SQL

SQL Tutorial
SQL is a standard language for accessing databases.
Our SQL tutorial will teach you how to use SQL to access and manipulate data in: MySQL,
SQL Server, Access, Oracle, Sybase, DB2, and other database systems.
Examples in Each Chapter

With our online SQL editor, you can edit the SQL statements, and click on a button to view
the result.
Example
SELECT * FROM Customers;
Try it Yourself
Click on the "Try it Yourself" button to see how it works.
Start learning SQL now!
SQL Quiz Test

Test your SQL skills at W3Schools!
Start SQL Quiz!
SQL Quick Reference

An SQL Quick Reference. Print it and put it in your pocket.
SQL Quick Reference
SQL Data Types

Data types and ranges for Microsoft Access, MySQL and SQL Server.
SQL Data Types

Introduction to SQL
PreviousNext
SQL is a standard language for accessing and manipulating databases.
What is SQL?
SQL stands for Structured Query Language
SQL lets you access and manipulate databases
SQL is an ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard
What Can SQL do?

SQL can execute queries against a database
SQL can retrieve data from a database
SQL can insert records in a database
SQL can update records in a database
SQL can delete records from a database
SQL can create new databases
SQL can create new tables in a database
SQL can create stored procedures in a database
SQL can create views in a database
SQL can set permissions on tables, procedures, and views
SQL is a Standard - BUT....

Although SQL is an ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard, there are different
versions of the SQL language.
However, to be compliant with the ANSI standard, they all support at least the major
commands (such as SELECT, UPDATE, DELETE, INSERT, WHERE) in a similar manner.
Note: Most of the SQL database programs also have their own proprietary extensions in
addition to the SQL standard!
Using SQL in Your Web Site

To build a web site that shows data from a database, you will need:
An RDBMS database program (i.e. MS Access, SQL Server, MySQL)

To use a server-side scripting language, like PHP or ASP
To use SQL to get the data you want
To use HTML / CSS
RDBMS
RDBMS stands for Relational Database Management System.
RDBMS is the basis for SQL, and for all modern database systems such as MS SQL Server,
IBM DB2, Oracle, MySQL, and Microsoft Access.
The data in RDBMS is stored in database objects called tables.
A table is a collection of related data entries and it consists of columns and rows.
SQL Syntax
PreviousNext
Database Tables
A database most often contains one or more tables. Each table is identified by a name (e.g.
"Customers" or "Orders"). Tables contain records (rows) with data.
In this tutorial we will use the well-known Northwind sample database (included in MS Access
and MS SQL Server).
Below is a selection from the "Customers" table:
CustomerID CustomerName ContactName Address City PostalCode Country
1 Alfreds Maria Anders Obere Str. 57 Berlin 12209 Germany

Futterkiste
2 Ana Trujillo Ana Trujillo Avda. de la Mxico 05021 Mexico

Emparedados y Constitucin D.F.
helados 2222
3 Antonio Moreno Antonio Mataderos 2312 Mxico 05023 Mexico

Taquera Moreno D.F.
4 Around the Horn Thomas Hardy 120 Hanover Sq. London WA1 1DP UK
5 Berglunds Christina Berguvsvgen 8 Lule S-958 22 Sweden

snabbkp Berglund
The table above contains five records (one for each customer) and seven columns
(CustomerID, CustomerName, ContactName, Address, City, PostalCode, and Country).
SQL Statements
Most of the actions you need to perform on a database are done with SQL statements.
The following SQL statement selects all the records in the "Customers" table:
Example
Try it Yourself
In this tutorial we will teach you all about the different SQL statements.
Keep in Mind That...

SQL keywords are NOT case sensitive: select is the same as SELECT
In this tutorial we will write all SQL keywords in upper-case.
Semi colon after SQL Statements?

Some database systems require a semicolon at the end of each SQL statement.
Semicolon is the standard way to separate each SQL statement in database systems that
allow more than one SQL statement to be executed in the same call to the server.
In this tutorial, we will use semicolon at the end of each SQL statement.
Some of The Most Important SQL Commands

SELECT - extracts data from a database
UPDATE - updates data in a database
DELETE - deletes data from a database
INSERT INTO - inserts new data into a database
CREATE DATABASE - creates a new database
ALTER DATABASE - modifies a database
CREATE TABLE - creates a new table
ALTER TABLE - modifies a table
DROP TABLE - deletes a table
CREATE INDEX - creates an index (search key)
DROP INDEX - deletes an index
SQL Comments
PreviousNext
Comments can be used to explain sections of SQL statements.
Comments can also be used to prevent execution, when testing alternative SQL
statements.
Single Line Comments

Single line comments start with --.
Any line between -- and the end of the line will be ignored (will not be executed).
Example
A single-line comment as an explanation:
--Select all:
Try it Yourself
Example
A single-line comment to ignore the end of a line:
SELECT * FROM Customers -- WHERE City='Berlin';
Try it Yourself
Example
A single-line comment to ignore a statement:
--SELECT * FROM Customers;
SELECT * FROM Products;
Try it Yourself
Multi-line Comments
Multi-line comments start with /* and end with */.
Any text between /* and */ will be ignored.
Example
A multi-line comment as an explanation:
/*Select all the columns

of all the records
in the Customers table:*/
Try it Yourself
Example
A multi-line comment to ignore many statements:
/*SELECT * FROM Customers;

SELECT * FROM Products;
SELECT * FROM Orders;
SELECT * FROM Categories;*/
SELECT * FROM Suppliers;
Try it Yourself
Comments in Statements
To ignore just a part of a statement, use the /* */ comment.
Any text between /* and */ will be ignored.
Example
Ignore part of a line:
SELECT CustomerName, /*City,*/ Country FROM Customers;
Try it Yourself
Example
Ignore a parts of a statment:
SELECT * FROM Customers WHERE (CustomerName LIKE 'L%'

OR CustomerName LIKE 'R%' /*OR CustomerName LIKE 'S%'
OR CustomerName LIKE 'T%'*/ OR CustomerName LIKE 'W%')
AND Country='USA'
ORDER BY CustomerName;
SQL SELECT Statement

PreviousNext
The SELECT statement is used to select data from a database.
The SQL SELECT Statement

The SELECT statement is used to select data from a database.
The result is stored in a result table, called the result-set.
SQL SELECT Syntax

SELECT column_name,column_name
FROM table_name;
and
SELECT * FROM table_name;
Demo Database
In this tutorial we will use the well-known Northwind sample database.

Futterkiste

Emparedados y Constitucin
helados 2222 D.F.
3 Antonio Moreno Antonio Moreno Mataderos Mxico 05023 Mexico

Taquera 2312 D.F.
4 Around the Horn Thomas Hardy 120 Hanover London WA1 1DP UK
Sq.
5 Berglunds Christina Berguvsvge Lule S-958 22 Sweden

snabbkp Berglund n8
SELECT Column Example

The following SQL statement selects the "CustomerName" and "City" columns from the
"Customers" table:
Example
SELECT CustomerName,City FROM Customers;
Try it Yourself
SELECT * Example
The following SQL statement selects all the columns from the "Customers" table:
Example
Try it Yourself
Navigation in a Result-set
Most database software systems allow navigation in the result-set with programming
functions, like: Move-To-First-Record, Get-Record-Content, Move-To-Next-Record, etc.
Programming functions like these are not a part of this tutorial. To learn about accessing data
with function calls, please visit our PHP tutorial.
SQL SELECT DISTINCT Statement
PreviousNext
The SELECT DISTINCT statement is used to return only distinct (different) values.
The SQL SELECT DISTINCT Statement

In a table, a column may contain many duplicate values; and sometimes you only want to list
the different (distinct) values.
The DISTINCT keyword can be used to return only distinct (different) values.
SQL SELECT DISTINCT Syntax

SELECT DISTINCT column_name,column_name
FROM table_name;
Demo Database
Customer CustomerName ContactName Address City PostalCode Country

ID
1 Alfreds Futterkiste Maria Anders Obere Str. 57 Berlin 12209 Germany

helados 2222
3 Antonio Moreno Antonio Moreno Mataderos 2312 Mxico 05023 Mexico

Taquera D.F.
Sq.
5 Berglunds snabbkp Christina Berguvsvgen 8 Lule S-958 22 Sweden

Berglund
SELECT DISTINCT Example

The following SQL statement selects only the distinct values from the "City" columns from the
"Customers" table:
Example
SELECT DISTINCT City FROM Customers;
SQL WHERE Clause

PreviousNext
The WHERE clause is used to filter records.
The SQL WHERE Clause

The WHERE clause is used to extract only those records that fulfill a specified criterion.
SQL WHERE Syntax

SELECT column_name,column_name
FROM table_name
WHERE column_name operator value;
Demo Database

ID

helados 2222

Taquera 2312 D.F.
Sq.
5 Berglunds snabbkp Christina Berguvsvgen Lule S-958 22 Sweden

Berglund 8
WHERE Clause Example

The following SQL statement selects all the customers from the country "Mexico", in the
"Customers" table:
Example
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE Country='Mexico';
Try it Yourself
Text Fields vs. Numeric Fields

SQL requires single quotes around text values (most database systems will also allow double
quotes).
However, numeric fields should not be enclosed in quotes:
Example
WHERE CustomerID=1;
Try it Yourself
Operators in The WHERE Clause

The following operators can be used in the WHERE clause:
Operator Description
= Equal
<> Not equal. Note: In some versions of SQL this operator may be written
as !=
> Greater than
< Less than
>= Greater than or equal
<= Less than or equal
BETWEEN Between an inclusive range
LIKE Search for a pattern
IN To specify multiple possible values for a column

SQL AND & OR Operators
PreviousNext
The AND & OR operators are used to filter records based on more than one condition.
The SQL AND & OR Operators

The AND operator displays a record if both the first condition AND the second condition are
true.
The OR operator displays a record if either the first condition OR the second condition is true.
Demo Database
Customer CustomerName ContactName Address City PostalCode Countr

ID y
1 Alfreds Futterkiste Maria Anders Obere Str. 57 Berlin 12209 German

y

Emparedados y Constitucin 2222 D.F.
helados

Taquera D.F.
Berglund
AND Operator Example

The following SQL statement selects all customers from the country "Germany" AND the city
"Berlin", in the "Customers" table:
Example
WHERE Country='Germany'
AND City='Berlin';
Try it Yourself
OR Operator Example
The following SQL statement selects all customers from the city "Berlin" OR "Mnchen", in the
"Customers" table:
Example
WHERE City='Berlin'
OR City='Mnchen';
Try it Yourself
Combining AND & OR

You can also combine AND and OR (use parenthesis to form complex expressions).
The following SQL statement selects all customers from the country "Germany" AND the city
must be equal to "Berlin" OR "Mnchen", in the "Customers" table:
Example
AND (City='Berlin' OR City='Mnchen');
Try it Yourself
SQL ORDER BY Keyword
PreviousNext
The ORDER BY keyword is used to sort the result-set.
The SQL ORDER BY Keyword

The ORDER BY keyword is used to sort the result-set by one or more columns.
The ORDER BY keyword sorts the records in ascending order by default. To sort the records in
a descending order, you can use the DESC keyword.
SQL ORDER BY Syntax

SELECT column_name, column_name
FROM table_name
ORDER BY column_name ASC|DESC, column_name ASC|DESC;
Demo Database

ID

helados 2222

Taquera 2312 D.F.
Sq.

Berglund 8
ORDER BY Example
The following SQL statement selects all customers from the "Customers" table, sorted by the
"Country" column:
Example
ORDER BY Country;
Try it Yourself
ORDER BY DESC Example

The following SQL statement selects all customers from the "Customers" table, sorted
DESCENDING by the "Country" column:
Example
ORDER BY Country DESC;
Try it Yourself
ORDER BY Several Columns Example

The following SQL statement selects all customers from the "Customers" table, sorted by the
"Country" and the "CustomerName" column:
Example
ORDER BY Country, CustomerName;
Try it Yourself
ORDER BY Several Columns Example 2

The following SQL statement selects all customers from the "Customers" table, sorted
ascending by the "Country" and descending by the "CustomerName" column:
Example
ORDER BY Country ASC, CustomerName DESC;
Try it Yourself
SQL INSERT INTO Statement

PreviousNext
The INSERT INTO statement is used to insert new records in a table.
The SQL INSERT INTO Statement

The INSERT INTO statement is used to insert new records in a table.
SQL INSERT INTO Syntax

It is possible to write the INSERT INTO statement in two forms.
The first form does not specify the column names where the data will be inserted, only their
values:
INSERT INTO table_name

VALUES (value1,value2,value3,...);
The second form specifies both the column names and the values to be inserted:
INSERT INTO table_name (column1,column2,column3,...)

