SQL TUTORIAL
SQL TUTORIAL
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.
SQL Syntax
SQL Result
Company Country
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Galería del gastrónomo Spain
Laughing Bacchus Wine Cellars Canada
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Wolski Zajazd Poland
Try it yourself »
2 Introduction to SQL
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
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What Can SQL do?
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!
RDBMS
RDBMS stands for Relational Database Management System.
RDBMS is the basis for SQL, and for all modern database systems like MS SQL Server, IBM DB2, Oracle, MySQL,
and Microsoft Access.
A table is a collections of related data entries and it consists of columns and rows.
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3 SQL Syntax
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.
The table above contains three records (one for each person) and five columns (P_Id, LastName, FirstName,
Address, and City).
SQL Statements
Most of the actions you need to perform on a database are done with SQL statements.
The following SQL statement will select all the records in the "Persons" table:
In this tutorial we will teach you all about the different SQL statements.
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.
We are using MS Access and SQL Server 2000 and we do not have to put a semicolon after each SQL statement,
but some database programs force you to use it.
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SQL DML and DDL
SQL can be divided into two parts: The Data Manipulation Language (DML) and the Data Definition Language
(DDL).
The query and update commands form the DML part of SQL:
The DDL part of SQL permits database tables to be created or deleted. It also define indexes (keys), specify links
between tables, and impose constraints between tables. The most important DDL statements in SQL are:
This chapter will explain the SELECT and the SELECT * statements.
and
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An SQL SELECT Example
The "Persons" table:
Now we want to select the content of the columns named "LastName" and "FirstName" from the table above.
LastName FirstName
Hansen Ola
Svendson Tove
Pettersen Kari
SELECT * Example
Now we want to select all the columns from the "Persons" table.
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 ADO tutorial or our PHP tutorial.
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5 SQL SELECT DISTINCT Statement
The DISTINCT keyword can be used to return only distinct (different) values.
Now we want to select only the distinct values from the column named "City" from the table above.
City
Sandnes
Stavanger
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6 SQL WHERE Clause
Now we want to select only the persons living in the city "Sandnes" from the table above.
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Quotes Around Text Fields
SQL uses single quotes around text values (most database systems will also accept double quotes).
This is correct:
This is wrong:
This is correct:
This is wrong:
Operator Description
= Equal
<> Not equal
> Greater than
< Less than
>= Greater than or equal
<= Less than or equal
BETWEEN Between an inclusive range
LIKE Search for a pattern
IN If you know the exact value you want to return for at least one of the columns
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7 SQL AND & OR Operators
The AND & OR operators are used to filter records based on more than one condition.
The OR operator displays a record if either the first condition or the second condition is true.
Now we want to select only the persons with the first name equal to "Tove" AND the last name equal to "Svendson":
OR Operator Example
Now we want to select only the persons with the first name equal to "Tove" OR the first name equal to "Ola":
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The result-set will look like this:
Now we want to select only the persons with the last name equal to "Svendson" AND the first name equal to "Tove"
OR to "Ola":
If you want to sort the records in a descending order, you can use the DESC keyword.
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ORDER BY Example
The "Persons" table:
Now we want to select all the persons from the table above, however, we want to sort the persons by their last
name.
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9 SQL INSERT INTO Statement
The first form doesn't specify the column names where the data will be inserted, only their values:
The second form specifies both the column names and the values to be inserted:
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The "Persons" table will now look like this:
The following SQL statement will add a new row, but only add data in the "P_Id", "LastName" and the "FirstName"
columns:
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10 SQL UPDATE Statement
Note: Notice the WHERE clause in the UPDATE syntax. The WHERE clause specifies which record or records that
should be updated. If you omit the WHERE clause, all records will be updated!
Now we want to update the person "Tjessem, Jakob" in the "Persons" table.
UPDATE Persons
SET Address='Nissestien 67', City='Sandnes'
WHERE LastName='Tjessem' AND FirstName='Jakob'
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SQL UPDATE Warning
Be careful when updating records. If we had omitted the WHERE clause in the example above, like this:
UPDATE Persons
SET Address='Nissestien 67', City='Sandnes'
Note: Notice the WHERE clause in the DELETE syntax. The WHERE clause specifies which record or records that
should be deleted. If you omit the WHERE clause, all records will be deleted!
