language that integrates in a uniform and clean way the essential concepts of relational, object-oriented and deductive databases. ESQL is intended for traditional data processing applications as well as more complex applications such as large expert systems. Therefore, ESQL's salient features are : a rich and extendible type system based on abstract data types (ADTs) implemented in various programming languages ; complex objects with object sharing by combining generic ADTs and object identity ; the capability of querying and updating relations containing simple or complex objects using SQL-compatible syntax and semantics ; and a Datalog-like deductive capability provided as an extension of the SQL view mechanism. ESQL's functional semantics enables uniform manipulation of ESQL data and should facilitate the implementation of the ESQL compiler.