VALUES (value1,value2,value3,...);
Demo Database

ID
87 Wartian Herkku Pirkko Koskitalo Torikatu 38 Oulu 90110 Finland
88 Wellington Paula Parente Rua do Mercado, Resende 08737-363 Brazil

Importadora 12
89 White Clover Karl Jablonski 305 - 14th Ave. S. Seattle 98128 USA
Markets Suite 3B
90 Wilman Kala Matti Karttunen Keskuskatu 45 Helsinki 21240 Finland
91 Wolski Zbyszek ul. Filtrowa 68 Walla 01-012 Poland
INSERT INTO Example

Assume we wish to insert a new row in the "Customers" table.
We can use the following SQL statement:
Example
INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerName, ContactName, Address, City, PostalCode,
Country)
VALUES ('Cardinal','Tom B. Erichsen','Skagen 21','Stavanger','4006','Norway');
Try it Yourself
The selection from the "Customers" table will now look like this:

ID
87 Wartian Herkku Pirkko Koskitalo Torikatu 38 Oulu 90110 Finland

88 Wellington Paula Parente Rua do Mercado, Resende 08737-363 Brazil
Importadora 12
89 White Clover Karl Jablonski 305 - 14th Ave. Seattle 98128 USA
Markets S. Suite 3B
92 Cardinal Tom B. Erichsen Skagen 21 Stavanger 4006 Norway
Did you notice that we did not insert any number into the CustomerID field?
The CustomerID column is automatically updated with a unique number for each record in the
table.
Insert Data Only in Specified Columns

It is also possible to only insert data in specific columns.
The following SQL statement will insert a new row, but only insert data in the
"CustomerName", "City", and "Country" columns (and the CustomerID field will of course also
be updated automatically):
Example
INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerName, City, Country)
VALUES ('Cardinal', 'Stavanger', 'Norway');
Try it Yourself
87 Wartian Herkku Pirkko Torikatu 38 Oulu 90110 Finland

Koskitalo
88 Wellington Paula Parente Rua do Resende 08737-363 Brazil

Importadora Mercado, 12
89 White Clover Karl Jablonski 305 - 14th Ave. Seattle 98128 USA
Markets S. Suite 3B
92 Cardinal null null Stavanger null Norway
SQL UPDATE Statement

PreviousNext
Example
Change the value of the "City" column of a record in the "Customers" table:
UPDATE Customers
SET City='Hamburg'
WHERE CustomerID=1;
Try it Yourself
The SQL UPDATE Statement

The UPDATE statement is used to update existing records in a table.
Syntax
UPDATE table_name
SET column1=value1,column2=value2,...
WHERE some_column=some_value;
Notice the WHERE clause in the SQL UPDATE statement!

The WHERE clause specifies which record or records that should be updated. If you omit the
WHERE clause, all records will be updated!
Demo Database

ID

helados 2222

Taquera 2312 D.F.
Sq.

Berglund 8
UPDATE Multiple Columns
To update more than one column, use a comma as seperator.
Assume we wish to update the customer "Alfreds Futterkiste" with a new contact
person and city.
We use the following SQL statement:
Example
UPDATE Customers
SET ContactName='Alfred Schmidt', City='Frankfurt'
WHERE CustomerID=1;
Try it Yourself

ID
1 Alfreds Futterkiste Alfred Schmidt Obere Str. 57 Frankfurt 12209 Germany

Emparedados y helados Constitucin D.F.
2222

Taquera 2312 D.F.
Sq.

Berglund 8
UPDATE Multiple Records
In an update statement, it is the WHERE clause that determines how many records which will
be updated.
The WHERE clause: WHERE Country='Mexico' will update all records which have the value
"Mexico" in the field "Country".
Example
UPDATE Customers
SET ContactName='Juan'
WHERE Country='Mexico';
Try it Yourself

ID
1 Alfreds Futterkiste Alfred Schmidt Obere Str. 57 Frankfurt 12209 Germany
2 Ana Trujillo Juan Avda. de la Mxico 05021 Mexico

helados 2222
3 Antonio Moreno Juan Mataderos 2312 Mxico 05023 Mexico

Taquera D.F.
Sq.

snabbkp Berglund
Update Warning!
Be careful when updating records. If we omit the WHERE clause, ALL records will be updated:
Example
UPDATE Customers
SET ContactName='Juan';
Try it Yourself

ID
1 Alfreds Futterkiste Juan Obere Str. 57 Frankfurt 12209 Germany
2 Ana Trujillo Juan Avda. de la Mxico 05021 Mexico

helados
3 Antonio Moreno Juan Mataderos 2312 Mxico 05023 Mexico

Taquera D.F.
4 Around the Horn Juan 120 Hanover Sq. London WA1 1DP UK
5 Berglunds snabbkp Juan Berguvsvgen 8 Lule S-958 22 Sweden
SQL DELETE Statement

PreviousNext
The DELETE statement is used to delete records in a table.
The SQL DELETE Statement

The DELETE statement is used to delete rows in a table.
SQL DELETE Syntax

DELETE FROM table_name
WHERE some_column=some_value;
Notice the WHERE clause in the SQL DELETE statement!

The WHERE clause specifies which record or records that should be deleted. If you omit the
WHERE clause, all records will be deleted!
Demo Database

ID

helados 2222

Taquera D.F.
snabbkp Berglund
SQL DELETE Example

Assume we wish to delete the customer "Alfreds Futterkiste" from the "Customers" table.
Example
DELETE FROM Customers
WHERE CustomerName='Alfreds Futterkiste' AND ContactName='Maria Anders';
Try it Yourself
The "Customers" table will now look like this:

ID

2222

Taquera D.F.
Sq.

Berglund
Delete All Data

It is possible to delete all rows in a table without deleting the table. This means that the table
structure, attributes, and indexes will be intact:
DELETE FROM table_name;
or
DELETE * FROM table_name;
Note: Be very careful when deleting records. You cannot undo this statement!
SQL Injection
PreviousNext
An SQL Injection can destroy your database.
SQL in Web Pages

In the previous chapters, you have learned to retrieve (and update) database data, using
SQL.
When SQL is used to display data on a web page, it is common to let web users input their
own search values.
Since SQL statements are text only, it is easy, with a little piece of computer code, to
dynamically change SQL statements to provide the user with selected data:
Server Code
txtUserId = getRequestString("UserId");
txtSQL = "SELECT * FROM Users WHERE UserId = " + txtUserId;
The example above, creates a select statement by adding a variable (txtUserId) to a select
string. The variable is fetched from the user input (Request) to the page.
The rest of this chapter describes the potential dangers of using user input in SQL statements.
SQL Injection
SQL injection is a technique where malicious users can inject SQL commands into an SQL
statement, via web page input.
Injected SQL commands can alter SQL statement and compromise the security of a web
application.
SQL Injection Based on 1=1 is Always True
Look at the example above, one more time.
Let's say that the original purpose of the code was to create an SQL statement to select a
user with a given user id.
If there is nothing to prevent a user from entering "wrong" input, the user can enter some
"smart" input like this:
UserId:
Server Result
SELECT * FROM Users WHERE UserId = 105 or 1=1;
The SQL above is valid. It will return all rows from the table Users, since WHERE 1=1 is
always true.
Does the example above seem dangerous? What if the Users table contains names and
passwords?
The SQL statement above is much the same as this:
SELECT UserId, Name, Password FROM Users WHERE UserId = 105 or 1=1;
A smart hacker might get access to all the user names and passwords in a database by simply
inserting 105 or 1=1 into the input box.
SQL Injection Based on ""="" is Always True

Here is a common construction, used to verify user login to a web site:
User Name:
Password:
Server Code
uName = getRequestString("UserName");
uPass = getRequestString("UserPass");
sql = 'SELECT * FROM Users WHERE Name ="' + uName + '" AND Pass ="' + uPass + '"'
Result
SELECT * FROM Users WHERE Name ="John Doe" AND Pass ="myPass"
A smart hacker might get access to user names and passwords in a database by simply
inserting " or ""=" into the user name or password text box:
User Name:
Password:
The code at the server will create a valid SQL statement like this:
Result
SELECT * FROM Users WHERE Name ="" or ""="" AND Pass ="" or ""=""
The result SQL is valid. It will return all rows from the table Users, since WHERE ""="" is
always true.
SQL Injection Based on Batched SQL Statements

Most databases support batched SQL statement, separated by semicolon.
Example
SELECT * FROM Users; DROP TABLE Suppliers
The SQL above will return all rows in the Users table, and then delete the table called
Suppliers.
If we had the following server code:
Server Code
txtSQL = "SELECT * FROM Users WHERE UserId = " + txtUserId;
And the following input:
User id:
The code at the server would create a valid SQL statement like this:
Result
SELECT * FROM Users WHERE UserId = 105; DROP TABLE Suppliers
Parameters for Protection
Some web developers use a "blacklist" of words or characters to search for in SQL input, to
prevent SQL injection attacks.
This is not a very good idea. Many of these words (like delete or drop) and characters (like
semicolons and quotation marks), are used in common language, and should be allowed in
many types of input.
(In fact it should be perfectly legal to input an SQL statement in a database field.)
The only proven way to protect a web site from SQL injection attacks, is to use SQL
parameters.
SQL parameters are values that are added to an SQL query at execution time, in a controlled
manner.
ASP.NET Razor Example

txtSQL = "SELECT * FROM Users WHERE UserId = @0";
db.Execute(txtSQL,txtUserId);
Note that parameters are represented in the SQL statement by a @ marker.
The SQL engine checks each parameter to ensure that it is correct for its column and are
treated literally, and not as part of the SQL to be executed.
Another Example
txtNam = getRequestString("CustomerName");
txtAdd = getRequestString("Address");
txtCit = getRequestString("City");
txtSQL = "INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerName,Address,City) Values(@0,@1,@2)";
db.Execute(txtSQL,txtNam,txtAdd,txtCit);
You have just learned to avoid SQL injection. One of the top website vulnerabilities.
Examples
The following examples shows how to build parameterized queries in some common web
languages.
SELECT STATEMENT IN ASP.NET:
sql = "SELECT * FROM Customers WHERE CustomerId = @0";
command = new SqlCommand(sql);
command.Parameters.AddWithValue("@0",txtUserID);
command.ExecuteReader();
INSERT INTO STATEMENT IN ASP.NET:
txtNam = getRequestString("CustomerName");
txtAdd = getRequestString("Address");
txtCit = getRequestString("City");
txtSQL = "INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerName,Address,City) Values(@0,@1,@2)";
command = new SqlCommand(txtSQL);
command.Parameters.AddWithValue("@0",txtNam);
command.Parameters.AddWithValue("@1",txtAdd);
command.Parameters.AddWithValue("@2",txtCit);
command.ExecuteNonQuery();
INSERT INTO STATEMENT IN PHP:
$stmt = $dbh->prepare("INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerName,Address,City)

VALUES (:nam, :add, :cit)");
$stmt->bindParam(':nam', $txtNam);
$stmt->bindParam(':add', $txtAdd);
$stmt->bindParam(':cit', $txtCit);
$stmt->execute();
SQL SELECT TOP Clause

PreviousNext
The SQL SELECT TOP Clause

The SELECT TOP clause is used to specify the number of records to return.
The SELECT TOP clause can be very useful on large tables with thousands of records.
Returning a large number of records can impact on performance.
Note: Not all database systems support the SELECT TOP clause.
SQL Server / MS Access Syntax

SELECT TOP number|percent column_name(s)
FROM table_name;
SQL SELECT TOP Equivalent in MySQL and Oracle

MySQL Syntax
SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
LIMIT number;
Example
SELECT *
FROM Persons
LIMIT 5;
Oracle Syntax
FROM table_name
WHERE ROWNUM <= number;
Example
SELECT *
FROM Persons
WHERE ROWNUM <=5;
Demo Database

ID

helados 2222

Taquera D.F.

Berglund
SQL SELECT TOP Example

The following SQL statement selects the two first records from the "Customers" table:
Example
SELECT TOP 2 * FROM Customers;
Try it Yourself
SQL SELECT TOP PERCENT Example

The following SQL statement selects the first 50% of the records from the "Customers" table:
Example
SELECT TOP 50 PERCENT * FROM Customers;
SQL LIKE Operator

PreviousNext
The LIKE operator is used in a WHERE clause to search for a specified pattern in a
column.
The SQL LIKE Operator

The LIKE operator is used to search for a specified pattern in a column.
SQL LIKE Syntax

FROM table_name
WHERE column_name LIKE pattern;
Demo Database

ID

helados 2222

Taquera D.F.

Berglund
SQL LIKE Operator Examples

The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City starting with the letter "s":
Example
WHERE City LIKE 's%';
Try it Yourself
Tip: The "%" sign is used to define wildcards (missing letters) both before and after the
pattern. You will learn more about wildcards in the next chapter.
The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City ending with the letter "s":
Example
WHERE City LIKE '%s';
Try it Yourself
The following SQL statement selects all customers with a Country containing the pattern
"land":
Example
WHERE Country LIKE '%land%';
Try it Yourself
Using the NOT keyword allows you to select records that do NOT match the pattern.
The following SQL statement selects all customers with Country NOT containing the pattern
"land":
Example
WHERE Country NOT LIKE '%land%';
SQL Wildcards
PreviousNext
A wildcard character can be used to substitute for any other character(s) in a string.
SQL Wildcard Characters

In SQL, wildcard characters are used with the SQL LIKE operator.
SQL wildcards are used to search for data within a table.