Now we want to delete the person "Tjessem, Jakob" in the "Persons" table.
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We use the following SQL statement:
or
Note: Be very careful when deleting records. You cannot undo this statement!
The TOP clause can be very useful on large tables with thousands of records. Returning a large number of records
can impact on performance.
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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
SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
WHERE ROWNUM <= number
Example
SELECT *
FROM Persons
WHERE ROWNUM <=5
Now we want to select only the two first records in the table above.
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SQL TOP PERCENT Example
The "Persons" table:
Now we want to select only 50% of the records in the table above.
The LIKE operator is used in a WHERE clause to search for a specified pattern in a column.
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LIKE Operator Example
The "Persons" table:
Now we want to select the persons living in a city that starts with "s" from the table above.
The "%" sign can be used to define wildcards (missing letters in the pattern) both before and after the pattern.
Next, we want to select the persons living in a city that ends with an "s" from the "Persons" table.
Next, we want to select the persons living in a city that contains the pattern "tav" from the "Persons" table.
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It is also possible to select the persons living in a city that NOT contains the pattern "tav" from the "Persons" table,
by using the NOT keyword.
14 SQL Wildcards
SQL Wildcards
SQL wildcards can substitute for one or more characters when searching for data in a database.
Wildcard Description
% A substitute for zero or more characters
_ A substitute for exactly one character
[charlist] Any single character in charlist
[^charlist] Any single character not in charlist
or
[!charlist]
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Using the % Wildcard
Now we want to select the persons living in a city that starts with "sa" from the "Persons" table.
Next, we want to select the persons living in a city that contains the pattern "nes" from the "Persons" table.
Next, we want to select the persons with a last name that starts with "S", followed by any character, followed by
"end", followed by any character, followed by "on" from the "Persons" table.
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We use the following SELECT statement:
Next, we want to select the persons with a last name that do not start with "b" or "s" or "p" from the "Persons"
table.
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15 SQL IN Operator
The IN Operator
The IN operator allows you to specify multiple values in a WHERE clause.
SQL IN Syntax
SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
WHERE column_name IN (value1,value2,...)
IN Operator Example
The "Persons" table:
Now we want to select the persons with a last name equal to "Hansen" or "Pettersen" from the table above.
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16 SQL BETWEEN Operator
The BETWEEN operator is used in a WHERE clause to select a range of data between two values.
Now we want to select the persons with a last name alphabetically between "Hansen" and "Pettersen" from the table
above.
In some databases, persons with the LastName of "Hansen" or "Pettersen" will not be listed, because the BETWEEN
operator only selects fields that are between and excluding the test values).
In other databases, persons with the LastName of "Hansen" or "Pettersen" will be listed, because the BETWEEN
operator selects fields that are between and including the test values).
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And in other databases, persons with the LastName of "Hansen" will be listed, but "Pettersen" will not be listed (like
the example above), because the BETWEEN operator selects fields between the test values, including the first test
value and excluding the last test value.
Example 2
To display the persons outside the range in the previous example, use NOT BETWEEN:
17 SQL Alias
SQL Alias
You can give a table or a column another name by using an alias. This can be a good thing to do if you have very
long or complex table names or column names.
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Alias Example
Assume we have a table called "Persons" and another table called "Product_Orders". We will give the table aliases of
"p" an "po" respectively.
Now we want to list all the orders that "Ola Hansen" is responsible for.
As you'll see from the two SELECT statements above; aliases can make queries easier to both write and to read.
18 SQL Joins
SQL joins are used to query data from two or more tables, based on a relationship between certain
columns in these tables.
SQL JOIN
The JOIN keyword is used in an SQL statement to query data from two or more tables, based on a relationship
between certain columns in these tables.
A primary key is a column (or a combination of columns) with a unique value for each row. Each primary key value
must be unique within the table. The purpose is to bind data together, across tables, without repeating all of the
data in every table.
