SQL

SQL
SQL - (pronounced
"sequel")
SQL stands for Structured Query Language, and it is
a very powerful and diverse language used to create
and query databases. Its loose syntax makes it easy to
learn, but mastering its intricate architecture may
take a bit longer.
Arming yourself with a firm understanding of its

structure and mechanics will allow you to build
simple, dynamic applications for the web or to create
robust applications using data and databases.
The loose structure and flexibility of this language

make it an ideal candidate for the web, especially
since there are more than a handful of database
applications available for developers o use for free,
such as Microsoft's SQL Server Express and
MySQL.
SQL - Fundamentals
Some of the basic functions of SQL are inputting,
modifying, and dropping data from databases. In this
tutorial, we use command line examples to give you
an idea of what SQL is capable of. Coupled with the
use of web languages such as HTML and PHP, SQL
becomes an even greater tool for building dynamic
web applications.
SQL - Tutorial Scope

Reading further, you will encounter a number of
hands-on examples intended to introduce you to
SQL. The majority of these examples are intended to
span across the different available variations of SQL,
but the primary focus of this tutorial is Microsoft's
SQL Server Express.
SQL - Getting Started
To get started, you will need to install Microsoft SQL
Server Express. For installation help, we suggest you
go straight to the developer homepage:
SQL Server Express Download:

SQL Server
It is preferred that you select SQL Server Express

2008 for this tutorial. This version of SQL is
available for private use for free, and we've provided
the link to Microsoft's site, or you can find the
download page by searching for "SQL Server
Express" on Google.
Follow the online installation guide that Microsoft

provides, and launch SQL Server Management
Studio Express to connect to your SQL database.
This Management Studio Application will be your
temporary home for the remainder of the tutorial.
SQL - World Wide Web
Building a website on SQL architecture is quickly
becoming the standard among web 2.0 sites. With a
SQL backend, it is fairly simple to store user data,
email lists, or other kinds of dynamic data. E-
Commerce web sites, community sites, and online
web services rely on SQL databases to manage user
data or process user purchases.
SQL has become popular among web developers due

to its flexibility and simplicity. With some basic
knowledge of HTML, PHP, and a database program
such as Microsoft's SQL Server, a developer
becomes capable of creating complex websites and
applications while relying on online web services to
provide a SQL backend in which user data is stored.
This tutorial will provide you with just a small taste
of this type of programming and architecture.
SQL - Databases
What's a Database? A SQL database is nothing
more than an empty shell, like a vacant warehouse. It
offers no real functionality whatsoever, but does
provide a virtual space to store data. Data is stored
inside of database objects called tables, and tables
are the containers that actually hold specific types of
data, such as numbers, files, strings, and dates.
A single database can house hundreds of tables

containing more than 1,000 table columns each and
they may be jam packed with relational data ready to
be retrieved by SQL. Perhaps the greatest feature
SQL offers is that it doesn't take much effort to
rearrange your warehouse to meet your ever-growing
business needs.
SQL - Creating a
Database
Creating a database inside of SQL Express has its
advantages. After launching Microsoft's SQL Server
Management Studio Express application, simply
right-clicking on the Databases folder of the Object
Explorer gives you the option to create a New
Database. After selecting the New Database...
option, name your database "MyDatabase" and press
"OK".
Now is the time to press the New Query button
located toward the top of the screen, just above the
Object Explorer pane.
Pressing this button offers an empty tab. All SQL
query statements (code) that we will be exploring
will be entered here and executed against the SQL
Express database.
If you haven't yet created a new database, you may

also create a database by typing the following SQL
query statement into your new empty query tab, and
then pressing the Execute button or striking the (F5)
key.
SQL Create Database Query:

CREATE DATABASE MyDatabase;
After executing this query, SQL will notify you that

your query has run successfully and that the database
was created successfully. If you receive an error
message instead, Google the error message for
troubleshooting advice. (Vista users must verify that
they are running SQL Server Management Studio
Express with administrator privileges.)
Congratulations! You have executed your first SQL

command and written what is perhaps your first bit
of SQL code.
SQL - Tables
Data is stored inside SQL tables which are contained
within SQL databases. A single database can house
hundreds of tables, each playing its own unique role
in the database schema. While database architecture
and schema are concepts far above the scope of this
tutorial, we plan on diving in just past the surface to
give you a glimpse of database architecture that
begins with a thorough understanding of SQL Tables.
SQL tables are comprised of table rows and
columns. Table columns are responsible for storing
many different types of data, like numbers, texts,
dates, and even files. There are many different types
of table columns and these data types vary,
depending on how the SQL table has been created by
the SQL developer. A table row is a horizontal record
of values that fit into each different table column.
SQL - Create a SQL

Table
Let's now CREATE a SQL table to help us expand
our knowledge of SQL and SQL commands. This
new table will serve as a practice table and we will
begin to populate this table with some data which we
can then manipulate as more SQL Query commands
are introduced. The next couple of examples will
definitely be overwhelming to novice SQL
programmers, but we will take a moment to explain
what's going on.
SQL Create Table Query:
USE mydatabase;
CREATE TABLE orders

(id INT IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY,
customer VARCHAR(50),
day_of_order DATETIME,
product VARCHAR(50),
quantity INT);
The first line of the example, "USE mydatabase;", is

pretty straightforward. This line defines the query
scope and directs SQL to run the command against
the MyDatabase object we created earlier in the SQL
Databases lesson. The blank line break after the first
command is not required, but it makes our query
easier to follow. The line starting with the CREATE
clause is where we are actually going to tell SQL to
create the new table, which is named orders.
Each table column has its own set of guidelines or

schema, and the lines of code above contained in
parenthesis () are telling SQL how to go about setting
up each column schema. Table columns are
presented in list format, and each schema is separated
with a comma (,). It isn't important to fully
understand exactly what all of these schema details
mean just yet. They will be explained in more detail
throughout the remainder of the tutorial. For now,
just take note that we are creating a new, empty SQL
table named orders, and this table is 5 columns wide.
SQL - INSERT DATA

into your New Table
Next, we will use SQL's INSERT command to draw
up a query that will insert a new data row into our
brand new SQL table, orders. If you're already
familiar with everything we've covered so far, please
execute the query below and then skip ahead and
start learning about other SQL Queries.
SQL Insert Query:

USE mydatabase;
INSERT INTO orders

(customer,day_of_order,product, quantity)
VALUES('Tizag','8/1/08','Pen',4);
SQL Insert Query Results:

(1 row(s) affected)
This message ("1 row(s) affected") indicates that our

query has run successfully and also informs us that 1
row has been affected by the query. This is the
desired result as our goal was to insert a single record
into the newly formed orders table.
Listed above is a typical INSERT query used to

insert data into the table we had previously created.
The first line ("USE mydatabase;") identifies the
query scope and the line after indicates what it is
we'd like SQL to do for us. ("INSERT INTO orders")
inserts data into the orders table. Then, we have to
list each table column by name
(customer,day_of_order,product, quantity) and
finally provide a list of values to insert into each
table column VALUES('Tizag','8/1/08','Pen',4).
You may notice that we have not included the id

column, and this is intentional. We have set this
column up in a way that allows SQL to populate this
field automatically, and therefore, we do not need to
worry about including it in any of our INSERT
statements. (More on this later.)
SQL - Queries
SQL coins the term query as the name for its
commands. Basically, all SQL code is written in the
form of a query statement and then executed against
a database. All SQL queries perform some type of
data operation such as selecting data,
inserting/updating data, or creating data objects such
as SQL databases and SQL tables. Each query
statement begins with a clause such as
SELECT,UPDATE, CREATE or DELETE.
SELECT queries are the most commonly used SQL
commands, so let's take a look at a SELECT query
that will return records from the orders table that we
created previously in the SQL Tables lesson.
SQL Query Code:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT * FROM orders;
SQL Query Results:

id customer day_of_order product quantity
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
We'll explain the mechanics of this code in the next

lesson. For now, just know that SELECT queries
essentially tell SQL to go and "fetch" table data for
your viewing pleasure.
Here's a look at a few different query types including

a INSERT and SELECT query we will be covering
in the next lesson, SQL Select.
SQL Query Examples:

-- Inserts data into a SQL Database/Table
INSERT INTO orders
VALUES('Tizag','8/1/08','Pen',4);
-- Selects data from a SQL Database/Table

SELECT * FROM orders;
-- Updates data in a Database/Table

UPDATE orders SET quantity = '6'
WHERE id = '1'
More information about these queries can be found at

the following links: SQL Insert, SQL Update, SQL
Delete
SQL - Query Structure
Review
Structurally, each SQL query we have seen in this
lesson are similar. Each start with a clause telling
SQL which operation to perform and the remaining
lines provide more detailed information as to how we
want SQL to go about performing each SQL
Command.
SQL - Select
SQL SELECT may be the most commonly used
command by SQL programmers. It is used to extract
data from databases and to present data in a user-
friendly table called the result set.
SQL Select Query Template:

SELECT table_column1, table_column2,
table_column3
FROM my_table;
Select queries require two essential parts. The first

part is the "WHAT", which determines what we
want SQL to go and fetch. The second part of any
SELECT command is the "FROM WHERE". It
identifies where to fetch the data from, which may be
from a SQL table, a SQL view, or some other SQL
data object.
Now we would like SQL to go and fetch some data

for us from the orders table that was created in the
previous lesson. How do we translate this request
into SQL code so that the database application does
all the work for us? Simple! We just need to tell SQL
what we want to select and from where to select the
data, by following the schema outlined below.
SQL Select Query Code:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT id, customer, day_of_order, product,
quantity
FROM orders;
SQL Orders Table Results:

2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
Below, we will manipulate the result output by

rearranging the list of table column names inside of
the SELECT statement.
SQL Select Query: Rearranged:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT day_of_order, customer, product,

quantity
FROM orders;
day_of_order customer product quantity
2008-08-01
Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
By rearranging the table column list inside the

SELECT statement, we altered the appearance of the
result set. Also, by not including the id column in the
list of table columns, SQL did not fetch any column
data for this column because we didn't ask SQL to do
so.
SQL - Select All (*)

"SELECT (*)" is a shortcut that can be used to select
all table columns rather than listing each of them by
name. Unfortunately, going this route doesn't allow
for you to alter the presentation of the results.
SQL Select All Query:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders;

2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
SQL - Selecting Data

The (*) query statement should be used with caution.
Using this against our little tutorial database will
surely do no harm, but using this query against an
extremely large database may not be the best
practice. Large databases may have web services or
applications attached to them, so frequently updating
and accessing large quantities data may temporarily
lock a table for fractions of a second or more. If this
disruption happens to occur just as some piece of
data is being updated, you may experience data
corruption.
Taking every precaution to avoid data corruption is

in your best interest as a new SQL programmer.
Corrupted data may be lost and never recovered, and
it can lead to even more corruption inside a database.
The best habits are to be as precise as possible, and in
the case of select statements, this often means
selecting minimal amounts of data when possible.
At this point, you should feel comfortable with

SELECT and how to look into your database and see
actual data rows residing inside of tables. This
knowledge will prove invaluable as your SQL skills
develop beyond the basics and as you begin to tackle
larger, more advanced SQL projects.
SQL - Where
The WHERE clause sets a conditional statement,
and it can be used with any type of SQL query. As
the select query executes, SQL processes one row at
a time. Each time the conditional statement is met
(returns true), a row is returned as a result. SQL
WHERE is essentially, a filtering mechanism for
SQL queries and is a tremendous asset to any
aspiring SQL developer.
SQL Where Query:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders
WHERE customer = 'Tizag'
As we take a look at the results, notice how only the

rows that meet the criteria (where the customer
column value is Tizag) are returned. In this example,
we are using the WHERE clause to filter out rows
and only selecting data that meets the conditional
statement.
SQL Results:
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
2008-08-01
2 Tizag Stapler 1
00:00:00.000
2008-07-25 19" LCD
5 Tizag 3
00:00:00.000 Screen
2008-07-25
6 Tizag HP Printer 2
00:00:00.000
Conditional statements are not unique to SQL, and

neither are operators. Operators are symbols such as
(=) or (<), and they are seen inside of conditional
statements and expressions in SQL and other
programming languages. While we're not going to
dive into much detail about the different kinds of
operators yet, it is a good idea to be familiar with
them and be able to recognize them inside of
conditional statements as we look over the next few
examples.
SQL - Where Queries

With the WHERE clause on our tool belts, we can be
more creative when querying for table rows. For
instance, there may come a time where we would like
to take a look at all the orders placed after a certain
date.
SQL Where Date Query:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders
WHERE day_of_order > '7/31/08'
This conditional statement will return only the orders

that have made it into the table since the end of July,
filtering out any orders in the table made prior to July
31st.
SQL Results:
i day_of_orde quantit
customer product
d r y
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
2008-08-01
2 Tizag Stapler 1
00:00:00.000
A+Maintenanc 2008-08-16 Hangin
3 12
e 00:00:00.000 g Files
19"
2008-08-15
4 Gerald Garner LCD 3
00:00:00.000
Screen
Notice how the date value is formatted inside the

conditional statement. We passed a value formatted
MM/DD/YY, and we've completely neglected the
hours, minutes, and seconds values, yet SQL is
intelligent enough to understand this. Therefore, our
query is successfully executed.
SQL - Where with

Multiple Conditionals
A WHERE statement can accept multiple conditional
statements. What this means is that we are able to
select rows meeting two different conditions at the
same time.
Perhaps the easiest way to go about this is to add

another condition to the previous example, where we
retrieved only the orders placed after July 31st. We
can take this example one step further and link two
conditional statements together with "AND".
SQL Where And:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders
AND customer = 'Tizag'
At this point, we have sent SQL two conditional

statements with a single WHERE clause, essentially
applying two filters to the expected result set.
SQL Results:
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
2008-08-01
2 Tizag Stapler 1
00:00:00.000
By applying the AND clause, SQL has now been

asked to return only rows that meet both conditional
statements. In this case, we would like to return all
orders that were made before July 31st and made by a
specific company - which is, in this case, Tizag. We
have more examples of SQL AND/OR. Just follow
the link.
SQL - As
SQL AS temporarily assigns a table column a new
name. This grants the SQL developer the ability to
make adjustments to the presentation of query results
and allow the developer to label results more
accurately without permanently renaming table
columns.
SQL Select As Code:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT day_of_order AS "Date",

customer As "Client",
product,
quantity
FROM orders;
Date Client product quantity
2008-08-01 00:00:00.000 Tizag Pen 4
SQL AS allows us to use any name at the

presentation level and helps the developer better
describe a column in the result set.
SQL Select Arithmetic Query:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT (5 + 12) AS "5 plus 12 is"
SQL Arithmetic Results:

5 plus 12 is
17
SQL - Operators
SQL operators are found in just about every SQL
query. Operators are the mathematical and equality
symbols used to compare, evaluate, or calculate
values. Equality operators include the (<), (>), and
(=) symbols, which are used to compare one value
against another. Each of these characters have special
meaning, and when SQL comes across them, they
help tell SQL how to evaluate an expression or
conditional statement. Most operators will appear
inside of conditional statements in the WHERE
clause of SQL Commands.
Operators come in three flavors: mathematical,

logical, and equality. Mathematical operators add,
subtract, multiply, and divide numbers. Logical
operators include AND and OR. Take note of the
following tables for future reference.
SQL operators are generally found inside of queries--
more specifically, in the conditional statements of the
WHERE clause.
SQL Equality Operator Query:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT customer,day_of_order
FROM orders
Sql Equality Operator:

customer day_of_order
Tizag 2008-08-01 00:00:00.000
Tizag 2008-08-01 00:00:00.000
In this case, we've used the equality operator greater

than (>) to return orders from the orders table with a
date greater than '7/31/08'.
SQL - Equality Operator
Table
Equality involves comparing two values. To do so
requires the use of the (<), (>), or (=) special
characters. Does X = Y? Is Y < X? These are both
questions that can be answered using a SQL Equality
Operator expression.
SQL Equality Operators:

Operator Example Defined Result
=, IS 5=5 5 equal to 5? True
!=, IS 7 IS NOT (!=) equal to
7 != 2 True
NOT 2?
< 7<4 7 less than 4? False
> 7>4 greater than 4? True
Is 7 less than or equal to
<= 7 <= 11 True
11?
Is 7 greater than or
>= 7 >= 11 False
equal to 11?
SQL - Mathematical
Operators
SQL mathematical operations are performed using
mathematical operators (+, -, *, /, and %). We can
use SQL like a calculator to get a feel for how these
operators work.
SQL Mathematical Operators:

SELECT
15 + 4, --Addition
15 - 4, --Subtraction
15 * 4, --Multiplication
15 / 5, -- Division
15 % 4; --Modulus
SQL Results:
Additio Subtractio Multiplicati Divisio Modulu
n n on n s
19 11 60 3 3
Modulus may be the only unfamiliar term on the

chart. Modulus performs division, dividing the first
digit by the second digit, but instead of returning a
quotient, a "remainder" value is returned instead.
Modulus Example:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT (5 / 2) -- = 2.5
SELECT (5 % 2) -- = 1 is the value that
will be returned
SQL - Logical Operators

These operators provide you with a way to specify
exactly what you want SQL to go and fetch, and you
may be as specific as you'd like! We'll discuss these a
little later on and provide some real world scenarios
as well.
We cover these operators thoroughly in the SQL

AND/OR lesson.
 AND - Compares/Associates two values or

expressions
 OR - Compares/Associates two values or
expressions
SQL - Create
SQL CREATE is the command used to create data
objects, including everything from new databases
and tables to views and stored procedures. In this
lesson, we will be taking a closer look at how table
creation is executed in the SQL world and offer some
examples of the different types of data a SQL table
can hold, such as dates, number values, and texts.
To accomplish this, it is best to first take a look at the
entire CREATE TABLE query and then review each
line individually.
SQL Create Table Code:

USE mydatabase;
CREATE TABLE inventory

(
id INT IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY,
product VARCHAR(50) UNIQUE,
quantity INT,
price DECIMAL(18,2)
);
Line 1 identifies the scope of the query specifying a

target database for query execution (USE
mydatabase) and we've seen it before so let's skip
ahead to the next line, line 2 (CREATE TABLE
inventory). This line informs SQL of the plan to
create a new table using the CREATE clause and
specifies the name of the new table (inventory). In
this case, we plan on creating an inventory table to
maintain a current inventory of store items for an
imaginary e-commerce web site.
SQL Create Line 3:

Line 3 should appear more foreign as there is a lot of

information embedded in this line, but it is not as
hard as it seems. This is the first line that declares
how to set up the first table column inside the new
inventory table.
 id = The name of this new table column.

 INT = The data type. INT is short for integer.
The first word, id, is the name of this new column

and the second word declares the data type, INT
(integers). SQL will now expect this table column to
house only integer data type values.
 IDENTITY (1,1) = The id column will be an

identity column.
The next phrase, IDENTITY (1, 1) is a very special
attribute and when a table column is marked as an
identity column, the column essentially turns into an
automated counter. As new rows are inserted into the
table, this column value will automatically increment
(count up). The parameters (1,1) tell SQL which
number to start counting from and by how many to
increment each value. In this case, we'll start with 1,
and increment by 1 each time a new row is inserted
into our database. For example, the first INSERT
command run against the inventory table will have an
id value of 1, and each consecutive row inserted
thereafter will increment by one (1, 2, 3, 4 ... etc).
This identity table column is essentially counting
each inserted row and also ensuring that we have a
unique identifier value. This is important since this
column has also been identified as a primary key (see
below).
 PRIMARY KEY = This places a restraint on

this column (no duplicate values)
Bringing up the tail-end of Line 3 is reserved for
specifying any unique attributes to associate with this
table column. In this case, we have told SQL that this
column will act as the PRIMARY KEY for the
inventory table. Declaring this column as the
PRIMARY KEY places a restraint on this column
meaning no duplicate values may exist in this column
and SQL will throw an error message if an attempt is
made to enter duplicate data. Since this row is set to
automatically increment each time a new record is
added, we know that this column will always be a
unique value.
SQL Create Line 4:

Line 4 specifies the name and type of the second

column in the inventory table. Product stands for the
inventory table product name and this column is set
as a VARCHAR(50), which means it will be able to
handle numbers, letters, and special characters as
values. In other words, "Any words, numbers, or
special characters can be placed into this column
value, with a 50 character limit."
The UNIQUE attribute tells SQL that this table

column must be a UNIQUE value at all times. This
restraint will stop us from accidentally inserting
duplicate records for the same product, which will
serve as an aid to us to help maintain data integrity.
SQL Create Line 5,6:

quantity INT,
price DECIMAL(18,2)
Now that you are more familiar with the structure of

this query, lines 5 and 6 should look less like a
foreign language and more like SQL code. These
lines are creating two more table columns: quantity
and price. Since the price column will be dealing
with decimals, we have set this column to a
DECIMAL data type to handle decimals (sometimes
called floating point numbers).
And there you have it, here's another look at the
query:
SQL Create Table Query:

USE mydatabase;
CREATE TABLE inventory

(
quantity INT,
price DECIMAL(18,2)
);
This SQL command will create a new, empty table

called inventory, where we will begin to capture store
inventory data to keep track of the price and current
stock of items for our make believe online store.
At this point, this table has been created but remains

empty, containing no data. Let's go ahead and add
some records into this table so that we can then use
this table to further our learning of SQL. Since we
are now already familiar with the INSERT
command, we can run the following commands all at
once, so feel free to copy and paste this code into the
query window and execute.
SQL Insert Into:

USE mydatabase;
INSERT INTO inventory

VALUES('19" LCD Screen','25','179.99');
VALUES('HP Printer','9','89.99');
VALUES('Pen','78','0.99');
VALUES('Stapler','3','7.99');
VALUES('Hanging Files','33','14.99');
VALUES('Laptop','16','499.99');
Successful execution of the above query should yield

messages indicating that the queries have run
successfully.
SQL Results:
(1 row(s) affected)
(1 row(s) affected)
(1 row(s) affected)
(1 row(s) affected)
(1 row(s) affected)
(1 row(s) affected)
We can double-check the results by running a

SELECT (*) query and doing so will retrieve all
records SQL has stored inside the inventory table.
SQL Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM inventory;
SQL Results:
id product quantity price
1 19" LCD Screen 25 179.99
2 HP Printer 9 89.99
3 Pen 78 0.99
4 Stapler 3 7.99
5 Hanging Files 33 14.99
6 Laptop 16 499.99
In creating this new table with data that relates to

data inside the orders table, you have unknowingly
created a relational database. We can now take a
list of items ordered by our customers and verify that
these items are in stock as purchases continue to flow
in, so long as we maintain an up-to-date inventory
table.
This is terrific news as you are now well on your way

to take your SQL programming skills to the next
level!
SQL - Insert
To use the INSERT command, we must first have an
understanding of where we would like to insert data
and what types of data we want to insert. Do we plan
on inserting numbers? Strings? Files? Let's return to
the orders table we created in an earlier lesson.
SQL tables store data in rows, one row after another.

