View in MySQL

What is a View in MySQL?

A View in MySQL is a virtual table that is created by a query. It behaves like a real table but
doesn't store the data itself, rather it pulls data from other tables dynamically at the time of
querying. You can think of a view as a saved query that can be referenced like a table.

Advantages of Views:

• Simplicity: Helps simplify complex queries by creating a predefined query and

referencing it.

• Security: Users can be restricted to view specific columns or rows without granting
direct access to the base tables.

• Data Abstraction: Views allow you to abstract data so that the underlying table
structure changes without affecting the query.

Syntax for Creating a View:

CREATE VIEW view_name AS

SELECT column1, column2, ...

FROM table_name

WHERE condition;

Example:

Step 1: Create Sample Tables

CREATE TABLE Employees (

EmployeeID INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,

FirstName VARCHAR(50),

LastName VARCHAR(50),

Department VARCHAR(50),

Salary DECIMAL(10,2)

);

CREATE TABLE Departments (

DepartmentID INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,

DepartmentName VARCHAR(50),
 ManagerID INT

);

Step 2: Insert Records into Tables

INSERT INTO Employees (FirstName, LastName, Department, Salary) VALUES

('John', 'Doe', 'HR', 60000),

('Jane', 'Smith', 'IT', 80000),

('Bob', 'Williams', 'Finance', 75000),

('Alice', 'Johnson', 'HR', 65000),

('Tom', 'Brown', 'IT', 85000);

INSERT INTO Departments (DepartmentName, ManagerID) VALUES

('HR', 1),

('IT', 2),

('Finance', 3);

Now, let's see the records.

• Employees Table:

EmployeeID FirstName LastName Department Salary

1 John Doe HR 60000.00

2 Jane Smith IT 80000.00

3 Bob Williams Finance 75000.00

4 Alice Johnson HR 65000.00

5 Tom Brown IT 85000.00

• Departments Table:

DepartmentID DepartmentName ManagerID

1 HR 1

2 IT 2

3 Finance 3

Step 3: Create Views

 1. Simple View – Only Select Specific Columns:

Let's say you want to create a view to display only the names of employees and their
departments.

CREATE VIEW EmployeeDepartments AS

SELECT FirstName, LastName, Department

FROM Employees;

Now, you can retrieve data from the EmployeeDepartments view like a normal table:

SELECT * FROM EmployeeDepartments;

Result:

FirstName LastName Department

John Doe HR

Jane Smith IT

Bob Williams Finance

Alice Johnson HR

Tom Brown IT

2. Complex View – Join Two Tables:

Let’s create a view that joins the Employees and Departments tables to get information about
the employees and their department managers.

CREATE VIEW EmployeeManagerInfo AS

SELECT e.FirstName, e.LastName, e.Department, d.DepartmentName, e.Salary, d.ManagerID

FROM Employees e

JOIN Departments d ON e.EmployeeID = d.ManagerID;

Now, query this view:

SELECT * FROM EmployeeManagerInfo;

Result:

FirstName LastName Department DepartmentName Salary ManagerID

John Doe HR HR 60000.00 1

Jane Smith IT IT 80000.00 2

FirstName LastName Department DepartmentName Salary ManagerID

Bob Williams Finance Finance 75000.00 3

3. View with Filter – Limiting Data:

Let's create a view to display only employees in the HR department.

CREATE VIEW HREmployees AS

SELECT FirstName, LastName, Salary

FROM Employees

WHERE Department = 'HR';

Query the view:

SELECT * FROM HREmployees;

Result:

FirstName LastName Salary

John Doe 60000.00

Alice Johnson 65000.00

Step 4: Updating Data via Views

You can update data via views if the view meets certain conditions. For example:

UPDATE HREmployees

SET Salary = 70000

WHERE FirstName = 'John';

This will update John's salary in the Employees table, as long as the view directly maps to an
updatable column.

Step 5: Dropping a View

You can remove a view using the DROP VIEW command.

DROP VIEW HREmployees;

Key Points:

1. Views simplify query management by abstracting complex queries.

2. You can use views for security purposes to restrict access to specific data.

3. Views can be created from one or more tables.

4. A view is updatable if the query satisfies certain conditions (e.g., no aggregate functions,
no joins with non-updatable fields).

5. Views can be used in SELECT, UPDATE, DELETE operations under certain restrictions.
This example illustrates how views help manage and simplify data retrieval, improve security,
and maintain the abstraction of complex logic.

In MySQL, there are two main types of views: Simple Views and Complex Views. Each
type serves different purposes and has certain limitations or capabilities.

1. Simple Views

A Simple View is created from a single table without any joins, subqueries, or aggregate
functions. These views can generally be updated, and they offer a direct way to limit or expose
specific columns or rows to users.

Characteristics:

• Based on a single table.

• Does not include complex operations like joins, subqueries, or group functions (e.g.,
SUM, AVG).