Note that the "P_Id" column is the primary key in the "Persons" table. This means that no two rows can have the
same P_Id. The P_Id distinguishes two persons even if they have the same name.
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Next, we have the "Orders" table:
Note that the "O_Id" column is the primary key in the "Orders" table and that the "P_Id" column refers to the
persons in the "Persons" table without using their names.
Notice that the relationship between the two tables above is the "P_Id" column.
• JOIN: Return rows when there is at least one match in both tables
• LEFT JOIN: Return all rows from the left table, even if there are no matches in the right table
• RIGHT JOIN: Return all rows from the right table, even if there are no matches in the left table
• FULL JOIN: Return rows when there is a match in one of the tables
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SQL INNER JOIN Example
The "Persons" table:
The INNER JOIN keyword return rows when there is at least one match in both tables. If there are rows in "Persons"
that do not have matches in "Orders", those rows will NOT be listed.
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20 SQL LEFT JOIN Keyword
Now we want to list all the persons and their orders - if any, from the tables above.
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The result-set will look like this:
The LEFT JOIN keyword returns all the rows from the left table (Persons), even if there are no matches in the right
table (Orders).
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Now we want to list all the orders with containing persons - if any, from the tables above.
The RIGHT JOIN keyword returns all the rows from the right table (Orders), even if there are no matches in the left
table (Persons).
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The "Orders" table:
Now we want to list all the persons and their orders, and all the orders with their persons.
The FULL JOIN keyword returns all the rows from the left table (Persons), and all the rows from the right table
(Orders). If there are rows in "Persons" that do not have matches in "Orders", or if there are rows in "Orders" that
do not have matches in "Persons", those rows will be listed as well.
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.
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SQL UNION Syntax
SELECT column_name(s) FROM table_name1
UNION
SELECT column_name(s) FROM table_name2
Note: The UNION operator selects only distinct values by default. To allow duplicate values, use UNION ALL.
PS: The column names in the result-set of a UNION are always equal to the column names in the first SELECT
statement in the UNION.
"Employees_Norway":
E_ID E_Name
01 Hansen, Ola
02 Svendson, Tove
03 Svendson, Stephen
04 Pettersen, Kari
"Employees_USA":
E_ID E_Name
01 Turner, Sally
02 Kent, Clark
03 Svendson, Stephen
04 Scott, Stephen
Now we want to list all the different employees in Norway and USA.
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The result-set will look like this:
E_Name
Hansen, Ola
Svendson, Tove
Svendson, Stephen
Pettersen, Kari
Turner, Sally
Kent, Clark
Scott, Stephen
Note: This command cannot be used to list all employees in Norway and USA. In the example above we have two
employees with equal names, and only one of them will be listed. The UNION command selects only distinct values.
Result
E_Name
Hansen, Ola
Svendson, Tove
Svendson, Stephen
Pettersen, Kari
Turner, Sally
Kent, Clark
Svendson, Stephen
Scott, Stephen
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24 SQL SELECT INTO Statement
The SQL SELECT INTO statement can be used to create backup copies of tables.
The SELECT INTO statement is most often used to create backup copies of tables.
SELECT *
INTO new_table_name [IN externaldatabase]
FROM old_tablename
Or we can select only the columns we want into the new table:
SELECT column_name(s)
INTO new_table_name [IN externaldatabase]
FROM old_tablename
SELECT *
INTO Persons_Backup
FROM Persons
We can also use the IN clause to copy the table into another database:
SELECT *
INTO Persons_Backup IN 'Backup.mdb'
FROM Persons
We can also copy only a few fields into the new table:
SELECT LastName,FirstName
INTO Persons_Backup
FROM Persons
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SQL SELECT INTO - With a WHERE Clause
We can also add a WHERE clause.