The INSERT command is the command used to
insert new data (a new row) into a table by specifying
a list of values to be inserted into each table column.
The arrangement of values is important, and how
they are arranged in the code corresponds to how the
data values will be arranged in the the SQL table.
 id - (identity, integer)
 customer - (customer name, character string)
 day_of_order - (date value)
 product - (name of product, character string)
 quantity - (quantity, integer)
Looking at the column names alone will give you an

idea of what type of data each column is expected to
hold. The quantity column, for example, is expecting
a number or integer of some sort and the
day_of_order column is expecting a date value to be
inserted.
SQL Insert Query:

USE mydatabase;
INSERT INTO orders

VALUES('Tizag','8/1/08','Stapler',1);
SQL Insert Results:

(1 row(s) affected)
You may notice that the id column has been left out
of the query statement. The reason behind this is that
when we created the orders table, we gave the id
column a unique attribute called identity. SQL
handles identity columns automatically for us and
therefore, we do not need to manually insert data into
this column.
The first value Tizag corresponds with the customer

table column. This ensures SQL will insert this value
into the corresponding table column.
Now when we run the SELECT (*) query, SQL

should return two rows with our statement instead of
only a single row.
Verification Query:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders;
SQL Results:
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
2008-08-01
2 Tizag Stapler 1
00:00:00.000
SQL - Inserting Values

As a shortcut, you may omit the table columns
entirely and only supply the values in the INSERT
statement:
SQL Insert Shortcut:

USE mydatabase;
INSERT INTO orders

VALUES('A+Maintenance','8/16/08','Hanging
Files',12);
Again, we can skip the id column because SQL is
able to identify that this column is an identity
column and handle it accordingly.
SQL Results:
customer product
d r y
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
2008-08-01
2 Tizag Stapler 1
00:00:00.000
3 12
e 00:00:00.000 g Files
Before moving on, let's add some more rows and

execute some more INSERT queries. If you are
using SQL Express, you should be able to copy the
entire code section below and execute all the queries
at once and then track the results with the verification
query (SELECT * FROM orders).
SQL Inserts:
USE myDatabase;
INSERT INTO orders

VALUES('Gerald Garner','8/15/08','19" LCD
Screen',3)
INSERT INTO orders
VALUES('Tizag','7/25/08','19" LCD
Screen',3);
INSERT INTO orders
VALUES('Tizag','7/25/08','HP Printer',2);
Final Results:
customer product
d r y
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
2008-08-01
2 Tizag Stapler 1
00:00:00.000
3 12
e 00:00:00.000 g Files
19"
2008-08-15
00:00:00.000
Screen
19"
2008-07-25
5 Tizag LCD 3
00:00:00.000
Screen
2008-07-25 HP
6 Tizag 2
00:00:00.000 Printer
SQL - And
SQL AND links together two or more conditional
statements for increased filtering when running SQL
commands. AND helps the developer query for very
specific records while answering questions like, "I
want to view all orders made by a certain customer
AND made on a special date." There is no limit to
the number of AND/OR conditions that can be
applied to a query utilizing the WHERE clause. This
makes it possible for the developer to be as precise as
needed when querying for results.
SQL And Code:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders
AND day_of_order = '08/01/08'
AND product = 'Pen';
SQL Results:
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
This example illustrates how SQL AND combines

multiple conditional statements (3 total now) into a
single condition with multiple circumstances (filters).
Each filter removes rows from the result set that
doesn't meet the condition.
SQL - Or
SQL OR also applies logic to help filter results. The
difference is that instead of linking together
conditional statements, an OR condition just asks
SQL to look for 2 separate conditions within the
same query and return any records/rows matching
either of the conditions.
SQL Or Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders
WHERE product = 'Pen'
OR product = '19" LCD Screen';
SQL Results:
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
Gerald 2008-08-15 19" LCD
4 3
Garner 00:00:00.000 Screen
2008-07-25 19" LCD
5 Tizag 3
00:00:00.000 Screen
The first record returned matches the first condition

since the product = 'Pen'. The two records after that
match the other condition; the product in each of
those orders is the '19" LCD Screen'. This type of
logic allows the developer to filter results based on
one or more conditions.
SQL AND allows the developer to query for more

specific data by linking together conditional
statements. On the other end of the spectrum, SQL
OR creates a new, independent condition not linked
to any other conditional statement.
SQL - And / Or
Combination
Conditional statements can be grouped together using
parentheses (). Doing so links together conditions
and provides robust solutions for data querying.
SQL And/Or Code:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders
WHERE (quantity > 2 AND customer = 'Tizag')
OR (quantity > 0 AND customer = 'Gerald
Garner')
By encapsulating the first two conditions (quantity >

2 AND customer = 'Tizag') SQL now treats this as a
single condition, and the same is true for the next
line. These two conditions have been linked together
with the OR operator, creating very unique behavior.
SQL is now looking for rows where the customer is

Tizag AND the quantity is more than 2, and ALSO
looking for rows where the customer is Gerald
Garner AND the quantity is greater than 0. All rows
meeting either condition will be returned as
demonstrated in our results below.
SQL Results:
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
Gerald 2008-08-15 19" LCD
4 3
Garner 00:00:00.000 Screen
2008-07-25 19" LCD
5 Tizag 3
00:00:00.000 Screen
SQL - Between
BETWEEN is a conditional statement found in the
WHERE clause. It is used to query for table rows
that meet a condition falling between a specified
range of numeric values. It would be used to answer
questions like, "How many orders did we receive
BETWEEN July 20th and August 5th?"
SQL Select Between:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders
WHERE day_of_order BETWEEN '7/20/08' AND
'8/05/08';
SQL Results:
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
2008-08-01
2 Tizag Stapler 1
00:00:00.000
2008-07-25 19" LCD
5 Tizag 3
00:00:00.000 Screen
2008-07-25
00:00:00.000
BETWEEN essentially combines two conditional

statements into one and simplifies the querying
process for you. To understand exactly what we
mean, we could create another query without using
the BETWEEN condition and still come up with the
same results, (using AND instead).
SQL Select Between:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders
WHERE day_of_order >= '7/20/08'
AND day_of_order <= '8/05/08';
SQL Results:
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
2008-08-01
2 Tizag Stapler 1
00:00:00.000
2008-07-25 19" LCD
5 Tizag 3
00:00:00.000 Screen
2008-07-25
00:00:00.000
As you can see from comparing the results of these

two queries, we are able to retrieve the same data, but
you may find BETWEEN easier to use and less
cumbersome than writing two different conditional
statements. In the end, the preference is really up to
the individual writing the SQL Code.
SQL - Order By
ORDER BY is the SQL command used to sort rows
as they are returned from a SELECT query. SQL
order by command may be added to the end of any
select query and it requires at least one table column
to be specified in order for SQL to sort the results.
SQL Order by query:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders
ORDER BY day_of_order;
Executing this query should offer a list of orders
made by Tizag and you may noticed that the result
set has now been sorted (low to high) according to
the date value. In other words, the oldest order to the
newest order.
SQL Results:
2008-07-25 19" LCD
5 Tizag 3
00:00:00.000 Screen
2008-07-25
00:00:00.000
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
2008-08-01
2 Tizag Stapler 1
00:00:00.000
SQL - Ascending
Descending
The default sort order for ORDER BY is an
ascending list, [a - z] for characters or [0 - 9] for
numbers. As an alternative to the default sorting for
our results, which is ASCENDING (ASC), we can
instead tell SQL to order the table columns in a
DESCENDING (DESC) fashion [z-a].
SQL Order by Descending:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders
ORDER BY day_of_order DESC
SQL Results:
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
2008-08-01
2 Tizag Stapler 1
00:00:00.000
2008-07-25 19" LCD
5 Tizag 3
00:00:00.000 Screen
2008-07-25
00:00:00.000
If you compare these results to the results above, you

should notice that we've pulled the same information
but it is now arranged in a reverse (descending)
order.
SQL - Sorting on
Multiple Columns
Results may be sorted on more than one column by
listing multiple column names in the ORDER BY
clause, similar to how we would list column names in
each SELECT statement.
SQL Order by Multiple columns:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders
ORDER BY customer, day_of_order;
This query should alphabetize by customer, grouping

together orders made by the same customer and then
by the purchase date. SQL sorts according to how the
column names are listed in the ORDER BY clause.
SQL Results:
customer product
d r y
3 12
e 00:00:00.000 g Files
19"
2008-08-15
00:00:00.000
Screen
19"
2008-07-25
5 Tizag LCD 3
00:00:00.000
Screen
2008-07-25 HP
6 Tizag 2
00:00:00.000 Printer
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
2008-08-01
2 Tizag Stapler 1
00:00:00.000
SQL - Update
SQL UPDATE is the command used to update
existing table rows with new data values. UPDATE
is a very powerful command in the SQL world. It has
the ability to update every single row in a database
with the execution of only a single query. Due to
UPDATE's supreme authority, it is in your best
interest to always include a WHERE clause when
working with UPDATE query statements. That way,
you will not accidentally update more rows than you
intend to.
Execute the following UPDATE command to update

the customer orders table. Since we've provided a
WHERE condition with this update command, this
update will only modify rows that match the
condition and in this case it happens to be order
number 1 made by Tizag. This update should
increase the quantity from 4 Pens to 6 Pens for
Tizag's first order.
SQL Update Query:

USE mydatabase;
UPDATE orders
SET quantity = '6'
WHERE id = '1'
SQL Results:
(1 row(s) affected)
Let's verify our results by selecting this row from the

orders table.
SQL Verification Query:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders
WHERE id = '1'
SQL Results:
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 6
00:00:00.000
The orders table now indicates that the customer

Tizag will be ordering 6 Pens instead of 4. If the
WHERE condition is removed from this statement,
SQL would modify every row with the new quantity
value of 6 instead of just the single row that meets
the condition of id = "1". SQL UPDATE replaces
data, much like overwriting a previously saved file
on a computer hard drive. Once you click "Save," the
old file is lost and replaced with the new file. Once
an UPDATE command has been executed, the old
data values are lost, being overwritten by the new
value.
SQL - Update
Incrementing a Value
In the previous example, an order quantity was
updated from 4 to 6. Say what we really wanted to do
was not necessarily change it to 6, but to add 2 to the
original order quantity. Updating the order quantity
from 4 to 6 might have gotten the job done in that
scenario, but that solution doesn't scale well. In the
long run, we wouldn't get very much "bang for our
buck," as they say.
So, perhaps a better way to tackle the same problem

would be to increment the existing value (add 2)
rather than updating with a single, static value. So,
instead of setting the quantity table column to a
specific value of 6, we can send it the current table
column value directly and then add 2 to that already
existing value.
SQL Update Code:

USE mydatabase;
UPDATE orders
SET quantity = (quantity + 2)
WHERE id = '1'
SQL Results:
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 8
00:00:00.000
Executing this update statement instead of the first

update query is a huge timesaver. We no longer need
to know the quantity of the order beforehand and we
can add or subtract values from it in its current state.
All we need to know is that we need to add 2 more to
the quantity column to update the order correctly.
This query is also more scalable, meaning we can
update many rows at once. We will do so in the next
example.
SQL - Update Multiple

Rows
As mentioned earlier, removing the WHERE clause
from any UPDATE command is generally not a good
idea since doing so will result in SQL updating every
row in the table. However, since the intention of this
next example is to update multiple rows, let's go
ahead and remove the WHERE clause from the
above example.
SQL Update Multiple Rows:

USE mydatabase;
UPDATE orders
SET quantity = (quantity + 2)
SQL Results:
(6 row(s) affected)
SQL Results:
i customer day_of_orde product quantit
d r y
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 10
00:00:00.000
2008-08-01
2 Tizag Stapler 3
00:00:00.000
3 14
e 00:00:00.000 g Files
19"
2008-08-15
00:00:00.000
Screen
19"
2008-07-25
5 Tizag LCD 5
00:00:00.000
Screen
2008-07-25 HP
6 Tizag 4
00:00:00.000 Printer
SQL Update Multiple

Values
SQL UPDATE can also be utilized to change
multiple column values at once. Once again, let's
update the same order id (1) changing the quantity of
products ordered. But let's also take it another step
further, by changing the quantity only when the
products are Hanging Files.
SQL Update Multiple Values:

USE mydatabase;
UPDATE orders
SET quantity = '11',
Product = 'Hanging Files'
WHERE id = '1'
SQL Results:
2008-08-01 Hanging
1 Tizag 11
00:00:00.000 Files
The results show that we have successfully updated
an order (order id 1). Notice that after the SET
keyword, the column and value sets are listed with
each column/value pair being separated with a
comma (,).
SQL - Alter
SQL ALTER is the command used to add, edit, and
modify data objects like tables, databases, and views.
ALTER is the command responsible for making table
column adjustments or renaming table columns. New
table columns can also be added and dropped from
existing SQL tables.
SQL Add:
USE mydatabase;
ALTER TABLE orders

ADD discount VARCHAR(10);
SQL Results:
i day_of_or produ quanti discou
customer
d der ct ty nt
2008-08-01
1 Tizag 00:00:00.0 Pen 8 NULL
00
2008-08-01
2 Tizag 00:00:00.0 Stapler 3 NULL
00
2008-08-16 Hangi
A+Maintena
3 00:00:00.0 ng 14 NULL
nce
00 Files
2008-08-15 19"
Gerald
4 00:00:00.0 LCD 5 NULL
Garner
00 Screen
2008-07-25 19"
5 Tizag 00:00:00.0 LCD 5 NULL
00 Screen
2008-07-25
HP
6 Tizag 00:00:00.0 4 NULL
Printer
00
As you can see from the results panel, SQL has

added an additional column, discount, to the orders
table. Since this column was just created, it contains
no data, and only NULL values have been returned.
SQL - Alter Table:

Modify Column
SQL table columns can be altered and changed using
the MODIFY COLUMN command. This allows the
developer the opportunity to mold table columns or
adjust settings as needed.
SQL Modify Column:

USE mydatabase;
ALTER TABLE orders
ALTER COLUMN discount DECIMAL(18,2);
Above, we have modified the new discount table

column changing the column data type from a
varchar to a decimal table column. This example can
be expanded to modify table columns as needed by
the developer.
SQL - SQL Alter Table:

Drop
This column can be deleted using the SQL DROP
command. Once this column has been dropped,
however, the data stored inside of it will be lost
forever. Proceed with caution!
SQL Drop Column Code:

USE mydatabase;
ALTER TABLE orders

DROP COLUMN discount;
SQL - Distinct
SQL SELECT DISTINCT is a very useful way to
eliminate retrieving duplicate data reserved for very
specific situations. To understand when to use the
DISTINCT command, let's look at a real world
example where this tool will certainly come in
handy.
If you've been following along in the tutorial, we

have created an orders table with some data inside
that represents different orders made by some of our
very loyal customers over a given time period. Let's
pretend that we have just heard word from our
preferred shipping agent that orders made in August
require no shipping charges, and we now have to
notify our customers. We do not want to send mailers
to all of our customers, just the ones that have placed
orders in August. Also, we want to avoid retrieving
duplicate customers as our customers may have
placed more than one order during the month of
August.
We can write a very simple SQL query to extract this

information from the orders table:
SQL Select Distinct:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT DISTINCT customer

FROM orders
WHERE day_of_order BETWEEN '7/31/08' AND
'9/1/08';
SQL Results:
customer
A+Maintenance
Gerald Garner
Tizag
Running this query yields a list of all the customer's

affected by our unexpected news from the shipping
agency. With this list, we can now go about
contacting each of these customers and informing
them of the good news without worrying about
contacting the same customer multiple times.
SQL - Subqueries
Subqueries are query statements tucked inside of
query statements. Like the order of operations from
your high school Algebra class, order of operations
also come into play when you start to embed SQL
commands inside of other SQL commands
(subqueries). Let's take a look at a real world
example involving the orders table and figure out
how to select only the most recent order(s) in our
orders table.
To accomplish this, we are first going to introduce a
built-in SQL function, MAX(). This function wraps
around a table column and quickly returns the current
highest (max) value for the specified column. We are
going to use this function to return the current
"highest", aka most recent date value in the orders
table.
SQL Subquery Preview:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT MAX(day_of_order)
FROM orders
SQL Results:
day_of_order
2008-08-16 00:00:00.000
Now we can throw this query into the WHERE
clause of another SELECT query and obtain the
results to our little dilemma.
SQL Select Subquery Code:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders
WHERE day_of_order = (SELECT
MAX(day_of_order) FROM orders)
:
customer product
d r y
3 14
e 00:00:00.000 g Files
This query is a dynamic query as it pulls current

information and will change if a new order is placed.
Utilizing a subquery we were able to build a dynamic
and robust solution for providing us with current
order information.
SQL - Join
SQL JOIN joins together two tables on a matching
table column, ultimately forming one single
temporary table. The key word here is temporary.
The tables themselves remain intact, and running a
JOIN query does not in any way change the data or
table structure. JOIN is another way to select
specific data from two or more relational tables.
In order to perform a JOIN query, we need a few

pieces of information: the name of the table and table
column we want to join on and a condition to meet
for the JOIN to happen. This should sound a little
confusing as there is much going on in a JOIN
query, so let's take a look at an example:
SQL Join Query Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders
JOIN inventory
ON orders.product = inventory.product;
SQL Join Results:

i custome day_of_ prod quan i prod quan pri
dr order uct tity d uct tity ce
2008-
Han Han
08-01 14.
1 Tizag ging 11 5 ging 33
00:00:0 99
Files Files
0.000
2008-
08-01 Stapl Stapl 7.9
2 Tizag 3 4 3
00:00:0 er er 9
0.000
3 A+Maint 2008- Han 14 5 Han 33 14.
enance 08-16 ging ging 99
00:00:0 Files Files
0.000
2008- 19" 19"
Gerald 08-15 LCD LCD 179
4 5 1 25
Garner 00:00:0 Scre Scre .99
0.000 en en
2008- 19" 19"
07-25 LCD LCD 179
5 Tizag 5 1 25
00:00:0 Scre Scre .99
0.000 en en
2008-
HP HP
07-25 89.
6 Tizag Print 4 2 Print 9
00:00:0 99
er er
0.000
The line beginning with JOIN (Line 4) is where we

tell SQL which table we would like to join. The next
line (Line 5) is a different story. Here is where we
have specified the condition to JOIN ON. In this
case, both tables have identical product columns
which makes them an ideal target for a join.
Basically we are temporarily merging the tables
connecting them where they match, the product
column.
This type of join matches values from one table

column with a corresponding value in another table
and uses that match to merge the tables together. In
our make-believe store world, this let's us join the
inventory table with the orders table to show us all
the items we currently have in stock for our
customers and also the price of each item.
Let's rework this query a bit and strip away a few of

the table columns to make our results easier to read
and understand. We will replace the (*) parameter
with a list containing only the table columns we are
interested in viewing.
SQL Join:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT orders.customer,
orders.day_of_order,
orders.product,
orders.quantity as number_ordered,
inventory.quantity as number_instock,
inventory.price
FROM orders
JOIN inventory
ON orders.product = inventory.product
SQL Results:
custome day_of_ prod number_ number_i pri
r order uct ordered nstock ce
2008-
Han
08-01 14.
Tizag ging 11 33
00:00:0 99
Files
0.000
2008-
08-01 Stapl 7.9
Tizag 3 3
00:00:0 er 9
0.000
A+Maint 2008- Han 14.
14 33
enance 08-16 ging 99
00:00:0 Files
0.000
2008- 19"
Gerald 08-15 LCD 179
5 25
Garner 00:00:0 Scre .99
0.000 en
2008- 19"
07-25 LCD 179
Tizag 5 25
00:00:0 Scre .99
0.000 en
2008-
HP
07-25 89.
Tizag Print 4 9
00:00:0 99
er
0.000
Since we have one column in each table named the

same thing (quantity), we used AS to modify how
these columns would be named when our results
were returned. These results should be more
satisfying and easier to read now that we have
removed some of the unnecessary columns.
SQL - Right Join
RIGHT JOIN is another method of JOIN we can use
to join together tables, but its behavior is slightly
different. We still need to join the tables together
based on a conditional statement. The difference is
that instead of returning ONLY rows where a join
occurs, SQL will list EVERY row that exists on the
right side, (The JOINED table).
SQL - Right Join:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders
RIGHT JOIN inventory
SQL Results:
id custome day_of pro qua i pro qua pri
r _order duct ntity d duct ntity ce
19" 19"
2008-
LC LC
Gerald 08-15 179
4 D 5 1D 25
Garner 00:00:0 .99
Scre Scre
0.000
en en
19" 19"
2008-
LC LC
07-25 179
5 Tizag D 5 1D 25
00:00:0 .99
Scre Scre
0.000
en en
2008-
HP HP
07-25 89.
6 Tizag Print 4 2 Print 9
00:00:0 99
er er
0.000
NU NU NU 0.9
NULL NULL 3 Pen 78
LL LL LL 9
2008-
08-01 Stap Stap 7.9
2 Tizag 3 4 3
00:00:0 ler ler 9
0.000
2008-
Han Han
08-01 14.
1 Tizag ging 11 5 ging 33
00:00:0 99
Files Files
0.000
2008-
Han Han
A+Main 08-16 14.
3 ging 14 5 ging 33
tenance 00:00:0 99
Files Files
0.000
NU NU NU Lapt 499
NULL NULL 6 16
LL LL LL op .99
You should see a new row at the bottom of the

results box with a bunch of NULL values. This is a
result of the RIGHT JOIN and is the intended result
from running the query. We end up with an extra row
because inside of the inventory table, the Laptop item
was not joined with a product from the orders table.
This just means that we have not sold a laptop as of
yet and it shouldn't be much a surprise since we
already know from querying the orders table in
previous lessons that there have been no laptop
orders so far.
By specifying RIGHT JOIN, we have told SQL to
join together the tables even if no matches are found
in the conditional statement. All records that exist in
the table on the right side of the conditional
statement (ON orders.product = inventory.product)
will be returned and NULL values will be placed on
the left if no matches are found.
SQL - Left Join

SQL LEFT JOIN works exactly the same way as
RIGHT JOIN except that they are opposites. NULL
values will appear on the right instead of the left and
all rows from the table on the left hand side of the
conditional will be returned.
Unfortunately, we will not be able to show a very

intuitive example of a LEFT JOIN because of how
our tables are structured. The orders table should
always have a matching inventory item and if not,
that means we are in big trouble as we could be
selling items we do not carry in inventory. For good
measure, here's what a LEFT JOIN would look like:
SQL Left Join:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders
LEFT JOIN inventory
SQL JOIN is intended to bring together data from

two tables to form a single larger table, and often, it
will paint a more detailed picture of what the data
represents. By merging these two data sets, we were
able to peer into our database and ensure that each
item ordered so far is in stock and ready to be
shipped to our customers.
SQL - In
SQL IN is an operator used to pull data matching a
list of values. A scenario where this proves useful
would be if we wanted to retrieve customer data for
two or more customers. We can use the IN operator
to specify a list of customer names, and SQL will
retrieve rows reflecting every customer in the list.
Inside the query statement itself, the word "IN"

replaces the (=) operator after the WHERE
declarative and slightly alters the meaning as well.
Instead of listing a single value, you may list multiple
values and SQL will retrieve the results for each
value listed.
SQL In:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders
WHERE customer IN ('Gerald
Garner','A+Maintenance');
SQL Results:
customer product
d r y
3 14
e 00:00:00.000 g Files
19"
2008-08-15
00:00:00.000
Screen
The results provide a list of all customer orders made

by each of the customer names we have listed inside
the IN clause ('Gerald Garner','A+Maintenance').
This is a great way to query for all orders made by a
handful of different customers as we can see
everything these particular customers have ordered
thus far.
The real power of this condition comes to life when

used with a subquery that retrieves a list of values.
Running any SELECT query returns results in list
format. And as we mentioned just a few short
moments ago, this list can then be passed as a list for
the IN clause using a subquery.
Let's adjust the previous example to only retrieve

only the products column, as opposed to retrieving
all columns (*).
SQL In:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT product
FROM orders
Garner','A+Maintenance');
Results:
product
Hanging Files
19" LCD Screen
Our results represent a query run to achieve a list of
products sold to two of our customers. Now let's
convert this query to a subquery and use this query as
an input list to check the inventory table to see if we
have any of these items in stock.
SQL In:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM inventory
WHERE product in
(SELECT product
FROM orders
Garner','A+Maintenance'));
SQL Results:
id product inventory price
1 19" LCD Screen 25 179.99
By specifying a sub query as our list of values we
were able to take advantage of the relationship our
tables have with each other and create a very
dynamic query. This query saves us the time of
scrolling through the entire inventory table and
checking the stock of each item purchased by any of
our recent customers.
SQL - Not In
SQL NOT IN, as you may have guessed, allows the
developer to eliminate a list of specific values from
the result set.
SQL Not In:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM inventory
WHERE product NOT IN
(SELECT product
FROM orders
Garner','A+Maintenance'));
SQL Results:
3 Pen 78 0.99
4 Stapler 3 7.99
6 Laptop 16 499.99
SQL - Case
SQL CASE is a very unique conditional statement
providing if/then/else logic for any ordinary SQL
command, such as SELECT or UPDATE. It then
provides when-then-else functionality (WHEN this
condition is met THEN do_this).
This functionality provides the developer the ability
to manipulate the presentation of the data without
actually updating or changing the data as it exists
inside the SQL table.
SQL Select Case Code:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT product,
'Status' = CASE
WHEN quantity > 0 THEN 'in stock'
ELSE 'out of stock'
END
FROM dbo.inventory;
SQL Results:
product Status
19" LCD Screen in stock
HP Printer in stock
Pen in stock
Stapler in stock
Hanging Files in stock
Laptop in stock
Using the CASE command, we've successfully

masked the actual value of the product inventory
without actually altering any data. This would be a
great way to implement some feature in an online
catalog to allow users to check the status of items
without disclosing the actual amount of inventory the
store currently has in stock.
SQL - Case: Real World

Example
As a store owner, there might be a time when you
would like to offer sale prices for products. This is a
perfect opportunity to write a CASE query and alter
the inventory sale prices at the presentation level
rather than actually changing the price inside of the
inventory table. CASE provides a way for the store
owner to mask the data but still present it in a useful
format.
Let's back up a second and pull a listing of our recent

orders and join this with the inventory table so that
the results contain both the quantity of items
purchased and the price from the inventory table. To
accomplish this we will need to first write a SQL
JOIN query.
SQL Join Query:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT dbo.orders.id,
dbo.orders.customer,
dbo.orders.quantity,
dbo.inventory.product,
dbo.inventory.price
FROM orders
JOIN inventory
In order to provide results that are much clearer,
we've moved away from selecting every column with
(*). Instead, we've listed each column that will be of
use for the next few steps. Also, let's plan on offering
a 25% off sale on these items.
SQL Results:
id customer quantity product price
1 Tizag 11 Hanging Files 14.99
2 Tizag 3 Stapler 7.99
3 A+Maintenance 14 Hanging Files 14.99
19" LCD
4 Gerald Garner 5 179.99
Screen
19" LCD
5 Tizag 5 179.99
Screen
6 Tizag 4 HP Printer 89.99
Next we need to look at reducing the prices of the

items according to our sale price. For the purpose of
this exercise, let's offer a 25% discount on all our
currently pending orders using a SQL CASE query.
SQL Select Case Code:

USE mydatabase;
dbo.inventory.price,
'SALE_PRICE' = CASE
WHEN price > 0 THEN (price * .75)
END
FROM orders
JOIN inventory
Multiplying the current price by .75 reduces the price

by approximately 25%, successfully applying the
changes we would like to see but doing so without
actually changing any data.
SQL Results:
i quanti produ SALE_PRI
customer price
d ty ct CE
Hangi
1 Tizag 11 ng 14.99 11.2425
Files
2 Tizag 3 Stapler 7.99 5.9925
Hangi
A+Maintena
3 14 ng 14.99 11.2425
nce
Files
19"
Gerald 179.9
4 5 LCD 134.9925
Garner 9
Screen
19"
179.9
5 Tizag 5 LCD 134.9925
9
Screen
HP
6 Tizag 4 89.99 67.4925
Printer
The results speak for themselves as the records

returned indicate a new table column with the
calculated sales price now listed at the end of each
row.
Since SQL CASE offers a conditional statement