With SQL, the wildcards are:
Wildcard Description
% A substitute for zero or more characters
_ A substitute for a single character
[charlist] Sets and ranges of characters to match
[^charlist] Matches only a character NOT specified within the brackets

or
[!charlist]
Demo Database

ID

2 Ana Trujillo Ana Trujillo Avda. de la Mxic 05021 Mexico
Emparedados y Constitucin 2222 o D.F.
helados
3 Antonio Moreno Antonio Moreno Mataderos 2312 Mxic 05023 Mexico

Taquera o D.F.
4 Around the Horn Thomas Hardy 120 Hanover Sq. Londo WA1 1DP UK
n

Berglund
Using the SQL % Wildcard

The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City starting with "ber":
Example
WHERE City LIKE 'ber%';
Try it Yourself
The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City containing the pattern "es":
Example
WHERE City LIKE '%es%';
Try it Yourself
Using the SQL _ Wildcard

The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City starting with any character,
followed by "erlin":
Example
WHERE City LIKE '_erlin';
Try it Yourself
The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City starting with "L", followed by
any character, followed by "n", followed by any character, followed by "on":
Example
WHERE City LIKE 'L_n_on';
Try it Yourself
Using the SQL [charlist] Wildcard

The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City starting with "b", "s", or "p":
Example
WHERE City LIKE '[bsp]%';
Try it Yourself
The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City starting with "a", "b", or "c":
Example
WHERE City LIKE '[a-c]%';
Try it Yourself
The two following SQL statements selects all customers with a City NOT starting with "b", "s",
or "p":
Example
WHERE City LIKE '[!bsp]%';
Try it Yourself
Or:
Example
WHERE City NOT LIKE '[bsp]%';
SQL IN Operator
PreviousNext
The IN Operator
The IN operator allows you to specify multiple values in a WHERE clause.
SQL IN Syntax
FROM table_name
WHERE column_name IN (value1,value2,...);
Demo Database

ID

Futterkiste

helados 2222

Taquera 2312 D.F.
Sq.
5 Berglunds Christina Berguvsvgen Lule S-958 22 Sweden
snabbkp Berglund 8
IN Operator Example
The following SQL statement selects all customers with a City of "Paris" or "London":
Example
WHERE City IN ('Paris','London');
Try it Yourself
SQL BETWEEN Operator

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The BETWEEN operator is used to select values within a range.
The SQL BETWEEN Operator

The BETWEEN operator selects values within a range. The values can be numbers, text, or
dates.
SQL BETWEEN Syntax

FROM table_name
WHERE column_name BETWEEN value1 AND value2;
Demo Database
Below is a selection from the "Products" table:

ProductID ProductName SupplierID CategoryID Unit Price
1 Chais 1 1 10 boxes x 20 bags 18
2 Chang 1 1 24 - 12 oz bottles 19
3 Aniseed Syrup 1 2 12 - 550 ml bottles 10
4 Chef Anton's Cajun 1 2 48 - 6 oz jars 22

Seasoning
5 Chef Anton's Gumbo 1 2 36 boxes 21.35

Mix
BETWEEN Operator Example

The following SQL statement selects all products with a price BETWEEN 10 and 20:
Example
SELECT * FROM Products
WHERE Price BETWEEN 10 AND 20;
Try it Yourself
NOT BETWEEN Operator Example

To display the products outside the range of the previous example, use NOT BETWEEN:
Example
WHERE Price NOT BETWEEN 10 AND 20;
Try it Yourself
BETWEEN Operator with IN Example
The following SQL statement selects all products with a price BETWEEN 10 and 20, but
products with a CategoryID of 1,2, or 3 should not be displayed:
Example
WHERE (Price BETWEEN 10 AND 20)
AND NOT CategoryID IN (1,2,3);
Try it Yourself
BETWEEN Operator with Text Value Example

The following SQL statement selects all products with a ProductName beginning with any of
the letter BETWEEN 'C' and 'M':
Example
WHERE ProductName BETWEEN 'C' AND 'M';
Try it Yourself
NOT BETWEEN Operator with Text Value Example

The following SQL statement selects all products with a ProductName beginning with any of
the letter NOT BETWEEN 'C' and 'M':
Example
WHERE ProductName NOT BETWEEN 'C' AND 'M';
Try it Yourself
Sample Table
Below is a selection from the "Orders" table:
OrderID CustomerID EmployeeID OrderDate ShipperID

10248 90 5 7/4/1996 3
10249 81 6 7/5/1996 1
10250 34 4 7/8/1996 2
10251 84 3 7/9/1996 1
10252 76 4 7/10/1996 2
BETWEEN Operator with Date Value Example

The following SQL statement selects all orders with an OrderDate BETWEEN '04-July-1996'
and '09-July-1996':
Example
SELECT * FROM Orders
WHERE OrderDate BETWEEN #07/04/1996# AND #07/09/1996#;
Try it Yourself
Notice that the BETWEEN operator can produce different result in different
databases!
In some databases, BETWEEN selects fields that are between and excluding the test values.
In other databases, BETWEEN selects fields that are between and including the test values.
And in other databases, BETWEEN selects fields between the test values, including the first
test value and excluding the last test value.
Therefore: Check how your database treats the BETWEEN operator!
SQL Aliases
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SQL aliases are used to temporarily rename a table or a column heading.

SQL Aliases
SQL aliases are used to give a database table, or a column in a table, a temporary name.
Basically aliases are created to make column names more readable.
SQL Alias Syntax for Columns

SELECT column_name AS alias_name
FROM table_name;
SQL Alias Syntax for Tables

FROM table_name AS alias_name;
Demo Database

ID

helados 2222

Taquera Moreno D.F.
And a selection from the "Orders" table:

10354 58 8 1996-11-14 3
10355 4 6 1996-11-15 1
10356 86 6 1996-11-18 2
Alias Example for Table Columns

The following SQL statement specifies two aliases, one for the CustomerName column and
one for the ContactName column. Tip: It requires double quotation marks or square brackets
if the column name contains spaces:
Example
SELECT CustomerName AS Customer, ContactName AS [Contact Person]
FROM Customers;
Try it Yourself
In the following SQL statement we combine four columns (Address, City, PostalCode, and
Country) and create an alias named "Address":
Example
SELECT CustomerName, Address+', '+City+', '+PostalCode+', '+Country AS Address
FROM Customers;
Try it Yourself
Note: To get the SQL statement above to work in MySQL use the following:
SELECT CustomerName, CONCAT(Address,', ',City,', ',PostalCode,',

',Country) AS Address
FROM Customers;
Alias Example for Tables

The following SQL statement selects all the orders from the customer with CustomerID=4
(Around the Horn). We use the "Customers" and "Orders" tables, and give them the table
aliases of "c" and "o" respectively (Here we have used aliases to make the SQL shorter):
Example
SELECT o.OrderID, o.OrderDate, c.CustomerName
FROM Customers AS c, Orders AS o
WHERE c.CustomerName="Around the Horn" AND c.CustomerID=o.CustomerID;
Try it Yourself
The same SQL statement without aliases:
Example
SELECT Orders.OrderID, Orders.OrderDate, Customers.CustomerName
FROM Customers, Orders
WHERE Customers.CustomerName="Around the
Horn" AND Customers.CustomerID=Orders.CustomerID;
Try it Yourself
Aliases can be useful when:
There are more than one table involved in a query

Functions are used in the query
Column names are big or not very readable
Two or more columns are combined together
SQL Joins
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SQL joins are used to combine rows from two or more tables.
SQL JOIN
An SQL JOIN clause is used to combine rows from two or more tables, based on a common
field between them.
The most common type of join is: SQL INNER JOIN (simple join). An SQL INNER JOIN
returns all rows from multiple tables where the join condition is met.
Let's look at a selection from the "Orders" table:
OrderID CustomerID OrderDate

10308 2 1996-09-18
10309 37 1996-09-19
10310 77 1996-09-20
Then, have a look at a selection from the "Customers" table:
CustomerID CustomerName ContactName Country
1 Alfreds Futterkiste Maria Anders Germany
2 Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados Ana Trujillo Mexico
3 Antonio Moreno Taquera Antonio Moreno Mexico
Notice that the "CustomerID" column in the "Orders" table refers to the "CustomerID" in the
"Customers" table. The relationship between the two tables above is the "CustomerID"
column.
Then, if we run the following SQL statement (that contains an INNER JOIN):
Example
SELECT Orders.OrderID, Customers.CustomerName, Orders.OrderDate
FROM Orders
INNER JOIN Customers
ON Orders.CustomerID=Customers.CustomerID;
Try it Yourself
it will produce something like this:

OrderID CustomerName OrderDate
10308 Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados 9/18/1996
10365 Antonio Moreno Taquera 11/27/1996
10383 Around the Horn 12/16/1996
10355 Around the Horn 11/15/1996
10278 Berglunds snabbkp 8/12/1996
Different SQL JOINs

Before we continue with examples, we will list the types of the different SQL JOINs you can
use:
INNER JOIN: Returns all rows when there is at least one match in BOTH tables
LEFT JOIN: Return all rows from the left table, and the matched rows from the right
table
RIGHT JOIN: Return all rows from the right table, and the matched rows from the left
table
FULL JOIN: Return all rows when there is a match in ONE of the tables
SQL INNER JOIN Keyword

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SQL INNER JOIN Keyword

The INNER JOIN keyword selects all rows from both tables as long as there is a match
between the columns in both tables.
SQL INNER JOIN Syntax
FROM table1
INNER JOIN table2
ON table1.column_name=table2.column_name;
or:
FROM table1
JOIN table2
PS! INNER JOIN is the same as JOIN.
Demo Database

ID

helados 2222
Taquera Moreno D.F.
10308 2 7 1996-09-18 3
10309 37 3 1996-09-19 1
10310 77 8 1996-09-20 2
SQL INNER JOIN Example

The following SQL statement will return all customers with orders:
Example
SELECT Customers.CustomerName, Orders.OrderID
FROM Customers
INNER JOIN Orders
ON Customers.CustomerID=Orders.CustomerID
ORDER BY Customers.CustomerName;
Try it Yourself
Note: The INNER JOIN keyword selects all rows from both tables as long as there is a match
between the columns. If there are rows in the "Customers" table that do not have matches in
"Orders", these customers will NOT be listed.
SQL LEFT JOIN Keyword

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SQL LEFT JOIN Keyword

The LEFT JOIN keyword returns all rows from the left table (table1), with the matching rows
in the right table (table2). The result is NULL in the right side when there is no match.
SQL LEFT JOIN Syntax

FROM table1
LEFT JOIN table2
or:
FROM table1
LEFT OUTER JOIN table2
PS! In some databases LEFT JOIN is called LEFT OUTER JOIN.
Demo Database

ID

Emparedados y Constitucin
helados 2222 D.F.

Taquera Moreno D.F.
10308 2 7 1996-09-18 3
10309 37 3 1996-09-19 1
10310 77 8 1996-09-20 2
SQL LEFT JOIN Example

The following SQL statement will return all customers, and any orders they might have:
Example
FROM Customers
LEFT JOIN Orders
Try it Yourself
Note: The LEFT JOIN keyword returns all the rows from the left table (Customers), even if
there are no matches in the right table (Orders).
SQL RIGHT JOIN Keyword

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SQL RIGHT JOIN Keyword
The RIGHT JOIN keyword returns all rows from the right table (table2), with the matching
rows in the left table (table1). The result is NULL in the left side when there is no match.
SQL RIGHT JOIN Syntax

FROM table1
RIGHT JOIN table2
or:
FROM table1
RIGHT OUTER JOIN table2
PS! In some databases RIGHT JOIN is called RIGHT OUTER JOIN.
Demo Database
10308 2 7 1996-09-18 3
10309 37 3 1996-09-19 1
10310 77 8 1996-09-20 2
And a selection from the "Employees" table:
Employee LastName FirstName BirthDate Photo Notes

ID
1 Davolio Nancy 12/8/1968 EmpID1.pic Education includes a BA in psychology.....
2 Fuller Andrew 2/19/1952 EmpID2.pic Andrew received his BTS commercial

and....
3 Leverling Janet 8/30/1963 EmpID3.pic Janet has a BS degree in chemistry....
SQL RIGHT JOIN Example

The following SQL statement will return all employees, and any orders they have placed:
Example
SELECT Orders.OrderID, Employees.FirstName
FROM Orders
RIGHT JOIN Employees
ON Orders.EmployeeID=Employees.EmployeeID
ORDER BY Orders.OrderID;
Try it Yourself
Note: The RIGHT JOIN keyword returns all the rows from the right table (Employees), even if
there are no matches in the left table (Orders).
SQL FULL OUTER JOIN Keyword

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SQL FULL OUTER JOIN Keyword
The FULL OUTER JOIN keyword returns all rows from the left table (table1) and from the right
table (table2).
The FULL OUTER JOIN keyword combines the result of both LEFT and RIGHT joins.
SQL FULL OUTER JOIN Syntax

FROM table1
FULL OUTER JOIN table2
Demo Database

helados 2222

Taquera Moreno D.F.
10308 2 7 1996-09-18 3
10309 37 3 1996-09-19 1
10310 77 8 1996-09-20 2
SQL FULL OUTER JOIN Example

The following SQL statement selects all customers, and all orders:

FROM Customers
FULL OUTER JOIN Orders
A selection from the result set may look like this:
CustomerName OrderID
Alfreds Futterkiste
Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados 10308
Antonio Moreno Taquera 10365

10382
10351
Note: The FULL OUTER JOIN keyword returns all the rows from the left table (Customers),
and all the rows from the right table (Orders). If there are rows in "Customers" that do not
have matches in "Orders", or if there are rows in "Orders" that do not have matches in
"Customers", those rows will be listed as well.
SQL UNION Operator

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The SQL UNION operator combines the result of two or more SELECT statements.
The SQL UNION Operator

The UNION operator is used to combine the result-set of two or more SELECT statements.
Notice that each SELECT statement within the UNION must have the same number of
columns. The columns must also have similar data types. Also, the columns in each SELECT
statement must be in the same order.
SQL UNION Syntax

SELECT column_name(s) FROM table1
UNION
SELECT column_name(s) FROM table2;
Note: The UNION operator selects only distinct values by default. To allow duplicate values,
use the ALL keyword with UNION.
SQL UNION ALL Syntax

SELECT column_name(s) FROM table1
UNION ALL
SELECT column_name(s) FROM table2;
PS: The column names in the result-set of a UNION are usually equal to the column names in
the first SELECT statement in the UNION.
Demo Database

ID

helados 2222

Taquera Moreno D.F.
And a selection from the "Suppliers" table:
Supplier SupplierName ContactName Address City PostalCode Country

ID
1 Exotic Liquid Charlotte 49 Gilbert St. London EC1 4SD UK

Cooper
2 New Orleans Cajun Shelley Burke P.O. Box 78934 New 70117 USA
Delights Orleans
3 Grandma Kelly's Regina Murphy 707 Oxford Rd. Ann 48104 USA
Homestead Arbor
SQL UNION Example
The following SQL statement selects all the different cities (only distinct values) from the
"Customers" and the "Suppliers" tables:
Example
SELECT City FROM Customers
UNION
SELECT City FROM Suppliers
ORDER BY City;
Try it Yourself
Note: UNION cannot be used to list ALL cities from the two tables. If several customers and
suppliers share the same city, each city will only be listed once. UNION selects only distinct
values. Use UNION ALL to also select duplicate values!
SQL UNION ALL Example

The following SQL statement uses UNION ALL to select all (duplicate values also) cities from
the "Customers" and "Suppliers" tables:
Example
SELECT City FROM Customers
UNION ALL
SELECT City FROM Suppliers
ORDER BY City;
Try it Yourself
SQL UNION ALL With WHERE

The following SQL statement uses UNION ALL to select all (duplicate values
also) German cities from the "Customers" and "Suppliers" tables:
Example
SELECT City, Country FROM Customers
UNION ALL
SELECT City, Country FROM Suppliers
ORDER BY City;
SQL SELECT INTO Statement
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With SQL, you can copy information from one table into another.
The SELECT INTO statement copies data from one table and inserts it into a new table.
The SQL SELECT INTO Statement

The SELECT INTO statement selects data from one table and inserts it into a new table.
SQL SELECT INTO Syntax

We can copy all columns into the new table:
SELECT *
INTO newtable [IN externaldb]
FROM table1;
Or we can copy only the columns we want into the new table:
INTO newtable [IN externaldb]
FROM table1;
The new table will be created with the column-names and types as defined in the SELECT
statement. You can apply new names using the AS clause.
SQL SELECT INTO Examples

Create a backup copy of Customers:
SELECT *
INTO CustomersBackup2013
FROM Customers;
Use the IN clause to copy the table into another database:
SELECT *
INTO CustomersBackup2013 IN 'Backup.mdb'
FROM Customers;
Copy only a few columns into the new table:

SELECT CustomerName, ContactName
FROM Customers;
Copy only the German customers into the new table:
SELECT *
FROM Customers
WHERE Country='Germany';
Copy data from more than one table into the new table:

INTO CustomersOrderBackup2013
FROM Customers
LEFT JOIN Orders
ON Customers.CustomerID=Orders.CustomerID;
Tip: The SELECT INTO statement can also be used to create a new, empty table using the
schema of another. Just add a WHERE clause that causes the query to return no data:
SELECT *
INTO newtable
FROM table1
WHERE 1=0;
SQL INSERT INTO SELECT Statement

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With SQL, you can copy information from one table into another.
The INSERT INTO SELECT statement copies data from one table and inserts it into an
existing table.
The SQL INSERT INTO SELECT Statement

The INSERT INTO SELECT statement selects data from one table and inserts it into an existing
table. Any existing rows in the target table are unaffected.
SQL INSERT INTO SELECT Syntax

We can copy all columns from one table to another, existing table:
INSERT INTO table2

SELECT * FROM table1;
Or we can copy only the columns we want to into another, existing table:
INSERT INTO table2

(column_name(s))
FROM table1;
Demo Database

ID

helados 2222

Taquera Moreno D.F.
And a selection from the "Suppliers" table:
Supplier SupplierName ContactName Address City Postal Country Phone

ID Code
1 Exotic Liquid Charlotte 49 Gilbert St. Londona EC1 4SD UK (171)

Cooper 555-2222
2 New Orleans Shelley Burke P.O. Box New 70117 USA (100)
Cajun Delights 78934 Orleans 555-4822
3 Grandma Kelly's Regina 707 Oxford Ann Arbor 48104 USA (313)
Homestead Murphy Rd. 555-5735
SQL INSERT INTO SELECT Examples

Copy only a few columns from "Suppliers" into "Customers":
Example
INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerName, Country)
SELECT SupplierName, Country FROM Suppliers;
Try it Yourself
Copy only the German suppliers into "Customers":
Example
INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerName, Country)
SELECT SupplierName, Country FROM Suppliers
WHERE Country='Germany';
SQL CREATE DATABASE Statement

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The SQL CREATE DATABASE Statement

The CREATE DATABASE statement is used to create a database.
SQL CREATE DATABASE Syntax

CREATE DATABASE dbname;
SQL CREATE DATABASE Example

The following SQL statement creates a database called "my_db":
CREATE DATABASE my_db;
Database tables can be added with the CREATE TABLE statement.

SQL CREATE TABLE Statement
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The SQL CREATE TABLE Statement

The CREATE TABLE statement is used to create a table in a database.
Tables are organized into rows and columns; and each table must have a name.
SQL CREATE TABLE Syntax

CREATE TABLE table_name
(
column_name1 data_type(size),
....
);
The column_name parameters specify the names of the columns of the table.
The data_type parameter specifies what type of data the column can hold (e.g. varchar,
integer, decimal, date, etc.).
The size parameter specifies the maximum length of the column of the table.
Tip: For an overview of the data types available in MS Access, MySQL, and SQL Server, go to
our complete Data Types Reference.
SQL CREATE TABLE Example

Now we want to create a table called "Persons" that contains five columns: PersonID,
LastName, FirstName, Address, and City.
We use the following CREATE TABLE statement:
Example
CREATE TABLE Persons
(
PersonID int,
LastName varchar(255),
FirstName varchar(255),
Address varchar(255),
City varchar(255)
);
Try it Yourself
The PersonID column is of type int and will hold an integer.
The LastName, FirstName, Address, and City columns are of type varchar and will hold
characters, and the maximum length for these fields is 255 characters.
The empty "Persons" table will now look like this:
PersonID LastName FirstName Address City
Tip: The empty table can be filled with data with the INSERT INTO statement.
SQL Constraints
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SQL Constraints
SQL constraints are used to specify rules for the data in a table.
If there is any violation between the constraint and the data action, the action is aborted by
the constraint.
Constraints can be specified when the table is created (inside the CREATE TABLE statement)
or after the table is created (inside the ALTER TABLE statement).
SQL CREATE TABLE + CONSTRAINT Syntax

CREATE TABLE table_name
(
column_name1 data_type(size) constraint_name,
....
);
In SQL, we have the following constraints:
NOT NULL - Indicates that a column cannot store NULL value

UNIQUE - Ensures that each row for a column must have a unique value
PRIMARY KEY - A combination of a NOT NULL and UNIQUE. Ensures that a column (or
combination of two or more columns) have a unique identity which helps to find a
particular record in a table more easily and quickly
FOREIGN KEY - Ensure the referential integrity of the data in one table to match
values in another table
CHECK - Ensures that the value in a column meets a specific condition
DEFAULT - Specifies a default value for a column
The next chapters will describe each constraint in detail.
SQL NOT NULL Constraint

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By default, a table column can hold NULL values.
SQL NOT NULL Constraint

The NOT NULL constraint enforces a column to NOT accept NULL values.
The NOT NULL constraint enforces a field to always contain a value. This means that you
cannot insert a new record, or update a record without adding a value to this field.
The following SQL enforces the "P_Id" column and the "LastName" column to not accept NULL
values:
Example
CREATE TABLE PersonsNotNull
(
P_Id int NOT NULL,
LastName varchar(255) NOT NULL,
City varchar(255)
)
SQL UNIQUE Constraint

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SQL UNIQUE Constraint

The UNIQUE constraint uniquely identifies each record in a database table.
The UNIQUE and PRIMARY KEY constraints both provide a guarantee for uniqueness for a
column or set of columns.
A PRIMARY KEY constraint automatically has a UNIQUE constraint defined on it.
Note that you can have many UNIQUE constraints per table, but only one PRIMARY KEY
constraint per table.
SQL UNIQUE Constraint on CREATE TABLE

The following SQL creates a UNIQUE constraint on the "P_Id" column when the "Persons"
table is created:
SQL Server / Oracle / MS Access:

(
P_Id int NOT NULL UNIQUE,
City varchar(255)
)
MySQL:

(
P_Id int NOT NULL,
City varchar(255),
UNIQUE (P_Id)
)
To allow naming of a UNIQUE constraint, and for defining a UNIQUE constraint on multiple
columns, use the following SQL syntax:
MySQL / SQL Server / Oracle / MS Access:

(
P_Id int NOT NULL,
City varchar(255),
CONSTRAINT uc_PersonID UNIQUE (P_Id,LastName)
)
SQL UNIQUE Constraint on ALTER TABLE
To create a UNIQUE constraint on the "P_Id" column when the table is already created, use
the following SQL:
ALTER TABLE Persons

ADD UNIQUE (P_Id)
To allow naming of a UNIQUE constraint, and for defining a UNIQUE constraint on multiple
ALTER TABLE Persons

ADD CONSTRAINT uc_PersonID UNIQUE (P_Id,LastName)
To DROP a UNIQUE Constraint

To drop a UNIQUE constraint, use the following SQL:
MySQL:
ALTER TABLE Persons

DROP INDEX uc_PersonID
ALTER TABLE Persons

DROP CONSTRAINT uc_PersonID
SQL PRIMARY KEY Constraint

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SQL PRIMARY KEY Constraint

The PRIMARY KEY constraint uniquely identifies each record in a database table.
Primary keys must contain UNIQUE values.
A primary key column cannot contain NULL values.
Most tables should have a primary key, and each table can have only ONE primary key.
SQL PRIMARY KEY Constraint on CREATE TABLE
The following SQL creates a PRIMARY KEY on the "P_Id" column when the "Persons" table is
created:
MySQL:

(
P_Id int NOT NULL,
City varchar(255),
PRIMARY KEY (P_Id)
)

(
P_Id int NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
City varchar(255)
)
To allow naming of a PRIMARY KEY constraint, and for defining a PRIMARY KEY constraint on
multiple columns, use the following SQL syntax:

(
P_Id int NOT NULL,
City varchar(255),
CONSTRAINT pk_PersonID PRIMARY KEY (P_Id,LastName)
)
Note: In the example above there is only ONE PRIMARY KEY (pk_PersonID). However, the
VALUE of the primary key is made up of TWO COLUMNS (P_Id + LastName).
SQL PRIMARY KEY Constraint on ALTER TABLE

To create a PRIMARY KEY constraint on the "P_Id" column when the table is already created,
use the following SQL:
ALTER TABLE Persons

ADD PRIMARY KEY (P_Id)
To allow naming of a PRIMARY KEY constraint, and for defining a PRIMARY KEY constraint on
ALTER TABLE Persons

ADD CONSTRAINT pk_PersonID PRIMARY KEY (P_Id,LastName)
Note: If you use the ALTER TABLE statement to add a primary key, the primary key
column(s) must already have been declared to not contain NULL values (when the table was
first created).
To DROP a PRIMARY KEY Constraint

To drop a PRIMARY KEY constraint, use the following SQL:
MySQL:
ALTER TABLE Persons

DROP PRIMARY KEY
ALTER TABLE Persons

DROP CONSTRAINT pk_PersonID
SQL FOREIGN KEY Constraint

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SQL FOREIGN KEY Constraint

A FOREIGN KEY in one table points to a PRIMARY KEY in another table.
Let's illustrate the foreign key with an example. Look at the following two tables:
The "Persons" table:

P_Id LastName FirstName Address City
1 Hansen Ola Timoteivn 10 Sandnes
2 Svendson Tove Borgvn 23 Sandnes
3 Pettersen Kari Storgt 20 Stavanger
The "Orders" table:
O_Id OrderNo P_Id
1 77895 3
2 44678 3
3 22456 2
4 24562 1
Note that the "P_Id" column in the "Orders" table points to the "P_Id" column in the
"Persons" table.
The "P_Id" column in the "Persons" table is the PRIMARY KEY in the "Persons" table.
The "P_Id" column in the "Orders" table is a FOREIGN KEY in the "Orders" table.
The FOREIGN KEY constraint is used to prevent actions that would destroy links between
tables.
The FOREIGN KEY constraint also prevents invalid data from being inserted into the foreign
key column, because it has to be one of the values contained in the table it points to.
SQL FOREIGN KEY Constraint on CREATE TABLE

The following SQL creates a FOREIGN KEY on the "P_Id" column when the "Orders" table is
created:
MySQL:
CREATE TABLE Orders

(
O_Id int NOT NULL,
OrderNo int NOT NULL,
P_Id int,
PRIMARY KEY (O_Id),
FOREIGN KEY (P_Id) REFERENCES Persons(P_Id)
)
CREATE TABLE Orders

(
O_Id int NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
P_Id int FOREIGN KEY REFERENCES Persons(P_Id)
)
To allow naming of a FOREIGN KEY constraint, and for defining a FOREIGN KEY constraint on
CREATE TABLE Orders

(
O_Id int NOT NULL,
P_Id int,
PRIMARY KEY (O_Id),
CONSTRAINT fk_PerOrders FOREIGN KEY (P_Id)
REFERENCES Persons(P_Id)
)
SQL FOREIGN KEY Constraint on ALTER TABLE

To create a FOREIGN KEY constraint on the "P_Id" column when the "Orders" table is already
created, use the following SQL:

ALTER TABLE Orders
ADD FOREIGN KEY (P_Id)
To allow naming of a FOREIGN KEY constraint, and for defining a FOREIGN KEY constraint on
ALTER TABLE Orders

ADD CONSTRAINT fk_PerOrders
FOREIGN KEY (P_Id)
To DROP a FOREIGN KEY Constraint

To drop a FOREIGN KEY constraint, use the following SQL:
MySQL:
ALTER TABLE Orders

DROP FOREIGN KEY fk_PerOrders
ALTER TABLE Orders

DROP CONSTRAINT fk_PerOrders
SQL CHECK Constraint

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SQL CHECK Constraint

The CHECK constraint is used to limit the value range that can be placed in a column.
If you define a CHECK constraint on a single column it allows only certain values for this
column.
If you define a CHECK constraint on a table it can limit the values in certain columns based on
values in other columns in the row.
SQL CHECK Constraint on CREATE TABLE

The following SQL creates a CHECK constraint on the "P_Id" column when the "Persons" table
is created. The CHECK constraint specifies that the column "P_Id" must only include integers
greater than 0.
MySQL:

(
P_Id int NOT NULL,
City varchar(255),
CHECK (P_Id>0)
)

(
P_Id int NOT NULL CHECK (P_Id>0),
City varchar(255)
)
To allow naming of a CHECK constraint, and for defining a CHECK constraint on multiple

(
P_Id int NOT NULL,
City varchar(255),
CONSTRAINT chk_Person CHECK (P_Id>0 AND City='Sandnes')
)
SQL CHECK Constraint on ALTER TABLE

To create a CHECK constraint on the "P_Id" column when the table is already created, use the
following SQL:
ALTER TABLE Persons

ADD CHECK (P_Id>0)
To allow naming of a CHECK constraint, and for defining a CHECK constraint on multiple
ALTER TABLE Persons

ADD CONSTRAINT chk_Person CHECK (P_Id>0 AND City='Sandnes')
To DROP a CHECK Constraint

To drop a CHECK constraint, use the following SQL:
ALTER TABLE Persons

DROP CONSTRAINT chk_Person
MySQL:
ALTER TABLE Persons

DROP CHECK chk_Person
SQL DEFAULT Constraint

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SQL DEFAULT Constraint

The DEFAULT constraint is used to insert a default value into a column.
The default value will be added to all new records, if no other value is specified.
SQL DEFAULT Constraint on CREATE TABLE

The following SQL creates a DEFAULT constraint on the "City" column when the "Persons"
table is created:
My SQL / SQL Server / Oracle / MS Access:

(
P_Id int NOT NULL,
City varchar(255) DEFAULT 'Sandnes'
)
The DEFAULT constraint can also be used to insert system values, by using functions like
GETDATE():
CREATE TABLE Orders

(
O_Id int NOT NULL,
P_Id int,
OrderDate date DEFAULT GETDATE()
)
SQL DEFAULT Constraint on ALTER TABLE

To create a DEFAULT constraint on the "City" column when the table is already created, use
the following SQL:
MySQL:
ALTER TABLE Persons

ALTER City SET DEFAULT 'SANDNES'
SQL Server / MS Access:
ALTER TABLE Persons

ALTER COLUMN City SET DEFAULT 'SANDNES'
Oracle:
ALTER TABLE Persons

MODIFY City DEFAULT 'SANDNES'
To DROP a DEFAULT Constraint

To drop a DEFAULT constraint, use the following SQL:
MySQL:
ALTER TABLE Persons

ALTER City DROP DEFAULT
ALTER TABLE Persons

ALTER COLUMN City DROP DEFAULT
SQL CREATE INDEX Statement
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The CREATE INDEX statement is used to create indexes in tables.
Indexes allow the database application to find data fast; without reading the whole table.
Indexes
An index can be created in a table to find data more quickly and efficiently.
The users cannot see the indexes, they are just used to speed up searches/queries.
Note: Updating a table with indexes takes more time than updating a table without (because
the indexes also need an update). So you should only create indexes on columns (and tables)
that will be frequently searched against.
SQL CREATE INDEX Syntax

Creates an index on a table. Duplicate values are allowed:
CREATE INDEX index_name

ON table_name (column_name)
SQL CREATE UNIQUE INDEX Syntax

Creates a unique index on a table. Duplicate values are not allowed:
CREATE UNIQUE INDEX index_name

Note: The syntax for creating indexes varies among different databases. Therefore: Check
the syntax for creating indexes in your database.
CREATE INDEX Example

The SQL statement below creates an index named "PIndex" on the "LastName" column in the
"Persons" table:
CREATE INDEX PIndex

ON Persons (LastName)
If you want to create an index on a combination of columns, you can list the column names
within the parentheses, separated by commas:
CREATE INDEX PIndex
ON Persons (LastName, FirstName)
SQL DROP INDEX, DROP TABLE, and DROP

DATABASE
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Indexes, tables, and databases can easily be deleted/removed with the DROP statement.
The DROP INDEX Statement

The DROP INDEX statement is used to delete an index in a table.
DROP INDEX Syntax for MS Access:

DROP INDEX index_name ON table_name
DROP INDEX Syntax for MS SQL Server:

DROP INDEX table_name.index_name
DROP INDEX Syntax for DB2/Oracle:

DROP INDEX index_name
DROP INDEX Syntax for MySQL:

ALTER TABLE table_name DROP INDEX index_name
The DROP TABLE Statement

The DROP TABLE statement is used to delete a table.
DROP TABLE table_name
The DROP DATABASE Statement

The DROP DATABASE statement is used to delete a database.
DROP DATABASE database_name
The TRUNCATE TABLE Statement

What if we only want to delete the data inside the table, and not the table itself?
Then, use the TRUNCATE TABLE statement:
TRUNCATE TABLE table_name
SQL ALTER TABLE Statement

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The ALTER TABLE Statement

The ALTER TABLE statement is used to add, delete, or modify columns in an existing table.
SQL ALTER TABLE Syntax

To add a column in a table, use the following syntax:
ALTER TABLE table_name

ADD column_name datatype
To delete a column in a table, use the following syntax (notice that some database systems
don't allow deleting a column):

DROP COLUMN column_name
To change the data type of a column in a table, use the following syntax:
SQL Server / MS Access:

ALTER COLUMN column_name datatype
My SQL / Oracle (prior version 10G):

MODIFY COLUMN column_name datatype
Oracle 10G and later:

MODIFY column_name datatype
SQL ALTER TABLE Example
Look at the "Persons" table:
3 Pettersen Kari Storgt 20 Stavange
Now we want to add a column named "DateOfBirth" in the "Persons" table.
ALTER TABLE Persons

ADD DateOfBirth date
Notice that the new column, "DateOfBirth", is of type date and is going to hold a date. The
data type specifies what type of data the column can hold. For a complete reference of all the
data types available in MS Access, MySQL, and SQL Server, go to our complete Data Types
reference.
The "Persons" table will now look like this:
P_Id LastName FirstName Address City DateOfBirth

Change Data Type Example

Now we want to change the data type of the column named "DateOfBirth" in the "Persons"
table.
ALTER TABLE Persons

ALTER COLUMN DateOfBirth year
Notice that the "DateOfBirth" column is now of type year and is going to hold a year in a two-
digit or four-digit format.
DROP COLUMN Example

Next, we want to delete the column named "DateOfBirth" in the "Persons" table.
ALTER TABLE Persons

DROP COLUMN DateOfBirth
The "Persons" table will now look like this:

SQL AUTO INCREMENT Field
PreviousNext
Auto-increment allows a unique number to be generated when a new record is inserted

into a table.
AUTO INCREMENT a Field

Very often we would like the value of the primary key field to be created automatically every
time a new record is inserted.
We would like to create an auto-increment field in a table.
Syntax for MySQL

The following SQL statement defines the "ID" column to be an auto-increment primary key
field in the "Persons" table:

(
ID int NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
City varchar(255),
PRIMARY KEY (ID)
)
MySQL uses the AUTO_INCREMENT keyword to perform an auto-increment feature.
By default, the starting value for AUTO_INCREMENT is 1, and it will increment by 1 for each
new record.
To let the AUTO_INCREMENT sequence start with another value, use the following SQL
statement:
ALTER TABLE Persons AUTO_INCREMENT=100
To insert a new record into the "Persons" table, we will NOT have to specify a value for the
"ID" column (a unique value will be added automatically):
INSERT INTO Persons (FirstName,LastName)

VALUES ('Lars','Monsen')
The SQL statement above would insert a new record into the "Persons" table. The "ID" column
would be assigned a unique value. The "FirstName" column would be set to "Lars" and the
"LastName" column would be set to "Monsen".
Syntax for SQL Server


(
ID int IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY,
City varchar(255)
)
The MS SQL Server uses the IDENTITY keyword to perform an auto-increment feature.
In the example above, the starting value for IDENTITY is 1, and it will increment by 1 for each
new record.
Tip: To specify that the "ID" column should start at value 10 and increment by 5, change it to
IDENTITY(10,5).

would be assigned a unique value. The "FirstName" column would be set to "Lars" and the
"LastName" column would be set to "Monsen".
Syntax for Access


(
ID Integer PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
City varchar(255)
)
The MS Access uses the AUTOINCREMENT keyword to perform an auto-increment feature.
By default, the starting value for AUTOINCREMENT is 1, and it will increment by 1 for each
new record.
Tip: To specify that the "ID" column should start at value 10 and increment by 5, change the
autoincrement to AUTOINCREMENT(10,5).

The SQL statement above would insert a new record into the "Persons" table. The "P_Id"
column would be assigned a unique value. The "FirstName" column would be set to "Lars" and
the "LastName" column would be set to "Monsen".
Syntax for Oracle

In Oracle the code is a little bit more tricky.
You will have to create an auto-increment field with the sequence object (this object
generates a number sequence).
Use the following CREATE SEQUENCE syntax:
CREATE SEQUENCE seq_person

MINVALUE 1
START WITH 1
INCREMENT BY 1
CACHE 10
The code above creates a sequence object called seq_person, that starts with 1 and will
increment by 1. It will also cache up to 10 values for performance. The cache option specifies
how many sequence values will be stored in memory for faster access.
To insert a new record into the "Persons" table, we will have to use the nextval function (this
function retrieves the next value from seq_person sequence):
INSERT INTO Persons (ID,FirstName,LastName)

VALUES (seq_person.nextval,'Lars','Monsen')
would be assigned the next number from the seq_person sequence. The "FirstName" column
would be set to "Lars" and the "LastName" column would be set to "Monsen".
SQL Views
PreviousNext
A view is a virtual table.
This chapter shows how to create, update, and delete a view.
SQL CREATE VIEW Statement

In SQL, a view is a virtual table based on the result-set of an SQL statement.
A view contains rows and columns, just like a real table. The fields in a view are fields from
one or more real tables in the database.
You can add SQL functions, WHERE, and JOIN statements to a view and present the data as if
the data were coming from one single table.
SQL CREATE VIEW Syntax

CREATE VIEW view_name AS
FROM table_name
WHERE condition
Note: A view always shows up-to-date data! The database engine recreates the data, using
the view's SQL statement, every time a user queries a view.
SQL CREATE VIEW Examples

If you have the Northwind database you can see that it has several views installed by default.
The view "Current Product List" lists all active products (products that are not discontinued)
from the "Products" table. The view is created with the following SQL:
CREATE VIEW [Current Product List] AS

SELECT ProductID,ProductName
FROM Products
WHERE Discontinued=No
We can query the view above as follows:
SELECT * FROM [Current Product List]
Another view in the Northwind sample database selects every product in the "Products" table
with a unit price higher than the average unit price:
CREATE VIEW [Products Above Average Price] AS
SELECT ProductName,UnitPrice
FROM Products
WHERE UnitPrice>(SELECT AVG(UnitPrice) FROM Products)
SELECT * FROM [Products Above Average Price]
Another view in the Northwind database calculates the total sale for each category in 1997.
Note that this view selects its data from another view called "Product Sales for 1997":
CREATE VIEW [Category Sales For 1997] AS

SELECT DISTINCT CategoryName,Sum(ProductSales) AS CategorySales
FROM [Product Sales for 1997]
GROUP BY CategoryName
SELECT * FROM [Category Sales For 1997]
We can also add a condition to the query. Now we want to see the total sale only for the
category "Beverages":
SELECT * FROM [Category Sales For 1997]

WHERE CategoryName='Beverages'
SQL Updating a View

You can update a view by using the following syntax:
SQL CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW Syntax

CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW view_name AS
FROM table_name
WHERE condition
Now we want to add the "Category" column to the "Current Product List" view. We will update
the view with the following SQL:
CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW [Current Product List] AS

SELECT ProductID,ProductName,Category
FROM Products
WHERE Discontinued=No
SQL Dropping a View

You can delete a view with the DROP VIEW command.
SQL DROP VIEW Syntax
DROP VIEW view_name
SQL Date Functions

PreviousNext
SQL Dates
The most difficult part when working with dates is to be sure that the format of the date you
are trying to insert, matches the format of the date column in the database.
As long as your data contains only the date portion, your queries will work as expected.
However, if a time portion is involved, it gets complicated.
Before talking about the complications of querying for dates, we will look at the most
important built-in functions for working with dates.
MySQL Date Functions

The following table lists the most important built-in date functions in MySQL:
Function Description
NOW() Returns the current date and time
CURDATE() Returns the current date
CURTIME() Returns the current time

DATE() Extracts the date part of a date or date/time expression
EXTRACT() Returns a single part of a date/time
DATE_ADD() Adds a specified time interval to a date
DATE_SUB() Subtracts a specified time interval from a date
DATEDIFF() Returns the number of days between two dates
DATE_FORMAT() Displays date/time data in different formats
SQL Server Date Functions

The following table lists the most important built-in date functions in SQL Server:
Function Description
GETDATE() Returns the current date and time
DATEPART() Returns a single part of a date/time
DATEADD() Adds or subtracts a specified time interval from a date

DATEDIFF() Returns the time between two dates
CONVERT() Displays date/time data in different formats
SQL Date Data Types

MySQL comes with the following data types for storing a date or a date/time value in the
database:
DATE - format YYYY-MM-DD

DATETIME - format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MI:SS
TIMESTAMP - format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MI:SS
YEAR - format YYYY or YY
SQL Server comes with the following data types for storing a date or a date/time value in the
database:
DATE - format YYYY-MM-DD

DATETIME - format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MI:SS
SMALLDATETIME - format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MI:SS
TIMESTAMP - format: a unique number
Note: The date types are chosen for a column when you create a new table in your database!
For an overview of all data types available, go to our complete Data Types reference.
SQL Working with Dates