The following SQL statement creates a "Persons_Backup" table with only the persons who lives in the city
"Sandnes":
SELECT LastName,Firstname
INTO Persons_Backup
FROM Persons
WHERE City='Sandnes'
The following example creates a "Persons_Order_Backup" table contains data from the two tables "Persons" and
"Orders":
SELECT Persons.LastName,Orders.OrderNo
INTO Persons_Order_Backup
FROM Persons
INNER JOIN Orders
ON Persons.P_Id=Orders.P_Id
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26 SQL CREATE TABLE Statement
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 P_Id column is of type int and will hold a number. The LastName, FirstName, Address, and City columns are of
type varchar with a maximum length of 255 characters.
The empty table can be filled with data with the INSERT INTO statement.
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27 SQL Constraints
SQL Constraints
Constraints are used to limit the type of data that can go into a table.
Constraints can be specified when a table is created (with the CREATE TABLE statement) or after the table is
created (with the ALTER TABLE statement).
• NOT NULL
• UNIQUE
• PRIMARY KEY
• FOREIGN KEY
• CHECK
• DEFAULT
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:
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29 SQL UNIQUE Constraint
The UNIQUE and PRIMARY KEY constraints both provide a guarantee for uniqueness for a column or set of columns.
Note that you can have many UNIQUE constraints per table, but only one PRIMARY KEY constraint per table.
MySQL:
To allow naming of a UNIQUE constraint, and for defining a UNIQUE constraint on multiple columns, use the
following SQL syntax:
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MySQL / SQL Server / Oracle / MS Access:
Each table should have a primary key, and each table can have only one primary key.
MySQL:
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SQL Server / Oracle / MS Access:
To allow naming of a PRIMARY KEY constraint, and for defining a PRIMARY KEY constraint on multiple columns, use
the following SQL syntax:
To allow naming of a PRIMARY KEY constraint, and for defining a PRIMARY KEY constraint on multiple columns, use
the following SQL syntax:
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).
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To DROP a PRIMARY KEY Constraint
To drop a PRIMARY KEY constraint, use the following SQL:
MySQL:
To allow naming of a UNIQUE constraint, and for defining a UNIQUE constraint on multiple columns, use the
following SQL syntax:
MySQL:
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31 SQL FOREIGN KEY Constraint
Let's illustrate the foreign key with an example. Look at the following two tables:
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 link between tables.
The FOREIGN KEY constraint also prevents that invalid data is inserted into the foreign key column, because it has
to be one of the values contained in the table it points to.
MySQL:
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SQL Server / Oracle / MS Access:
To allow naming of a FOREIGN KEY constraint, and for defining a FOREIGN KEY constraint on multiple columns, use
the following SQL syntax:
To allow naming of a FOREIGN KEY constraint, and for defining a FOREIGN KEY constraint on multiple columns, use
the following SQL syntax:
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To DROP a FOREIGN KEY Constraint
To drop a FOREIGN KEY constraint, use the following SQL:
MySQL:
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.
My SQL:
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SQL Server / Oracle / MS Access:
To allow naming of a CHECK constraint, and for defining a CHECK constraint on multiple columns, use the following
SQL syntax:
To allow naming of a CHECK constraint, and for defining a CHECK constraint on multiple columns, use the following
SQL syntax:
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33 SQL DEFAULT Constraint
The default value will be added to all new records, if no other value is specified.
The DEFAULT constraint can also be used to insert system values, by using functions like GETDATE():
MySQL:
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To DROP a DEFAULT Constraint
To drop a DEFAULT constraint, use the following SQL:
MySQL:
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.
Note: The syntax for creating indexes varies amongst different databases. Therefore: Check the syntax for creating
indexes in your database.
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CREATE INDEX Example
The SQL statement below creates an index named "PIndex" on the "LastName" column in the "Persons" table:
If you want to create an index on a combination of columns, you can list the column names within the parentheses,
separated by commas:
Indexes, tables, and databases can easily be deleted/removed with the DROP statement.
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The DROP DATABASE Statement
The DROP DATABASE statement is used to delete a database.
To delete a column in a table, use the following syntax (notice that some database systems don't allow deleting a
column):
To change the data type of a column in a table, use the following syntax:
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SQL ALTER TABLE Example
Look at the "Persons" table:
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.
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.
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