0% found this document useful (0 votes)
4 views15 pages

SQL Syntax Overview

Uploaded by

petrojophrey1
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
4 views15 pages

SQL Syntax Overview

Uploaded by

petrojophrey1
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 15

Page 1 of 15

SQL HTML CSS Javascript Python Java C C++ PHP Scala C#

SQL - Syntax

What is SQL Syntax?

SQL syntax is a unique set of rules and guidelines to be followed while writing SQL statements. This
tutorial gives you a quick start with SQL by listing all the basic SQL Syntax.

All the SQL statements start with any of the keywords like SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, ALTER,
DROP, CREATE, USE, SHOW and all the statements end with a semicolon (;).

Powered by:

Case Sensitivity
Page 2 of 15

The most important point to be noted here is that SQL is case insensitive, which means SELECT and
Select have same meaning in SQL statements. Whereas, MySQL makes difference in table names. So,
if you are working with MySQL, then you need to give table names as they exist in the database.

SQL Table

Let us consider a table with the name CUSTOMERS shown below, and use it as a reference to
demonstrate all the SQL Statements on the same.

ID NAME AGE ADDRESS SALARY

1 Ramesh 32 Ahmedabad 2000.00

2 Khilan 25 Delhi 1500.00

3 kaushik 23 Kota 2000.00

4 Chaitali 25 Mumbai 6500.00

5 Hardik 27 Bhopal 8500.00

6 Komal 22 Hyderabad 4500.00

7 Muffy 24 Indore 10000.00

Click Here for More Information


Ad by Sponsor
See More

SQL Statements

This tutorial lists down various SQL statements. Most of them are compatible with MySQL, Oracle,
Postgres and SQL Server databases.

All the SQL statements require a semicolon (;) at the end of each statement. Semicolon is the
standard way to separate different SQL statements which allows to include multiple SQL statements
in a single line.
Page 3 of 15

All the SQL Statements given in this tutorial have been tested with a MySQL server on Linux
and Windows.

SQL CREATE DATABASE Statement

To store data within a database, you first need to create it. This is necessary to individualize the data
belonging to an organization.

You can create a database using the following syntax −

CREATE DATABASE database_name;

Let us try to create a sample database sampleDB in SQL using the CREATE DATABASE statement −

CREATE DATABASE sampleDB

SQL USE Statement

Once the database is created, it needs to be used in order to start storing the data accordingly.
Following is the syntax to change the current location to required database −

USE database_name;

We can set the previously created sampleDB as the default database by using the USE statement in
SQL −

USE sampleDB;

SQL DROP DATABASE Statement

If a database is no longer necessary, you can also delete it. To delete/drop a database, use the
following syntax −

DROP DATABASE database_name;

You can also drop the sampleDB database by using the DROP DATABASE statement in SQL −
Page 4 of 15

DROP DATABASE sampleDB;

SQL CREATE TABLE Statement

In an SQL driven database, the data is stored in a structured manner, i.e. in the form of tables. To
create a table, following syntax is used −

CREATE TABLE table_name(


column1 datatype,
column2 datatype,
column3 datatype,
.....
columnN datatype,
PRIMARY KEY( one or more columns )
);

The following code block is an example, which creates a CUSTOMERS table given above, with an ID as
a primary key and NOT NULL are the constraints showing that these fields cannot be NULL while
creating records in this table −

Open Compiler

CREATE TABLE CUSTOMERS(


ID INT NOT NULL,
NAME VARCHAR (20) NOT NULL,
AGE INT NOT NULL,
ADDRESS CHAR (25) ,
SALARY DECIMAL (18, 2),
PRIMARY KEY (ID)
);

SQL DESC Statement

Every table in a database has a structure of its own. To display the structure of database tables, we
use the DESC statements. Following is the syntax −

DESC table_name;
Page 5 of 15

The DESC Statement, however, only works in few RDBMS systems; hence, let us see an example by
using DESC statement in the MySQL server −

DESC CUSTOMERS;

SQL INSERT INTO Statement

The SQL INSERT INTO Statement is used to insert data into database tables. Following is the syntax −

INSERT INTO table_name( column1, column2....columnN)


VALUES ( value1, value2....valueN);

The following example statements would create seven records in the empty CUSTOMERS table.

Open Compiler

INSERT INTO CUSTOMERS VALUES


(1, 'Ramesh', 32, 'Ahmedabad', 2000.00 ),
(2, 'Khilan', 25, 'Delhi', 1500),
(3, 'kaushik', 23, 'Kota', 2000),
(4, 'Chaitali', 25, 'Mumbai', 6500),
(5, 'Hardik', 27, 'Bhopal', 8500),
(6, 'Komal', 22, 'Hyderabad', 4500),
(7, 'Muffy', 24, 'Indore', 10000);

SQL SELECT Statement

In order to retrieve the result-sets of the stored data from a database table, we use the SELECT
statement. Following is the syntax −

SELECT column1, column2....columnN FROM table_name;

To retrieve the data from CUSTOMERS table, we use the SELECT statement as shown below.