You can compare two dates easily if there is no time component involved!
Assume we have the following "Orders" table:
OrderId ProductName OrderDate
1 Geitost 2008-11-11
2 Camembert Pierrot 2008-11-09
3 Mozzarella di Giovanni 2008-11-11
4 Mascarpone Fabioli 2008-10-29
Now we want to select the records with an OrderDate of "2008-11-11" from the table above.
We use the following SELECT statement:
SELECT * FROM Orders WHERE OrderDate='2008-11-11'
The result-set will look like this:
1 Geitost 2008-11-11
3 Mozzarella di Giovanni 2008-11-11
Now, assume that the "Orders" table looks like this (notice the time component in the
"OrderDate" column):
1 Geitost 2008-11-11 13:23:44

2 Camembert Pierrot 2008-11-09 15:45:21
3 Mozzarella di Giovanni 2008-11-11 11:12:01
4 Mascarpone Fabioli 2008-10-29 14:56:59
If we use the same SELECT statement as above:
SELECT * FROM Orders WHERE OrderDate='2008-11-11'
we will get no result! This is because the query is looking only for dates with no time portion.
Tip: If you want to keep your queries simple and easy to maintain, do not allow time
components in your dates!
SQL NULL Values

PreviousNext
NULL values represent missing unknown data.
By default, a table column can hold NULL values.
This chapter will explain the IS NULL and IS NOT NULL operators.
SQL NULL Values

If a column in a table is optional, we can insert a new record or update an existing record
without adding a value to this column. This means that the field will be saved with a NULL
value.
NULL values are treated differently from other values.
NULL is used as a placeholder for unknown or inapplicable values.
Note: It is not possible to compare NULL and 0; they are not equivalent.
SQL Working with NULL Values

Look at the following "Persons" table:
1 Hansen Ola Sandnes
3 Pettersen Kari Stavanger
Suppose that the "Address" column in the "Persons" table is optional. This means that if we
insert a record with no value for the "Address" column, the "Address" column will be saved
with a NULL value.
How can we test for NULL values?
It is not possible to test for NULL values with comparison operators, such as =, <, or <>.
We will have to use the IS NULL and IS NOT NULL operators instead.
SQL IS NULL
How do we select only the records with NULL values in the "Address" column?
We will have to use the IS NULL operator:
SELECT LastName,FirstName,Address FROM Persons

WHERE Address IS NULL
LastName FirstName Address
Hansen Ola
Pettersen Kari
Tip: Always use IS NULL to look for NULL values.
SQL IS NOT NULL

How do we select only the records with no NULL values in the "Address" column?
We will have to use the IS NOT NULL operator:
SELECT LastName,FirstName,Address FROM Persons

WHERE Address IS NOT NULL
LastName FirstName Address
Svendson Tove Borgvn 23
In the next chapter we will look at the ISNULL(), NVL(), IFNULL() and COALESCE() functions.
SQL NULL Functions

PreviousNext
SQL ISNULL(), NVL(), IFNULL() and COALESCE()

Functions
Look at the following "Products" table:
P_Id ProductName UnitPrice UnitsInStock UnitsOnOrder

1 Jarlsberg 10.45 16 15
2 Mascarpone 32.56 23
3 Gorgonzola 15.67 9 20
Suppose that the "UnitsOnOrder" column is optional, and may contain NULL values.
We have the following SELECT statement:
SELECT ProductName,UnitPrice*(UnitsInStock+UnitsOnOrder)
FROM Products
In the example above, if any of the "UnitsOnOrder" values are NULL, the result is NULL.
Microsoft's ISNULL() function is used to specify how we want to treat NULL values.
The NVL(), IFNULL(), and COALESCE() functions can also be used to achieve the same result.
In this case we want NULL values to be zero.
Below, if "UnitsOnOrder" is NULL it will not harm the calculation, because ISNULL() returns a
zero if the value is NULL:
MS Access
SELECT ProductName,UnitPrice*(UnitsInStock+IIF(ISNULL(UnitsOnOrder),0,UnitsOnOrder)
)
FROM Products
SQL Server
SELECT ProductName,UnitPrice*(UnitsInStock+ISNULL(UnitsOnOrder,0))
FROM Products
Oracle
Oracle does not have an ISNULL() function. However, we can use the NVL() function to
achieve the same result:
SELECT ProductName,UnitPrice*(UnitsInStock+NVL(UnitsOnOrder,0))
FROM Products
MySQL
MySQL does have an ISNULL() function. However, it works a little bit different from
Microsoft's ISNULL() function.
In MySQL we can use the IFNULL() function, like this:
SELECT ProductName,UnitPrice*(UnitsInStock+IFNULL(UnitsOnOrder,0))
FROM Products
or we can use the COALESCE() function, like this:
SELECT ProductName,UnitPrice*(UnitsInStock+COALESCE(UnitsOnOrder,0))
FROM Products
SQL General Data Types

PreviousNext
A data type defines what kind of value a column can contain.
SQL General Data Types

Each column in a database table is required to have a name and a data type.
SQL developers have to decide what types of data will be stored inside each and every table
column when creating a SQL table. The data type is a label and a guideline for SQL to
understand what type of data is expected inside of each column, and it also identifies how
SQL will interact with the stored data.
The following table lists the general data types in SQL:
Data type Description
CHARACTER(n) Character string. Fixed-length n
VARCHAR(n) or Character string. Variable length. Maximum length n

CHARACTER VARYING(n)
BINARY(n) Binary string. Fixed-length n
BOOLEAN Stores TRUE or FALSE values
VARBINARY(n) or Binary string. Variable length. Maximum length n

BINARY VARYING(n)
INTEGER(p) Integer numerical (no decimal). Precision p
SMALLINT Integer numerical (no decimal). Precision 5
INTEGER Integer numerical (no decimal). Precision 10
BIGINT Integer numerical (no decimal). Precision 19
DECIMAL(p,s) Exact numerical, precision p, scale s. Example: decimal(5,2) is a number

digits before the decimal and 2 digits after the decimal
NUMERIC(p,s) Exact numerical, precision p, scale s. (Same as DECIMAL)
FLOAT(p) Approximate numerical, mantissa precision p. A floating number in base

exponential notation. The size argument for this type consists of a single
specifying the minimum precision
REAL Approximate numerical, mantissa precision 7

FLOAT Approximate numerical, mantissa precision 16
DOUBLE PRECISION Approximate numerical, mantissa precision 16
DATE Stores year, month, and day values
TIME Stores hour, minute, and second values
TIMESTAMP Stores year, month, day, hour, minute, and second values
INTERVAL Composed of a number of integer fields, representing a period of time, d

the type of interval
ARRAY A set-length and ordered collection of elements
MULTISET A variable-length and unordered collection of elements
XML Stores XML data
SQL Data Type Quick Reference

However, different databases offer different choices for the data type definition.
The following table shows some of the common names of data types between the various
database platforms:
Data type Access SQLServer Oracle MySQL PostgreSQL
boolean Yes/No Bit Byte N/A Boolean
integer Number Int Number Int Int

(integer) Integer Integer
float Number Float Number Float Numeric

(single) Real
currency Currency Money N/A N/A Money
string N/A Char Char Char Char

(fixed)
string Text (<256) Varchar Varchar Varchar Varchar

(variable) Memo (65k+) Varchar2
binary OLE Object Binary (fixed up Long Blob Binary

object Memo to 8K) Raw Text Varbinary
Varbinary (<8K)
Image (<2GB)
Note: Data types might have different names in different database. And even if the name is
the same, the size and other details may be different! Always check the documentation!
SQL Data Types for Various DBs

PreviousNext
Microsoft Access Data Types
Data type Description Storage
Text Use for text or combinations of text and numbers. 255 characters maximum
Memo Memo is used for larger amounts of text. Stores up to 65,536 characters. Note: You
cannot sort a memo field. However, they are searchable
Byte Allows whole numbers from 0 to 255 1 byte
Integer Allows whole numbers between -32,768 and 32,767 2 bytes
Long Allows whole numbers between -2,147,483,648 and 2,147,483,647 4 bytes
Single Single precision floating-point. Will handle most decimals 4 bytes
Double Double precision floating-point. Will handle most decimals 8 bytes
Currency Use for currency. Holds up to 15 digits of whole dollars, plus 4 decimal 8 bytes
places. Tip: You can choose which country's currency to use
AutoNumber AutoNumber fields automatically give each record its own number, usually starting 4 bytes
at 1
Date/Time Use for dates and times 8 bytes

Yes/No A logical field can be displayed as Yes/No, True/False, or On/Off. In code, use the 1 bit
constants True and False (equivalent to -1 and 0). Note: Null values are not allowed
in Yes/No fields
Ole Object Can store pictures, audio, video, or other BLOBs (Binary Large OBjects) up to 1GB
Hyperlink Contain links to other files, including web pages
Lookup Let you type a list of options, which can then be chosen from a drop-down list 4 bytes
Wizard
MySQL Data Types

In MySQL there are three main types : text, number, and Date/Time types.
Text types:
CHAR(size) Holds a fixed length string (can contain letters, numbers, and special characters). The fixed size
is specified in parenthesis. Can store up to 255 characters
VARCHAR(size) Holds a variable length string (can contain letters, numbers, and special characters). The
maximum size is specified in parenthesis. Can store up to 255 characters. Note: If you put a
greater value than 255 it will be converted to a TEXT type
TINYTEXT Holds a string with a maximum length of 255 characters

TEXT Holds a string with a maximum length of 65,535 characters
BLOB For BLOBs (Binary Large OBjects). Holds up to 65,535 bytes of data
MEDIUMTEXT Holds a string with a maximum length of 16,777,215 characters
MEDIUMBLOB For BLOBs (Binary Large OBjects). Holds up to 16,777,215 bytes of data
LONGTEXT Holds a string with a maximum length of 4,294,967,295 characters
LONGBLOB For BLOBs (Binary Large OBjects). Holds up to 4,294,967,295 bytes of data
ENUM(x,y,z,etc.) Let you enter a list of possible values. You can list up to 65535 values in an ENUM list. If a
value is inserted that is not in the list, a blank value will be inserted.
Note: The values are sorted in the order you enter them.
You enter the possible values in this format: ENUM('X','Y','Z')
SET Similar to ENUM except that SET may contain up to 64 list items and can store more than one
choice
Number types:
TINYINT(size) -128 to 127 normal. 0 to 255 UNSIGNED*. The maximum number of digits may be specified
in parenthesis
SMALLINT(size) -32768 to 32767 normal. 0 to 65535 UNSIGNED*. The maximum number of digits may be
specified in parenthesis
MEDIUMINT(siz -8388608 to 8388607 normal. 0 to 16777215 UNSIGNED*. The maximum number of digits
e) may be specified in parenthesis
INT(size) -2147483648 to 2147483647 normal. 0 to 4294967295 UNSIGNED*. The maximum number

of digits may be specified in parenthesis
BIGINT(size) -9223372036854775808 to 9223372036854775807 normal. 0 to 18446744073709551615

UNSIGNED*. The maximum number of digits may be specified in parenthesis
FLOAT(size,d) A small number with a floating decimal point. The maximum number of digits may be
specified in the size parameter. The maximum number of digits to the right of the decimal point
is specified in the d parameter
DOUBLE(size,d) A large number with a floating decimal point. The maximum number of digits may be specified
in the size parameter. The maximum number of digits to the right of the decimal point is
specified in the d parameter
DECIMAL(size,d A DOUBLE stored as a string , allowing for a fixed decimal point. The maximum number of
) digits may be specified in the size parameter. The maximum number of digits to the right of the
decimal point is specified in the d parameter
*The integer types have an extra option called UNSIGNED. Normally, the integer goes from
an negative to positive value. Adding the UNSIGNED attribute will move that range up so it
starts at zero instead of a negative number.
Date types:
DATE() A date. Format: YYYY-MM-DD

Note: The supported range is from '1000-01-01' to '9999-12-31'
DATETIME() *A date and time combination. Format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MI:SS
Note: The supported range is from '1000-01-01 00:00:00' to '9999-12-31

23:59:59'
TIMESTAMP() *A timestamp. TIMESTAMP values are stored as the number of seconds since
the Unix epoch ('1970-01-01 00:00:00' UTC). Format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MI:SS
Note: The supported range is from '1970-01-01 00:00:01' UTC to '2038-01-

09 03:14:07' UTC
TIME() A time. Format: HH:MI:SS
Note: The supported range is from '-838:59:59' to '838:59:59'
YEAR() A year in two-digit or four-digit format.
Note: Values allowed in four-digit format: 1901 to 2155. Values allowed in

two-digit format: 70 to 69, representing years from 1970 to 2069
*Even if DATETIME and TIMESTAMP return the same format, they work very differently. In an
INSERT or UPDATE query, the TIMESTAMP automatically set itself to the current date and
time. TIMESTAMP also accepts various formats, like YYYYMMDDHHMISS, YYMMDDHHMISS,
YYYYMMDD, or YYMMDD.
SQL Server Data Types

String types:
char(n) Fixed width character string. Maximum 8,000 characters Defined

width
varchar(n) Variable width character string. Maximum 8,000 characters 2 bytes +

number of
chars
varchar(max) Variable width character string. Maximum 1,073,741,824 characters 2 bytes +
number of
chars
text Variable width character string. Maximum 2GB of text data 4 bytes +
number of
chars
nchar Fixed width Unicode string. Maximum 4,000 characters Defined

width x 2
nvarchar Variable width Unicode string. Maximum 4,000 characters
nvarchar(max) Variable width Unicode string. Maximum 536,870,912 characters
ntext Variable width Unicode string. Maximum 2GB of text data
bit Allows 0, 1, or NULL
binary(n) Fixed width binary string. Maximum 8,000 bytes
varbinary Variable width binary string. Maximum 8,000 bytes
varbinary(max) Variable width binary string. Maximum 2GB
image Variable width binary string. Maximum 2GB
Number types:
tinyint Allows whole numbers from 0 to 255 1 byte
smallint Allows whole numbers between -32,768 and 32,767 2 bytes
int Allows whole numbers between -2,147,483,648 and 2,147,483,647 4 bytes
bigint Allows whole numbers between -9,223,372,036,854,775,808 and 8 bytes

