most secure password scheme

[David Mehler]

Hello,

I have a few questions on password schemes. Is SHA512 the most secure?
Is there a difference between SHA512 and SHA512-CRYPT? What about
SSHA512 and SSH512-CRYPT?
Is there a problem with this sql statement:

UPDATE virtual_users SET password=CONCAT(‘{SHA256-CRYPT}’, ENCRYPT
(‘Password Goes Here’, CONCAT(‘$5$’, SUBSTRING(SHA(RAND()), -16))))
WHERE user=’u...@example.com’;

I'm getting an error 1064 at the ending email address.

Thanks.
Dave.