Open Compiler

SELECT * FROM CUSTOMERS;


Page 6 of 15

SQL UPDATE Statement

When the stored data in a database table is outdated and needs to be updated without having to
delete the table, we use the UPDATE statement. Following is the syntax −

UPDATE table_name
SET column1 = value1, column2 = value2....columnN=valueN
[ WHERE CONDITION ];

To see an example, the following query will update the ADDRESS for a customer whose ID number is 6
in the table.

Open Compiler

UPDATE CUSTOMERS SET ADDRESS = 'Pune' WHERE ID = 6;

SQL DELETE Statement

Without deleting the entire table from the database, you can also delete a certain part of the data by
applying conditions. This is done using the DELETE FROM statement. Following is the syntax −

DELETE FROM table_name WHERE {CONDITION};

The following code has a query, which will DELETE a customer, whose ID is 6.

Open Compiler

DELETE FROM CUSTOMERS WHERE ID = 6;

SQL DROP TABLE Statement

To delete a table entirely from a database when it is no longer needed, following syntax is used −

DROP TABLE table_name;

This query will drop the CUSTOMERS table from the database.
Page 7 of 15

Open Compiler

DROP TABLE CUSTOMERS;

SQL TRUNCATE TABLE Statement

The TRUNCATE TABLE statement is implemented in SQL to delete the data of the table but not the
table itself. When this SQL statement is used, the table stays in the database like an empty table.
Following is the syntax −

TRUNCATE TABLE table_name;

Following query delete all the records of the CUSTOMERS table −

TRUNCATE TABLE CUSTOMERS;

SQL ALTER TABLE Statement

The ALTER TABLE statement is used to alter the structure of a table. For instance, you can add, drop,
and modify the data of a column using this statement. Following is the syntax −

ALTER TABLE table_name


{ADD|DROP|MODIFY} column_name {data_type};

Following is the example to ADD a New Column to the CUSTOMERS table using ALTER TABLE
command −

Open Compiler

ALTER TABLE CUSTOMERS ADD SEX char(1);

SQL ALTER TABLE Statement (Rename)

The ALTER TABLE statement is also used to change the name of a table as well. Use the syntax below

ALTER TABLE table_name RENAME TO new_table_name;


Page 8 of 15

Following is the example to RENAME the CUSTOMERS table using ALTER TABLE command −

ALTER TABLE CUSTOMERS RENAME TO NEW_CUSTOMERS;

SQL DISTINCT Clause

The DISTINCT clause in a database is used to identify the non-duplicate data from a column. Using
the SELECT DISTINCT statement, you can retrieve distinct values from a column. Following is the
syntax −

SELECT DISTINCT column1, column2....columnN FROM table_name;

As an example, let us use the DISTINCT keyword with a SELECT query. The repetitive salary 2000.00
will only be retrieved once and the other record is ignored.

Open Compiler

SELECT DISTINCT SALARY FROM CUSTOMERS ORDER BY SALARY;

SQL WHERE Clause

The WHERE clause is used to filter rows from a table by applying a condition. Following is the syntax
to retrieve filtered rows from a table −

SELECT column1, column2....columnN


FROM table_name
WHERE CONDITION;

The following query is an example to fetch all the records from CUSTOMERS table where the salary is
greater than 2000, using the SELECT statement −

Open Compiler

SELECT ID, NAME, SALARY


FROM CUSTOMERS
WHERE SALARY > 2000;
Page 9 of 15

SQL AND/OR Operators

The AND/OR Operators are used to apply multiple conditions in the WHERE clause. Following is the
syntax −

SELECT column1, column2....columnN


FROM table_name
WHERE CONDITION-1 {AND|OR} CONDITION-2;

The following query is an example to fetch all the records from CUSTOMERS table where the salary is
greater than 2000 AND age is less than 25, using the SELECT statement −

Open Compiler

SELECT ID, NAME, SALARY FROM CUSTOMERS WHERE SALARY > 2000 AND age <
25;

SQL IN Clause

The IN Operator is used to check whether the data is present in the column or not, using the WHERE
clause. Following is the syntax −

SELECT column1, column2....columnN


FROM table_name
WHERE column_name IN (val-1, val-2,...val-N);

For an example, we want to display records with NAME equal to 'Khilan', 'Hardik' and 'Muffy' (string
values) using IN operator as follows −

Open Compiler

SELECT * FROM CUSTOMERS


WHERE NAME IN ('Khilan', 'Hardik', 'Muffy');

SQL BETWEEN Clause

The BETWEEN Operator is used to retrieve the values from a table that fall in a certain range, using the
WHERE clause. Following is the syntax −
Page 10 of 15

SELECT column1, column2....columnN


FROM table_name
WHERE column_name BETWEEN val-1 AND val-2;

Let us try to the BETWEEN operator to retrieve CUSTOMERS records whose AGE is between 20 and
25.

