SQL CREATE TABLE

Creating a table is one of the first steps in building a database. The CREATE TABLE command in SQL helps define how your data will be stored, including the table name, column names, data types, and rules (constraints) such as NOT NULL, PRIMARY KEY, and CHECK.

Whether you are storing customer details, employee records, or product inventories, everything starts with defining a proper structure using CREATE TABLE

• Defines a new table in a database.
• Specifies columns, their data types, and constraints.
• Helps ensure data accuracy, consistency, and structure

Syntax:

CREATE table table_name
(
Column1 datatype (size),
column2 datatype (size),
.
.
columnN datatype(size)
);

Key Terms

• table_name: The name you assign to the new table.
• column1, column2, ... : The names of the columns in the table.
• datatype(size): Defines the data type and size of each column.

Example: Create a Customer Table

Let’s walk through a practical example where we create a Customer table that stores customer data. We will define various columns such as CustomerID, CustomerName, Country, Age, and Phone with appropriate data types and constraints.

Query:

CREATE TABLE Customer(
    CustomerID INT PRIMARY KEY,
    CustomerName VARCHAR(50),
    LastName VARCHAR(50),
    Country VARCHAR(50),
    Age INT CHECK (Age >= 0 AND Age <= 99),
    Phone int(10)
);

Output:

Explanation:

• CustomerID is an integer and serves as the PRIMARY KEY, ensuring each record is unique.
• CustomerName, LastName, and Country are VARCHAR fields to store variable-length text.
• Age has a CHECK constraint, ensuring it’s within the range of 0 to 99.
• Phone is an integer field, although in real scenarios, a VARCHAR would often be used for storing phone numbers to allow for leading zeros and formatting.

Inserting Data into the Table

After creating the table, you can use INSERT INTO command to add data into it. Here is how to add some sample records into the Customer table:

INSERT INTO Customer (CustomerID, CustomerName, LastName, Country, Age, Phone)
VALUES (1, 'Shubham', 'Thakur', 'India','23','xxxxxxxxxx'),
       (2, 'Aman ', 'Chopra', 'Australia','21','xxxxxxxxxx'),
       (3, 'Naveen', 'Tulasi', 'Sri lanka','24','xxxxxxxxxx'),
       (4, 'Aditya', 'Arpan', 'Austria','21','xxxxxxxxxx'),
       (5, 'Nishant. Salchichas S.A.', 'Jain', 'Spain','22','xxxxxxxxxx');

Output:

Note: If you are working with a large amount of data, consider using bulk inserts or importing data from external files to optimize performance.

Create Table from Existing Table

We can also create a new table based on the structure (and optionally the data) of an existing table. The CREATE TABLE AS SELECT command allows us to duplicate an entire table or select specific columns to form a new one. The following query creates a new table called SubTable that contains CustomerID and CustomerName from the existing Customer table.

Syntax:

CREATE TABLE new_table_name AS
    SELECT column1, column2,...
    FROM existing_table_name
    WHERE ....;

In this example, we create a new table SubTable that contains just the CustomerID and CustomerName columns from the Customer table. This method is useful for creating backups or performing quick data migrations.

Query:

CREATE TABLE SubTable AS
SELECT CustomerID, CustomerName
FROM customer;

Output:

Note: We can use * instead of column name to copy whole table to another table.

Important Points About SQL CREATE TABLE Statement

To ensure the smooth creation and management of your tables, keep these points in mind:

1. Adding Constraints: The CREATE TABLE statement can also define constraints like NOT NULL, UNIQUE, and DEFAULT. Example: Age INT NOT NULL

2. Handling Table Existence: If you attempt to create a table that already exists, SQL will throw an error. To avoid this, you can use the IF NOT EXISTS clause.

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS Customer (...);

3. Data Types and Sizes: Always define appropriate data types for each column (e.g., VARCHAR(50) for names and INT for IDs) to optimize performance and storage.

4. Viewing Table Structure: After creating a table, use the following command to view the structure of your table:

DESC table_name;

5. Modifying Table Structure: If you need to change the table’s structure after creation (e.g., renaming a column, adding a new column), use the ALTER TABLE statement.