Name & Roll no.
Humna Rauf 18CS40
MySQL Default Database
Here's how to set a default database for all subsequent
queries.
MySQL allows you to set a default database to be used as the context for any
subsequent SQL statements. There could be many databases on the server and
MySQL needs to know which database you want any SQL statement/s to be run
against. Setting a default database is a good start as it saves you from having to
specify the database in the query.
You can change the default DB as often as you like. It's not necessarily a "set and
forget" thing. Depending on how many databases you're working with, you could be
switching the default DB quite frequently.
You can set the default database either programmatically or via the graphical
interface.
Using the MySQL Workbench GUI
Right-click on the database name in the SCHEMAS tab (in the left menu):
The default database will now be listed in a bold typeface:
Programmatically
The USE statement tells MySQL to use a particular database as the default when you
run subsequent SQL statements.
USE FruitShop;
Now any subsequent queries will be run against the FruitShop DB. Like this:
USE FruitShop;
SELECT * FROM Fruit;
The CREATE DATABASE Script
The USE statement can really come in handy in our scripts that create databases.
Once we've created our database, we can set it as the default database by
specifying the USEstatement against it.
Doing this will ensure that any subsequent SQL statements will use our newly
created database as the current DB (unless specified otherwise in the script). This is
important because it tells MySQL which DB to create the tables against:
DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS FruitShop;
CREATE DATABASE FruitShop;
USE FruitShop;
CREATE TABLE table_1 (...);
CREATE TABLE table_2 (...);
Switching the Default Database
There's nothing to stop you switching the default database multiple times within your
scripts. So if you had two databases, you could do something like this:
USE FruitShop;
SELECT * FROM Fruit;
USE VegeShop;
SELECT * FROM Vegetables;
The above query selects all records from the Fruit table in the FruitShop database
and all records from the Vegetables table in the VegeShop database. Without
the USE statement, MySQL wouldn't know which database to query for each
statement.
Of course, this is a simplified example. Often you'll find yourself doing more complex
queries against your databases and this technique can really help.
Qualifying the DB Name in the Statement
Regardless of whether you set a default database, you can also specify the
database within the statement.
To do this, use the following syntax: database.table.column
Here's an example:
SELECT FruitName, VegeName FROM FruitShop.Fruit, VegeShop.Vegetables
WHERE FruitShop.Fruit.SupplierId = VegeShop.Vegetables.SupplierId ;
Override the Default DB — Specify the
Database within a Query
Setting a default database doesn't preclude you from querying other databases.
Even after you've set a default database, you can still query other databases without
having to set them as a default. You can still specify which database to use within
your queries. In fact, you can use multiple databases within a single query using this
method.
So the above example could also be written as follows:
USE FruitShop;
SELECT FruitName, VegeName FROM Fruit, VegeShop.Vegetables
WHERE Fruit.SupplierId = VegeShop.Vegetables.SupplierId ;
Selecting Default Database by using MySql
Query
Result
Switching Default Database:
Output:
Overriding & Qualifing Default DB
Output:
