Here's a list of **key SQL keywords** and **common SQL functions** that you'll frequently use
when working with SQL databases.
### **Key SQL Keywords**
1. **`SELECT`** – Retrieves data from a database.
```sql
SELECT * FROM table_name;
```
2. **`FROM`** – Specifies the table from which to retrieve or modify data.
```sql
SELECT column1 FROM table_name;
```
3. **`WHERE`** – Filters records based on a condition.
```sql
SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE condition;
```
4. **`INSERT INTO`** – Adds new records to a table.
```sql
INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2) VALUES (value1, value2);
```
5. **`UPDATE`** – Modifies existing records in a table.
```sql
UPDATE table_name SET column1 = value1 WHERE condition;
```
6. **`DELETE`** – Deletes records from a table.
```sql
DELETE FROM table_name WHERE condition;
```
7. **`CREATE TABLE`** – Creates a new table.
```sql
CREATE TABLE table_name (column1 datatype, column2 datatype);
```
8. **`ALTER TABLE`** – Modifies an existing table (e.g., adding or dropping columns).
```sql
ALTER TABLE table_name ADD column_name datatype;
```
9. **`DROP TABLE`** – Deletes an entire table from the database.
```sql
DROP TABLE table_name;
```
10. **`JOIN`** – Combines rows from two or more tables based on a related column.
- **`INNER JOIN`** – Returns rows with matching values in both tables.
```sql
SELECT * FROM table1 INNER JOIN table2 ON table1.column = table2.column;
```
- **`LEFT JOIN`** – Returns all rows from the left table and matched rows from the right table.
```sql
SELECT * FROM table1 LEFT JOIN table2 ON table1.column = table2.column;
```
11. **`GROUP BY`** – Groups rows that have the same values into summary rows.
```sql
SELECT column1, COUNT(*) FROM table_name GROUP BY column1;
```
12. **`ORDER BY`** – Sorts the result set in ascending or descending order.
```sql
SELECT * FROM table_name ORDER BY column1 ASC;
```
13. **`HAVING`** – Filters groups based on a condition (used with `GROUP BY`).
```sql
SELECT column1, COUNT(*) FROM table_name GROUP BY column1 HAVING COUNT(*) > 1;
```
14. **`DISTINCT`** – Selects only unique values.
```sql
SELECT DISTINCT column1 FROM table_name;
```
15. **`LIMIT`** (or **`TOP`** in SQL Server) – Limits the number of rows returned.
```sql
SELECT * FROM table_name LIMIT 10;
```
16. **`UNION`** – Combines the results of two queries.
```sql
SELECT column1 FROM table1 UNION SELECT column1 FROM table2;
```
17. **`EXISTS`** – Checks whether a subquery returns any records.
```sql
SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE EXISTS (subquery);
```
18. **`IN`** – Checks if a value matches any value in a list or subquery.
```sql
SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE column IN (value1, value2, value3);
```
19. **`BETWEEN`** – Filters results within a certain range.
```sql
SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE column BETWEEN value1 AND value2;
```
20. **`LIKE`** – Searches for a specified pattern in a column.
```sql
SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE column LIKE 'pattern%';
```
21. **`NOT`** – Negates a condition.
```sql
SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE NOT condition;
```
22. **`CASE`** – Allows conditional logic in queries.
```sql
SELECT column,
CASE
WHEN condition1 THEN 'result1'
WHEN condition2 THEN 'result2'
ELSE 'result3'
END AS alias_name
FROM table_name;
```
---
### **Common SQL Functions**
#### 1. **Aggregate Functions** (Used with `GROUP BY`)
- **`COUNT()`** – Returns the number of rows.
```sql
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM table_name;
```
- **`SUM()`** – Returns the total sum of a numeric column.
```sql
SELECT SUM(column_name) FROM table_name;
```
- **`AVG()`** – Returns the average value of a numeric column.
```sql
SELECT AVG(column_name) FROM table_name;
```
- **`MIN()`** – Returns the smallest value.
```sql
SELECT MIN(column_name) FROM table_name;
```
- **`MAX()`** – Returns the largest value.
```sql
SELECT MAX(column_name) FROM table_name;
```
#### 2. **String Functions**
- **`CONCAT()`** – Concatenates two or more strings.
```sql
SELECT CONCAT(first_name, ' ', last_name) AS full_name FROM table_name;
```
- **`SUBSTRING()`** – Extracts a substring from a string.
```sql
SELECT SUBSTRING(column_name, start, length) FROM table_name;
```
- **`LENGTH()`** – Returns the length of a string.
```sql
SELECT LENGTH(column_name) FROM table_name;
```
- **`UPPER()`** – Converts a string to uppercase.
```sql
SELECT UPPER(column_name) FROM table_name;
```
- **`LOWER()`** – Converts a string to lowercase.
```sql
SELECT LOWER(column_name) FROM table_name;
```
- **`TRIM()`** – Removes leading and trailing spaces.
```sql
SELECT TRIM(column_name) FROM table_name;
```
#### 3. **Numeric Functions**
- **`ROUND()`** – Rounds a number to a specified number of decimal places.
```sql
SELECT ROUND(column_name, 2) FROM table_name;
```
- **`ABS()`** – Returns the absolute value.
```sql
SELECT ABS(column_name) FROM table_name;
```
- **`MOD()`** – Returns the remainder of a division.
```sql
SELECT MOD(column_name, divisor) FROM table_name;
```
#### 4. **Date Functions**
- **`NOW()`** – Returns the current date and time.
```sql
SELECT NOW() FROM table_name;
```
- **`CURDATE()`** – Returns the current date.
```sql
SELECT CURDATE() FROM table_name;
```
- **`DATEDIFF()`** – Returns the difference in days between two dates.
```sql
SELECT DATEDIFF(date1, date2) FROM table_name;
```
- **`DATE_ADD()`** – Adds a specified time interval to a date.
```sql
SELECT DATE_ADD(date_column, INTERVAL 7 DAY) FROM table_name;
```
- **`EXTRACT()`** – Extracts a part of a date (e.g., year, month, day).
```sql
SELECT EXTRACT(YEAR FROM date_column) FROM table_name;
```
---
### **Summary Table of Common Functions**
| Function | Description |
|--------------|--------------------------------------------------|
| `COUNT()` | Counts rows or non-null values |
| `SUM()` | Returns the sum of a column |
| `AVG()` | Returns the average of a column |
| `MIN()` | Finds the smallest value |
| `MAX()` | Finds the largest value |
| `CONCAT()` | Concatenates strings |
| `SUBSTRING()`| Extracts a part of a string |
| `UPPER()` | Converts a string to uppercase |
| `LOWER()` | Converts a string to lowercase |
| `ROUND()` | Rounds a number |
| `NOW()` | Returns the current date and time |
| `CURDATE()` | Returns the current date |
| `DATEDIFF()` | Calculates the difference between two dates |
| `EXTRACT()` | Extracts a part of a date (e.g., year, month) |
These keywords and functions will help you handle a wide variety of SQL queries and operations
efficiently. Let me know if you need more specific examples!
