Complete SQL Cheatsheet for
Interviews & Practice
1. Basic SQL Commands
● SELECT: Retrieves data from a table.
● SELECT DISTINCT: Returns only unique (distinct) values.
● WHERE: Filters records based on a condition.
● ORDER BY: Sorts the result in ascending (ASC) or descending (DESC) order.
● LIMIT: Limits the number of rows returned.
SELECT name, age FROM employees WHERE age > 30 ORDER BY age DESC LIMIT 5;
2. Aggregate Functions
● COUNT(): Counts the number of rows.
● SUM(): Adds up values.
● AVG(): Calculates average value.
● MAX()/MIN(): Finds highest/lowest value.
SELECT COUNT(*), AVG(salary), MAX(age) FROM employees;
3. Grouping & Filtering
● GROUP BY:Groups rows sharing a property for aggregate calculations.
● HAVING: Filters groups (like WHERE but for grouped data).
SELECT department, AVG(salary) FROM employees GROUP BY department HAVING
AVG(salary) > 50000;
4. Joins (Combining Tables)
● INNER JOIN: Returns records that have matching values in both tables.
● LEFT JOIN: All records from left + matched from right.
● RIGHT JOIN: All records from right + matched from left.
● FULL OUTER JOIN: All records when there is a match in either table.
SELECT a.name, b.project FROM employees a LEFT JOIN projects b ON a.id = b.emp_id;
5. Subqueries & CTE (Common Table Expressions)
● Subquery: Query inside another query.
● CTE: Temporary result set for readable, reusable queries (using WITH).
WITH HighEarners AS (SELECT name, salary FROM employees WHERE salary > 80000)
SELECT * FROM HighEarners;
6. Window Functions
● Perform calculations across rows related to current row (without GROUP BY).
● RANK(): Rank of rows.
● LAG()/LEAD(): Access previous/next row data.
SELECT name, salary, RANK() OVER (ORDER BY salary DESC) FROM employees;
7. Constraints
Rules applied to table columns to enforce data integrity:
● NOT NULL: No empty values.
● UNIQUE: No duplicate values.
● PRIMARY KEY: Unique & NOT NULL.
● FOREIGN KEY: Link to another table.
● CHECK: Condition to validate data.
● DEFAULT: Assign default value.
CREATE TABLE employees (id INT PRIMARY KEY, name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL, salary
DECIMAL(10,2) CHECK (salary > 0));
8. Indexing for Performance
Indexes speed up data retrieval but slow down inserts/updates.
● CREATE INDEX: Make an index.
● DROP INDEX: Remove an index.
CREATE INDEX idx_name ON employees(name);
9. Transactions
● Set of SQL operations that are atomic (all succeed or all fail).
● BEGIN TRANSACTION: Start.
● COMMIT: Save changes.
● ROLLBACK: Undo changes if error occurs.
BEGIN TRANSACTION;
UPDATE accounts SET balance = balance - 500 WHERE id = 1;
UPDATE accounts SET balance = balance + 500 WHERE id = 2;
COMMIT;
Quick Tips for Interviews
● Master Joins and Window Functions — frequently asked.
● Avoid SELECT * — select only needed columns.
● Use Indexes for faster queries.
● Understand Primary & Foreign Keys, Normalization.