9,223,372,036,854,775,807
5-17 bytes
decimal(p,s) Fixed precision and scale numbers.
Allows numbers from -10^38 +1 to 10^38 1.
The p parameter indicates the maximum total number of digits that can be stored
(both to the left and to the right of the decimal point). p must be a value from 1 to
38. Default is 18.
The s parameter indicates the maximum number of digits stored to the right of
the decimal point. s must be a value from 0 to p. Default value is 0
numeric(p,s) Fixed precision and scale numbers. 5-17 bytes
Allows numbers from -10^38 +1 to 10^38 1.
The p parameter indicates the maximum total number of digits that can be stored
(both to the left and to the right of the decimal point). p must be a value from 1 to
38. Default is 18.
The s parameter indicates the maximum number of digits stored to the right of
the decimal point. s must be a value from 0 to p. Default value is 0
smallmoney Monetary data from -214,748.3648 to 214,748.3647 4 bytes
money Monetary data from -922,337,203,685,477.5808 to 922,337,203,685,477.5807 8 bytes
float(n) Floating precision number data from -1.79E + 308 to 1.79E + 308. 4 or 8 bytes
The n parameter indicates whether the field should hold 4 or 8 bytes. float(24)
holds a 4-byte field and float(53) holds an 8-byte field. Default value of n is 53.
real Floating precision number data from -3.40E + 38 to 3.40E + 38 4 bytes
Date types:
datetime From January 1, 1753 to December 31, 9999 with an accuracy of 3.33 8 bytes
milliseconds
datetime2 From January 1, 0001 to December 31, 9999 with an accuracy of 100 6-8 bytes
nanoseconds
smalldatetime From January 1, 1900 to June 6, 2079 with an accuracy of 1 minute 4 bytes
date Store a date only. From January 1, 0001 to December 31, 9999 3 bytes
time Store a time only to an accuracy of 100 nanoseconds 3-5 bytes
datetimeoffset The same as datetime2 with the addition of a time zone offset 8-10 bytes
timestamp Stores a unique number that gets updated every time a row gets created or
modified. The timestamp value is based upon an internal clock and does not
correspond to real time. Each table may have only one timestamp variable
Other data types:
sql_variant Stores up to 8,000 bytes of data of various data types, except text, ntext, and
timestamp
uniqueidentifier Stores a globally unique identifier (GUID)
xml Stores XML formatted data. Maximum 2GB
cursor Stores a reference to a cursor used for database operations
table Stores a result-set for later processing
SQL Functions
PreviousNext
SQL has many built-in functions for performing calculations on data.
SQL Aggregate Functions

SQL aggregate functions return a single value, calculated from values in a column.
Useful aggregate functions:
AVG() - Returns the average value

COUNT() - Returns the number of rows
FIRST() - Returns the first value
LAST() - Returns the last value
MAX() - Returns the largest value
MIN() - Returns the smallest value
SUM() - Returns the sum
SQL Scalar functions
SQL scalar functions return a single value, based on the input value.
Useful scalar functions:
UCASE() - Converts a field to upper case

LCASE() - Converts a field to lower case
MID() - Extract characters from a text field
LEN() - Returns the length of a text field
ROUND() - Rounds a numeric field to the number of decimals specified
NOW() - Returns the current system date and time
FORMAT() - Formats how a field is to be displayed
Tip: The aggregate functions and the scalar functions will be explained in details in the next
chapters.
SQL AVG() Function

PreviousNext
The AVG() Function

The AVG() function returns the average value of a numeric column.
SQL AVG() Syntax

SELECT AVG(column_name) FROM table_name
Demo Database

4 Chef Anton's Cajun 2 2 48 - 6 oz jars 21.35

Seasoning
5 Chef Anton's Gumbo 2 2 36 boxes 25

Mix
SQL AVG() Example

The following SQL statement gets the average value of the "Price" column from the "Products"
table:
Example
SELECT AVG(Price) AS PriceAverage FROM Products;
Try it Yourself
The following SQL statement selects the "ProductName" and "Price" records that have an
above average price:
Example
SELECT ProductName, Price FROM Products
WHERE Price>(SELECT AVG(Price) FROM Products);
SQL COUNT() Function

PreviousNext
The COUNT() function returns the number of rows that matches a specified criteria.
SQL COUNT(column_name) Syntax

The COUNT(column_name) function returns the number of values (NULL values will not be
counted) of the specified column:
SELECT COUNT(column_name) FROM table_name;
SQL COUNT(*) Syntax

The COUNT(*) function returns the number of records in a table:
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM table_name;
SQL COUNT(DISTINCT column_name) Syntax

The COUNT(DISTINCT column_name) function returns the number of distinct values of the
specified column:
SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT column_name) FROM table_name;
Note: COUNT(DISTINCT) works with ORACLE and Microsoft SQL Server, but not with
Microsoft Access.
Demo Database
10265 7 2 1996-07-25 1
10266 87 3 1996-07-26 3
10267 25 4 1996-07-29 1
SQL COUNT(column_name) Example
The following SQL statement counts the number of orders from "CustomerID"=7 from the
"Orders" table:
Example
SELECT COUNT(CustomerID) AS OrdersFromCustomerID7 FROM Orders
WHERE CustomerID=7;
Try it Yourself
SQL COUNT(*) Example

The following SQL statement counts the total number of orders in the "Orders" table:
Example
SELECT COUNT(*) AS NumberOfOrders FROM Orders;
Try it Yourself
SQL COUNT(DISTINCT column_name) Example

The following SQL statement counts the number of unique customers in the "Orders" table:
Example
SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT CustomerID) AS NumberOfCustomers FROM Orders;
SQL FIRST() Function

PreviousNext
The FIRST() Function

The FIRST() function returns the first value of the selected column.
SQL FIRST() Syntax

SELECT FIRST(column_name) FROM table_name;
Note: The FIRST() function is only supported in MS Access.
SQL FIRST() Workaround in SQL Server, MySQL and

Oracle
SQL Server Syntax
SELECT TOP 1 column_name FROM table_name
ORDER BY column_name ASC;
Example
SELECT TOP 1 CustomerName FROM Customers
ORDER BY CustomerID ASC;
MySQL Syntax
SELECT column_name FROM table_name
ORDER BY column_name ASC
LIMIT 1;
Example
SELECT CustomerName FROM Customers
ORDER BY CustomerID ASC
LIMIT 1;
Oracle Syntax
WHERE ROWNUM <=1
ORDER BY column_name ASC;
Example
WHERE ROWNUM <=1
ORDER BY CustomerID ASC;
Demo Database

ID

helados 2222

Taquera 2312 D.F.
Sq.

Berglund 8
SQL FIRST() Example

The following SQL statement selects the first value of the "CustomerName" column from the
"Customers" table:
Example
SELECT FIRST(CustomerName) AS FirstCustomer FROM Customers;
SQL LAST() Function

PreviousNext
The LAST() Function
The LAST() function returns the last value of the selected column.
SQL LAST() Syntax

SELECT LAST(column_name) FROM table_name;
Note: The LAST() function is only supported in MS Access.
SQL LAST() Workaround in SQL Server, MySQL and

Oracle
SQL Server Syntax
SELECT TOP 1 column_name FROM table_name
ORDER BY column_name DESC;
Example
SELECT TOP 1 CustomerName FROM Customers
ORDER BY CustomerID DESC;
MySQL Syntax
ORDER BY column_name DESC
LIMIT 1;
Example
ORDER BY CustomerID DESC
LIMIT 1;
Oracle Syntax
ORDER BY column_name DESC
WHERE ROWNUM <=1;
Example
ORDER BY CustomerID DESC
WHERE ROWNUM <=1;
Demo Database

ID

2222

Taquera Moreno D.F.

Berglund
SQL LAST() Example

The following SQL statement selects the last value of the "CustomerName" column from the
"Customers" table:
Example
SELECT LAST(CustomerName) AS LastCustomer FROM Customers;
SQL MAX() Function
PreviousNext
The MAX() Function

The MAX() function returns the largest value of the selected column.
SQL MAX() Syntax

SELECT MAX(column_name) FROM table_name;
Demo Database

Seasoning

Mix
SQL MAX() Example

The following SQL statement gets the largest value of the "Price" column from the "Products"
table:
Example
SELECT MAX(Price) AS HighestPrice FROM Products;
SQL MIN() Function

PreviousNext
The MIN() Function

The MIN() function returns the smallest value of the selected column.
SQL MIN() Syntax

SELECT MIN(column_name) FROM table_name;
Demo Database

Seasoning
5 Chef Anton's Gumbo Mix 2 2 36 boxes 25
SQL MIN() Example

The following SQL statement gets the smallest value of the "Price" column from the
"Products" table:
Example
SELECT MIN(Price) AS SmallestOrderPrice FROM Products;
SQL SUM() Function

PreviousNext
The SUM() Function

The SUM() function returns the total sum of a numeric column.
SQL SUM() Syntax

SELECT SUM(column_name) FROM table_name;
Demo Database
Below is a selection from the "OrderDetails" table:
OrderDetailID OrderID ProductID Quantity
1 10248 11 12
2 10248 42 10
3 10248 72 5
4 10249 14 9
5 10249 51 40
SQL SUM() Example

The following SQL statement finds the sum of all the "Quantity" fields for the "OrderDetails"
table:
Example
SELECT SUM(Quantity) AS TotalItemsOrdered FROM OrderDetails;
SQL GROUP BY Statement

PreviousNext
Aggregate functions often need an added GROUP BY statement.
The GROUP BY Statement

The GROUP BY statement is used in conjunction with the aggregate functions to group the
result-set by one or more columns.
SQL GROUP BY Syntax

SELECT column_name, aggregate_function(column_name)
FROM table_name
WHERE column_name operator value
GROUP BY column_name;
Demo Database
10248 90 5 1996-07-04 3
10249 81 6 1996-07-05 1
10250 34 4 1996-07-08 2
And a selection from the "Shippers" table:
ShipperID ShipperName
1 Speedy Express
2 United Package
3 Federal Shipping

Employee LastName FirstName BirthDate Photo Notes
ID
1 Davolio Nancy 1968-12-08 EmpID1.pic Education includes a BA....
2 Fuller Andrew 1952-02-19 EmpID2.pic Andrew received his BTS....
3 Leverling Janet 1963-08-30 EmpID3.pic Janet has a BS degree....
SQL GROUP BY Example

Now we want to find the number of orders sent by each shipper.
The following SQL statement counts as orders grouped by shippers:
Example
SELECT Shippers.ShipperName,COUNT(Orders.OrderID) AS NumberOfOrders FROM Orders
LEFT JOIN Shippers
ON Orders.ShipperID=Shippers.ShipperID
GROUP BY ShipperName;
Try it Yourself
GROUP BY More Than One Column

We can also use the GROUP BY statement on more than one column, like this:
Example
SELECT Shippers.ShipperName, Employees.LastName,
COUNT(Orders.OrderID) AS NumberOfOrders
FROM ((Orders
INNER JOIN Shippers
ON Orders.ShipperID=Shippers.ShipperID)
INNER JOIN Employees
ON Orders.EmployeeID=Employees.EmployeeID)
GROUP BY ShipperName,LastName;
SQL HAVING Clause
PreviousNext
The HAVING Clause

The HAVING clause was added to SQL because the WHERE keyword could not be used with
aggregate functions.
SQL HAVING Syntax

SELECT column_name, aggregate_function(column_name)
FROM table_name
GROUP BY column_name
HAVING aggregate_function(column_name) operator value;
Demo Database
10248 90 5 1996-07-04 3
10249 81 6 1996-07-05 1
10250 34 4 1996-07-08 2

EmployeeID LastName FirstName BirthDate Photo Notes
1 Davolio Nancy 1968-12-08 EmpID1.pic Education includes a BA....
2 Fuller Andrew 1952-02-19 EmpID2.pic Andrew received his BTS....
3 Leverling Janet 1963-08-30 EmpID3.pic Janet has a BS degree....
SQL HAVING Example

Now we want to find if any of the employees has registered more than 10 orders.
Example
SELECT Employees.LastName, COUNT(Orders.OrderID) AS NumberOfOrders FROM (Orders
ON Orders.EmployeeID=Employees.EmployeeID)
GROUP BY LastName
HAVING COUNT(Orders.OrderID) > 10;
Try it Yourself
Now we want to find if the employees "Davolio" or "Fuller" have registered more than 25
orders.
We add an ordinary WHERE clause to the SQL statement:
Example
SELECT Employees.LastName, COUNT(Orders.OrderID) AS NumberOfOrders FROM Orders
ON Orders.EmployeeID=Employees.EmployeeID
WHERE LastName='Davolio' OR LastName='Fuller'
GROUP BY LastName
HAVING COUNT(Orders.OrderID) > 25;
SQL UCASE() Function
PreviousNext
The UCASE() Function

The UCASE() function converts the value of a field to uppercase.
SQL UCASE() Syntax

SELECT UCASE(column_name) FROM table_name;

SELECT UPPER(column_name) FROM table_name;
Demo Database

helados 2222

Taquera D.F.

snabbkp Berglund
SQL UCASE() Example

"Customers" table, and converts the "CustomerName" column to uppercase:
Example
SELECT UCASE(CustomerName) AS Customer, City
FROM Customers;
SQL LCASE() Function

PreviousNext
The LCASE() Function

The LCASE() function converts the value of a field to lowercase.
SQL LCASE() Syntax

SELECT LCASE(column_name) FROM table_name;

SELECT LOWER(column_name) FROM table_name;
Demo Database

ID

helados

Taquera Moreno D.F.

Berglund
SQL LCASE() Example

"Customers" table, and converts the "CustomerName" column to lowercase:
Example
SELECT LCASE(CustomerName) AS Customer, City
FROM Customers;
Try it Yourself
SQL MID() Function

PreviousNext
The MID() Function
The MID() function is used to extract characters from a text field.
SQL MID() Syntax

SELECT MID(column_name,start,length) AS some_name FROM table_name;
Parameter Description
column_name Required. The field to extract characters from
start Required. Specifies the starting position (starts at 1)
length Optional. The number of characters to return. If omitted, the MID() function
returns the rest of the text
Note: The equivalent function for SQL Server is SUBSTRING():
SELECT SUBSTRING(column_name,start,length) AS some_name FROM table_name;
Note: The equivalent function for Oracle is SUBSTR():
SELECT SUBSTR(column_name,start,length) AS some_name FROM table_name;
Demo Database

helados 2222

Taquera D.F.

Berglund
SQL MID() Example

The following SQL statement selects the first four characters from the "City" column from the
"Customers" table:
Example
SELECT MID(City,1,4) AS ShortCity
FROM Customers;
SQL LEN() Function

PreviousNext
The LEN() Function

The LEN() function returns the length of the value in a text field.
SQL LEN() Syntax

SELECT LEN(column_name) FROM table_name;
Syntax for Oracle
SELECT LENGTH(column_name) FROM table_name;
Demo Database

ID

2222

Taquera D.F.
Sq.

Berglund
SQL LEN() Example

The following SQL statement selects the "CustomerName" and the length of the values in the
"Address" column from the "Customers" table:
Example
SELECT CustomerName,LEN(Address) as LengthOfAddress
FROM Customers;
SQL ROUND() Function

PreviousNext
The ROUND() Function

The ROUND() function is used to round a numeric field to the number of decimals specified.
Note: Many database systems do rounding differently than you might expect. When rounding
a number with a fractional part to an integer, our school teachers told us to round .1 through
.4 DOWN to the next lower integer, and .5 through .9 UP to the next higher integer. But if all
the digits 1 through 9 are equally likely, this introduces a slight bias towards infinity, since we
always round .5 up. Many database systems have adopted the IEEE 754 standard for
arithmetic operations, according to which the default rounding behavior is "round half to
even." In this scheme, .5 is rounded to the nearest even integer. So, both 11.5 and 12.5
would be rounded to 12.
SQL ROUND() Syntax

SELECT ROUND(column_name,decimals) FROM table_name;
column_name Required. The field to round.
decimals Required. Specifies the number of decimals to be returned.
Demo Database

Seasoning

Mix
SQL ROUND() Example

The following SQL statement selects the product name and rounds the price in the "Products"
table:
Example
SELECT ProductName, ROUND(Price,0) AS RoundedPrice
FROM Products;
SQL NOW() Function

PreviousNext
The NOW() Function

The NOW() function returns the current system date and time.
SQL NOW() Syntax

SELECT NOW() FROM table_name;
Demo Database

Seasoning
5 Chef Anton's Gumbo Mix 2 2 36 boxes 25
SQL NOW() Example

The following SQL statement selects the product name, and price for today from the
"Products" table:
Example
SELECT ProductName, Price, Now() AS PerDate
FROM Products;
SQL FORMAT() Function
PreviousNext
The FORMAT() Function

The FORMAT() function is used to format how a field is to be displayed.
SQL FORMAT() Syntax

SELECT FORMAT(column_name,format) FROM table_name;
column_name Required. The field to be formatted.
format Required. Specifies the format.
Demo Database

Seasoning

Mix
SQL FORMAT() Example

The following SQL statement selects the product name, and price for today (formatted like
YYYY-MM-DD) from the "Products" table:
Example
SELECT ProductName, Price, FORMAT(Now(),'YYYY-MM-DD') AS PerDate
FROM Products;
SQL Quick Reference From W3Schools

PreviousNext
SQL Statement Syntax
AND / OR SELECT column_name(s)

FROM table_name
WHERE condition
AND|OR condition
ALTER TABLE ALTER TABLE table_name

ADD column_name datatype
or

DROP COLUMN column_name
AS (alias) SELECT column_name AS column_alias
FROM table_name
or
SELECT column_name
FROM table_name AS table_alias
BETWEEN SELECT column_name(s)

FROM table_name
WHERE column_name
BETWEEN value1 AND value2
CREATE CREATE DATABASE database_name

DATABASE
CREATE TABLE CREATE TABLE table_name

(
column_name1 data_type,
...
)
CREATE INDEX CREATE INDEX index_name

or
CREATE UNIQUE INDEX index_name

CREATE VIEW CREATE VIEW view_name AS

FROM table_name
WHERE condition
DELETE DELETE FROM table_name

WHERE some_column=some_value
or
DELETE FROM table_name

(Note: Deletes the entire table!!)
DELETE * FROM table_name

(Note: Deletes the entire table!!)
DROP DROP DATABASE database_name

DATABASE
DROP INDEX DROP INDEX table_name.index_name (SQL Server)

DROP INDEX index_name ON table_name (MS Access)
DROP INDEX index_name (DB2/Oracle)
DROP INDEX index_name (MySQL)
DROP TABLE DROP TABLE table_name
EXISTS IF EXISTS (SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE id = ?)

BEGIN
--do what needs to be done if exists
END
ELSE
BEGIN
--do what needs to be done if not
END
GROUP BY SELECT column_name, aggregate_function(column_name)

FROM table_name
HAVING SELECT column_name, aggregate_function(column_name)

FROM table_name
HAVING aggregate_function(column_name) operator value
IN SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
WHERE column_name
IN (value1,value2,..)
INSERT INTO INSERT INTO table_name

VALUES (value1, value2, value3,....)
or
INSERT INTO table_name

(column1, column2, column3,...)
VALUES (value1, value2, value3,....)
INNER JOIN SELECT column_name(s)

FROM table_name1
INNER JOIN table_name2
ON table_name1.column_name=table_name2.column_name
LEFT JOIN SELECT column_name(s)

FROM table_name1
LEFT JOIN table_name2
RIGHT JOIN SELECT column_name(s)

FROM table_name1
RIGHT JOIN table_name2
FULL JOIN SELECT column_name(s)

FROM table_name1
FULL JOIN table_name2
LIKE SELECT column_name(s)

FROM table_name
WHERE column_name LIKE pattern
ORDER BY SELECT column_name(s)

FROM table_name
ORDER BY column_name [ASC|DESC]
SELECT SELECT column_name(s)

FROM table_name
SELECT * SELECT *
FROM table_name
SELECT SELECT DISTINCT column_name(s)

DISTINCT FROM table_name
SELECT INTO SELECT *

INTO new_table_name [IN externaldatabase]
FROM old_table_name
or
INTO new_table_name [IN externaldatabase]
FROM old_table_name
SELECT TOP SELECT TOP number|percent column_name(s)

FROM table_name
TRUNCATE TRUNCATE TABLE table_name

TABLE
UNION SELECT column_name(s) FROM table_name1

UNION
SELECT column_name(s) FROM table_name2
UNION ALL SELECT column_name(s) FROM table_name1

UNION ALL
SELECT column_name(s) FROM table_name2
UPDATE UPDATE table_name

SET column1=value, column2=value,...
WHERE some_column=some_value
WHERE SELECT column_name(s)

FROM table_name
Source : http://www.w3schools.com/sql/sql_quickref.asp
SQL Hosting
PreviousNext
SQL Hosting
If you want your web site to be able to store and retrieve data from a database, your web
server should have access to a database-system that uses the SQL language.
If your web server is hosted by an Internet Service Provider (ISP), you will have to look for
SQL hosting plans.
The most common SQL hosting databases are MS SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, and MS Access.
MS SQL Server
Microsoft's SQL Server is a popular database software for database-driven web sites with high
traffic.
SQL Server is a very powerful, robust and full featured SQL database system.
Oracle
Oracle is also a popular database software for database-driven web sites with high traffic.
Oracle is a very powerful, robust and full featured SQL database system.
MySQL
MySQL is also a popular database software for web sites.
MySQL is a very powerful, robust and full featured SQL database system.
MySQL is an inexpensive alternative to the expensive Microsoft and Oracle solutions.

Access
When a web site requires only a simple database, Microsoft Access can be a solution.
Access is not well suited for very high-traffic, and not as powerful as MySQL, SQL Server, or
Oracle.
SQL Quiz
PreviousNext
You can test your SQL skills with W3Schools' Quiz.
The Test
The test contains 25 questions and there is no time limit.
The test is not official, it's just a nice way to see how much you know, or don't know, about
SQL.
Count Your Score

You will get 1 point for each correct answer. At the end of the Quiz, your total score will be
displayed. Maximum score is 25 points.
Start the Quiz

Good luck!
Start the Quiz
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The Bootstrap Certificate documents your knowledge of the Bootstrap framework.
SQL Tutorial
HomeNext
SQL is a standard language for accessing databases.
Our SQL tutorial will teach you how to use SQL to access and manipulate data in: MySQL,
SQL Server, Access, Oracle, Sybase, DB2, and other database systems.
Examples in Each Chapter

With our online SQL editor, you can edit the SQL statements, and click on a button to view
the result.
Example
Try it Yourself
Click on the "Try it Yourself" button to see how it works.
Start learning SQL now!
SQL Quiz Test

Test your SQL skills at W3Schools!
Start SQL Quiz!
SQL Quick Reference

An SQL Quick Reference. Print it and put it in your pocket.
SQL Quick Reference
SQL Data Types

SQL Data Types
W3Schools Exam
W3Schools' Online Certification

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More than 10 000 certificates already issued!
Get Your Certificate
The HTML Certificate documents your knowledge of HTML.
The CSS Certificate documents your knowledge of advanced CSS.
The JavaScript Certificate documents your knowledge of JavaScript and HTML DOM.
The jQuery Certificate documents your knowledge of jQuery.
The PHP Certificate documents your knowledge of PHP and SQL (MySQL).
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The Bootstrap Certificate documents your knowledge of the Bootstrap framework.
http://www.w3schools.com/quiztest/result.asp

SQL

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SQL

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SQL Tutorial

SQL is a standard language for accessing databases.

Examples in Each Chapter

Click on the "Try it Yourself" button to see how it works.

Start learning SQL now!

SQL Quiz Test

Start SQL Quiz!

SQL Quick Reference

SQL Quick Reference

SQL Data Types

SQL Data Types

SQL is a standard language for accessing and manipulating databases.

What Can SQL do?

SQL is a Standard - BUT....

Using SQL in Your Web Site

An RDBMS database program (i.e. MS Access, SQL Server, MySQL)

The data in RDBMS is stored in database objects called tables.

Below is a selection from the "Customers" table:

CustomerID CustomerName ContactName Address City PostalCode Country

1 Alfreds Maria Anders Obere Str. 57 Berlin 12209 Germany

2 Ana Trujillo Ana Trujillo Avda. de la Mxico 05021 Mexico

3 Antonio Moreno Antonio Mataderos 2312 Mxico 05023 Mexico

5 Berglunds Christina Berguvsvgen 8 Lule S-958 22 Sweden

Keep in Mind That...

In this tutorial we will write all SQL keywords in upper-case.

Semi colon after SQL Statements?

Some of The Most Important SQL Commands

Comments can be used to explain sections of SQL statements.

Single Line Comments

SELECT * FROM Customers -- WHERE City='Berlin';

Any text between /* and */ will be ignored.

/*Select all the columns

/*SELECT * FROM Customers;

Any text between /* and */ will be ignored.

SELECT CustomerName, /*City,*/ Country FROM Customers;

SELECT * FROM Customers WHERE (CustomerName LIKE 'L%'

SQL SELECT Statement

The SELECT statement is used to select data from a database.

The SQL SELECT Statement

The result is stored in a result table, called the result-set.

SQL SELECT Syntax

SELECT * FROM table_name;

Below is a selection from the "Customers" table:

CustomerID CustomerName ContactName Address City PostalCode Country

1 Alfreds Maria Anders Obere Str. 57 Berlin 12209 Germany

2 Ana Trujillo Ana Trujillo Avda. de la Mxico 05021 Mexico

3 Antonio Moreno Antonio Moreno Mataderos Mxico 05023 Mexico

5 Berglunds Christina Berguvsvge Lule S-958 22 Sweden

SELECT Column Example

The SQL SELECT DISTINCT Statement

SQL SELECT DISTINCT Syntax

Below is a selection from the "Customers" table:

Customer CustomerName ContactName Address City PostalCode Country

1 Alfreds Futterkiste Maria Anders Obere Str. 57 Berlin 12209 Germany

2 Ana Trujillo Ana Trujillo Avda. de la Mxico 05021 Mexico

3 Antonio Moreno Antonio Moreno Mataderos 2312 Mxico 05023 Mexico

5 Berglunds snabbkp Christina Berguvsvgen 8 Lule S-958 22 Sweden

SELECT DISTINCT Example

SQL WHERE Clause

The WHERE clause is used to filter records.

The SQL WHERE Clause

SQL WHERE Syntax

Below is a selection from the "Customers" table:

Customer CustomerName ContactName Address City PostalCode Country

2 Ana Trujillo Ana Trujillo Avda. de la Mxico 05021 Mexico

3 Antonio Moreno Antonio Moreno Mataderos Mxico 05023 Mexico

5 Berglunds snabbkp Christina Berguvsvgen Lule S-958 22 Sweden

WHERE Clause Example

Text Fields vs. Numeric Fields

However, numeric fields should not be enclosed in quotes:

Operators in The WHERE Clause

> Greater than

< Less than

>= Greater than or equal

<= Less than or equal

BETWEEN Between an inclusive range

/SELECT FROM Customers;

SELECT CustomerName, /City,/ Country FROM Customers;