Open Compiler

SELECT * FROM CUSTOMERS WHERE AGE BETWEEN 20 AND 25;

SQL LIKE Clause

The LIKE Operator is used to retrieve the values from a table that match a certain pattern, using the
WHERE clause. Following is the syntax −

SELECT column1, column2....columnN


FROM table_name
WHERE column_name LIKE { PATTERN };

As an example, let us try to display all the records from the CUSTOMERS table, where the SALARY
starts with 200.

Open Compiler

SELECT * FROM CUSTOMERS WHERE SALARY LIKE '200%';

SQL ORDER BY Clause

The ORDER BY Clause is used to arrange the column values in a given/specified order. Following is the
syntax −

SELECT column1, column2....columnN


FROM table_name
WHERE CONDITION
ORDER BY column_name {ASC|DESC};
Page 11 of 15

In the following example we are trying to sort the result in an ascending order by the alphabetical
order of customer names −

Open Compiler

SELECT * FROM CUSTOMERS ORDER BY NAME ASC;

SQL GROUP BY Clause

The GROUP BY Clause is used to group the values of a column together. Following is the syntax −

SELECT SUM(column_name)
FROM table_name
WHERE CONDITION
GROUP BY column_name;

We are trying to group the customers by their age and calculate the average salary for each age group
using the following query −

Open Compiler

SELECT ADDRESS, AGE, SUM(SALARY)


AS TOTAL_SALARY FROM CUSTOMERS
GROUP BY ADDRESS, AGE;

SQL COUNT Function

The COUNT Function gives the number of non-null values present in the specified column. Following is
the syntax −

SELECT COUNT(column_name)
FROM table_name
WHERE CONDITION;

Let us see an example −

Open Compiler
Page 12 of 15

SELECT AGE, COUNT(Name) FROM CUSTOMERS GROUP BY AGE;

SQL HAVING Clause

The HAVING clause is also used to filter a group of rows by applying a condition. Following is the
syntax −

SELECT SUM(column_name)
FROM table_name
WHERE CONDITION
GROUP BY column_name
HAVING (arithematic function condition);

In the following example, we are trying to retrieve all records from the CUSTOMERS table where the
sum of their salary is greater than 5000 −

Open Compiler

SELECT ADDRESS, AGE, SUM(SALARY) AS


TOTAL_SALARY FROM CUSTOMERS GROUP BY
ADDRESS, AGE HAVING TOTAL_SALARY >=5000
ORDER BY TOTAL_SALARY DESC;

SQL CREATE INDEX Statement

To create an index on a database table, SQL provides the CREATE INDEX statement. Following is the
syntax −

CREATE UNIQUE INDEX index_name


ON table_name ( column1, column2,...columnN);

Let us create an index for the column named 'NAME' in the existing CUSTOMERS table using the
following query −

CREATE INDEX sample_index on CUSTOMERS(NAME);

SQL DROP INDEX Statement


Page 13 of 15

The DROP INDEX statement is used to drop an index from a table. Following is the syntax −

DROP INDEX index_name ON table_name;

Let us drop the index we created previously for the column named 'NAME' in the existing CUSTOMERS
table using the following query −

DROP INDEX sample_index on CUSTOMERS;

TOP TUTORIALS

Python Tutorial

Java Tutorial
C++ Tutorial

C Programming Tutorial

C# Tutorial

PHP Tutorial
R Tutorial

HTML Tutorial

CSS Tutorial

JavaScript Tutorial
SQL Tutorial

TRENDING TECHNOLOGIES

Cloud Computing Tutorial


Amazon Web Services Tutorial

Microsoft Azure Tutorial

Git Tutorial
Ethical Hacking Tutorial

Docker Tutorial

Kubernetes Tutorial

DSA Tutorial
Spring Boot Tutorial

SDLC Tutorial

Unix Tutorial
Page 14 of 15

CERTIFICATIONS

Business Analytics Certification

Java & Spring Boot Advanced Certification

Data Science Advanced Certification


Cloud Computing And DevOps

Advanced Certification In Business Analytics

Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning


DevOps Certification

Game Development Certification

Front-End Developer Certification

AWS Certification Training


Python Programming Certification

COMPILERS & EDITORS

Online Java Compiler


Online Python Compiler

Online Go Compiler

Online C Compiler
Online C++ Compiler

Online C# Compiler

Online PHP Compiler

Online MATLAB Compiler


Online Bash Terminal

Online SQL Compiler

Online Html Editor

ABOUT US | OUR TEAM | CAREERS | JOBS | CONTACT US | TERMS OF USE |

PRIVACY POLICY | REFUND POLICY | COOKIES POLICY | FAQ'S


Page 15 of 15

Tutorials Point is a leading Ed Tech company striving to provide the best learning material on technical
and non-technical subjects.

© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved.

You might also like