• Can be updatable, meaning you can insert, update, or delete data through the view,
provided the underlying table allows it.

Example of a Simple View

Let's create a simple view that only shows the employee's name and department from the
Employees table.

-- Creating a simple view

CREATE VIEW EmployeeDetails AS

SELECT FirstName, LastName, Department

FROM Employees;

Querying the Simple View:

SELECT * FROM EmployeeDetails;

Result:

FirstName LastName Department

John Doe HR

Jane Smith IT

Bob Williams Finance

Alice Johnson HR
FirstName LastName Department

Tom Brown IT

This view is simple as it directly selects from the Employees table without any complex
operations.

Updatability:

You can also update data through this simple view:

UPDATE EmployeeDetails

SET Department = 'HR'

WHERE LastName = 'Brown';

This query updates the Department column in the underlying Employees table.

2. Complex Views

A Complex View involves multiple tables, joins, subqueries, or aggregate functions like SUM,
AVG, COUNT, etc. These views are more powerful for querying complex data relationships, but
they are often not updatable, meaning you cannot modify the underlying data through the view.

Characteristics:

• Can be based on multiple tables (joins) or subqueries.

• Can include aggregate functions like COUNT, SUM, AVG, etc.

• Usually not updatable.

• Often used for reporting, summarizing data, or abstracting complex queries.

Example of a Complex View

Let’s create a complex view that joins the Employees table with the Departments table to get
detailed information about employees and their departments. We will also calculate the total
salary per department using the SUM() aggregate function.

-- Creating a complex view with a JOIN and aggregate function

CREATE VIEW DepartmentSummary AS

SELECT e.Department, COUNT(e.EmployeeID) AS EmployeeCount, SUM(e.Salary) AS

TotalSalary

FROM Employees e

JOIN Departments d ON e.Department = d.DepartmentName

GROUP BY e.Department;

Querying the Complex View:

SELECT * FROM DepartmentSummary;

Result:

Department EmployeeCount TotalSalary

HR 2 125000.00

IT 2 165000.00

Finance 1 75000.00

This view involves a JOIN between the Employees and Departments tables and uses the
COUNT() and SUM() aggregate functions to summarize the data.

Non-Updatability:

Unlike simple views, complex views are usually not updatable due to the inclusion of aggregate
functions and joins. For example, trying to insert or update records through this view will likely
result in an error.

-- Attempting to update a complex view (will likely result in an error)

UPDATE DepartmentSummary

SET TotalSalary = 200000

WHERE Department = 'HR';

MySQL will not allow you to update this view since it's based on aggregate calculations.

3. Updatable Views
Some views in MySQL can be updatable if they meet certain conditions, which include:

• The view is based on a single table.

• The view does not contain aggregate functions like SUM(), AVG(), etc.

• The view does not contain DISTINCT, GROUP BY, or HAVING clauses.

• The view does not contain subqueries or joins with non-updatable fields.

Example of an Updatable View:

Consider a simple view that displays employee details:

-- Creating an updatable view

CREATE VIEW UpdatableEmployeeView AS

SELECT EmployeeID, FirstName, LastName, Salary

FROM Employees;

This view is updatable because:

• It only selects from one table.

 • It does not use any aggregate functions or complex clauses.

You can update data through this view:

-- Updating the Salary via the view

UPDATE UpdatableEmployeeView

SET Salary = 70000

WHERE EmployeeID = 1;

This will update the salary of the employee with EmployeeID = 1 in the Employees table.

4. Non-Updatable Views
Views that involve joins, subqueries, or aggregate functions (like in the Complex View example
above) are usually non-updatable. These views are often used for reporting or complex queries,
but you cannot directly modify the underlying tables through them.

Example of a Non-Updatable View:

As shown earlier, the DepartmentSummary view contains a JOIN and an aggregate function
(SUM), which makes it non-updatable:

-- Non-updatable view example

CREATE VIEW DepartmentSummary AS

SELECT e.Department, COUNT(e.EmployeeID) AS EmployeeCount, SUM(e.Salary) AS

TotalSalary

FROM Employees e

JOIN Departments d ON e.Department = d.DepartmentName

GROUP BY e.Department;

Any attempt to insert, update, or delete records through this view will fail.

Summary of View Types:

View Type Characteristics Updatability

Simple View Based on a single table, no joins or aggregates. Generally updatable.

Complex Based on multiple tables, can include joins,

Generally not updatable.
View aggregates, subqueries, etc.

Updatable A view that meets specific conditions (single Can be updatable under
View table, no aggregates, etc.). certain conditions.

Non- Views involving complex joins, aggregates, Not updatable.

View Type Characteristics Updatability

Updatable GROUP BY, subqueries, etc.

Views in MySQL are powerful tools for simplifying query logic, improving security, and providing
abstraction layers in applications. The type of view you use depends on whether you need
simple data access or complex data relationships and aggregations.