SQL Notes
SQL Fundamentals
SQL (Structured Query Language) is the standard language for relational database
management systems. It's used for creating, accessing, manipulating, and managing data in
databases.
Database Concepts
Database: Organized collection of structured data
Table: Collection of related data organized in rows and columns
Schema: Logical structure that defines the organization of database objects
Primary Key: Unique identifier for each record in a table
Foreign Key: Field that links to primary key in another table
Data Definition Language (DDL)
Creating Tables
CREATE TABLE table_name (
column1 datatype constraints,
column2 datatype constraints,
...
PRIMARY KEY (column)
);
Common Data Types
Numeric: INT, BIGINT, DECIMAL, FLOAT
String: VARCHAR, CHAR, TEXT
Date/Time: DATE, TIME, DATETIME, TIMESTAMP
Boolean: BOOLEAN, BIT
Binary: BLOB, BINARY
Modifying Tables
ALTER TABLE table_name ADD column_name datatype;
ALTER TABLE table_name DROP COLUMN column_name;
ALTER TABLE table_name MODIFY COLUMN column_name new_datatype;
Deleting Objects
DROP TABLE table_name;
DROP DATABASE database_name;
TRUNCATE TABLE table_name; -- removes all rows but keeps structure
Data Manipulation Language (DML)
Inserting Data
INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2, ...)
VALUES (value1, value2, ...);
Updating Data
UPDATE table_name
SET column1 = value1, column2 = value2, ...
WHERE condition;
Deleting Data
DELETE FROM table_name WHERE condition;
Data Query Language (DQL)
Basic Queries
SELECT column1, column2, ...
FROM table_name
WHERE condition
ORDER BY column ASC/DESC
LIMIT number;
Aggregate Functions
COUNT(): Returns number of rows
SUM(): Returns sum of numeric values
AVG(): Returns average of numeric values
MIN(): Returns minimum value
MAX(): Returns maximum value
Grouping Data
SELECT column, COUNT(*)
FROM table_name
GROUP BY column
HAVING condition; -- like WHERE but for grouped data
Table Relationships
JOIN Operations
INNER JOIN: Returns records with matching values in both tables
LEFT JOIN: Returns all records from left table and matching from right
RIGHT JOIN: Returns all records from right table and matching from left
FULL JOIN: Returns all records when there's a match in either table
JOIN Syntax
SELECT columns
FROM table1
JOIN table2 ON table1.column = table2.column;
Advanced SQL Concepts
Subqueries
SELECT column
FROM table
WHERE column IN (SELECT column FROM another_table WHERE condition);
Common Table Expressions (CTE)
WITH cte_name AS (
SELECT columns FROM table WHERE condition
)
SELECT * FROM cte_name;
Views
CREATE VIEW view_name AS
SELECT columns
FROM table
WHERE condition;
Indexes
CREATE INDEX index_name ON table_name (column);
Transactions
BEGIN TRANSACTION;
SQL statements;
COMMIT; -- or ROLLBACK to undo
SQL Best Practices
Use meaningful table and column names
Always use appropriate data types
Normalize database structure to reduce redundancy
Use indexes on frequently queried columns
Write optimized queries to improve performance
Use parameterized queries to prevent SQL injection
Maintain proper documentation
Regularly backup database