(price > 0), it wouldn't take much more effort to
create some conditional statements based on how
many products each customer had ordered and offer
different discounts based on the volume of a
customer order.
For instance, as a web-company, maybe we would

like to offer an additional 10% discount to orders
totaling more than $100. We could accomplish this in
a very similar fashion.
SQL Results:
USE mydatabase;
dbo.inventory.price,
'SALE_PRICE' = CASE
WHEN (orders.quantity * price) >
100 THEN (price * .65)
ELSE (price * .75)
END
FROM orders
JOIN inventory
:
i quanti produ SALE_PRI
customer price
d ty ct CE
Hangi
1 Tizag 11 ng 14.99 9.7435
Files
Staple
2 Tizag 3 7.99 5.9925
r
Hangi
A+Maintena
3 14 ng 14.99 9.7435
nce
Files
4 Gerald 5 19" 116.99 134.9925
Garner LCD 35
Screen
19"
5 Tizag 5 LCD 179.99 116.9935
Screen
HP
6 Tizag 4 89.99 58.4935
Printer
With this query, we have now successfully reduced

all orders by 25% and also applied an additional 10%
discount to any order totaling over $100.00.
In each of the examples above, SQL CASE has been

utilized to perform presentation level adjustments on
data values and its versatility provides limitless
results.
SQL - Group By
SQL GROUP BY aggregates (consolidates and
calculates) column values into a single record value.
GROUP BY requires a list of table columns on which
to run the calculations. At first, this behavior will
resemble the SELECT DISTINCT command we
toyed with earlier.
SQL Group By:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT customer
FROM orders
GROUP BY customer;
SQL Results:
customer
A+Maintenance
Gerald Garner
Tizag
Here, SQL has consolidated like values and returned
those that are unique. In this case, we have actually
duplicated the behavior of SELECT DISTINCT, but
you have also seen firsthand how GROUP BY
accepts a table column as a list and consolidates like
customer values.
To unleash the true power of GROUP BY, it is

necessary to include at least one mathematical
(aggregate) function, and to do so we will utilize the
SUM() function to calculate how many total items
have been purchased by each of our customers.
SQL Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT customer, SUM(quantity) AS "Total

Items"
FROM orders
GROUP BY customer;
SQL Results:
customer Total Items
A+Maintenance 14
Gerald Garner 5
Tizag 23
With the addition of the aggregate SUM() function,

we've let SQL calculate how many products have
been ordered by each customer and returned them for
viewing with a single query statement.
Taking a look at another example, we can also figure

out how many of each product was ordered with the
use of a single query statement.
SQL Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT product, SUM(quantity) AS "Total

Items"
FROM orders
GROUP BY product;
SQL Results:
product Total Items
19" LCD Screen 10
Hanging Files 25
HP Printer 4
Stapler 3
GROUP BY would also be a great way to calculate

how much total cash of our customers has spent.
Let's take a look at what that query may look like.
SQL Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT customer,
SUM((orders.quantity * inventory.price))
AS "COST"
FROM orders
JOIN inventory
GROUP BY customer;
SQL Results:
product COST
A+Maintenance 209.86
Gerals Garner 899.95
Tizag 1448.77
SQL - Grouping By
Multiple Columns
Like the ORDER BY clause, GROUP BY can accept
a list of table columns on which to group by.
SQL Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT day_of_order,
product,
SUM(quantity) as "Total"
FROM orders
GROUP BY day_of_order,product
SQL Results:
day_of_order product Total
2008-07-25 00:00:00.000 19" LCD Screen 5
2008-07-25 00:00:00.000 HP Printer 4
2008-08-01 00:00:00.000 Hanging Files 11
2008-08-01 00:00:00.000 Stapler 3
2008-08-15 00:00:00.000 19" LCD Screen 5
2008-08-16 00:00:00.000 Hanging Files 14
This query will group together and sum the total

number of products purchased on any given date,
regardless of what customer has purchased the item.
It's a very useful query to keep in mind.
SQL - Having
The SQL HAVING clause is "like a WHERE clause
for aggregated data." It's used with conditional
statements, just like WHERE, to filter results. One
thing to note is that any column name appearing in
the HAVING clause must also appear in the GROUP
BY clause.
SQL Having:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT day_of_order,
product,
SUM(quantity) as "Total"
FROM orders
GROUP BY day_of_order,product,quantity
HAVING quantity > 7
SQL Results:
day_of_order product Total
2008-08-01 00:00:00.000 Hanging Files 11
2008-08-16 00:00:00.000 Hanging Files 14
The quantity column is now considered aggregated in

SQL terms, because its values have been summed
together using the SUM() function. In the example
above, HAVING acts as the WHERE clause for
aggregate values, filtering out results that do not
meet the condition (quantity > 7).
SQL - Views
SQL VIEWS are data objects, and like SQL Tables,
they can be queried, updated, and dropped. A SQL
VIEW is a virtual table containing columns and rows
except that the data contained inside a view is
generated dynamically from SQL tables and does not
physically exist inside the view itself.
SQL Create View Code:
CREATE VIEW virtualInventory
AS
SELECT * FROM inventory;
With a successful execution of this query, we have

now created a view data object of the inventory
table. The virtualInventory view is considered a data
object (like a table) and is now accessible to us the
developer. Views can be queried exactly like any
other SQL table.
SQL View Code:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM virtualInventory;
SQL Results:
1 19" LCD Screen 25 179.99
3 Pen 78 0.99
4 Stapler 3 7.99
6 Laptop 16 499.99
Even though a SQL VIEW is treated like a data

object in SQL, no data is actually stored inside of the
view itself. The view is essentially a dynamic
SELECT query, and if any changes are made to the
originating table(s), these changes will be reflected in
the SQL VIEW automatically.
SQL Code:
USE mydatabase;
UPDATE inventory
SET price = '1.29'
WHERE product = 'Pen';
Execute the following query to verify the results:
SQL Verification Query Code:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM virtualInventory
WHERE product = 'Pen';
SQL Results:
3 Pen 78 1.29
SQL - Drop View

Views can also be removed by using the DROP
VIEW command.
SQL Drop View:

USE mydatabase;
DROP VIEW virtualInventory;
SQL - Dates
Date values are stored in date table columns in the
form of a timestamp. A SQL timestamp is a record
containing date/time data, such as the month, day,
year, hour, and minutes/seconds. It's not much
different from the standard date format.
Date Columns:
Column Type Format
time HH:MM:SS
date YYYY-MM-DD
datetime YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
Date values are stored in the form of a timestamp,
and SQL offers a built-in function called
GETDATE() that returns the current date in the form
of a SQL timestamp.
SQL SELECT GETDATE():

USE mydatabase;
SELECT GETDATE();
Timestamp Result:
2004-06-22 10:33:11.840
SQL expects dates to be formatted as above but does

offer some flexibility when working with dates inside
query statements. For instance, date values do not
necessarily need to contain the hour, minutes, and
seconds values. SQL also accepts most traditional
date formats such as "MM/DD/YY" (ex: "01/01/06").
Using a built in function, ISDATE() we can do some
testing on date values to see if they meet the
formatting requirements.
SQL Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT
ISDATE('8/24/08') AS "MM/DD/YY",
ISDATE('2004-12-01') AS "YYYY/MM/DD";
ISDATE() returns a 1 or a 0 indicating a true or false

result. In this case, both formats are acceptable date
formats as a 1 value was returned.
SQL - Month(), Day(),

Year()
The Month(), Day() and Year() functions all extract
corresponding values from a given date.
SQL Year():
USE mydatabase;
SELECT YEAR(GETDATE()) as "Year";

SELECT YEAR('8/14/04') as "Year";
SQL Month():
USE mydatabase;
SELECT MONTH(GETDATE()) as "Month";

SELECT MONTH('8/14/04') as "Month";
SQL Day():
USE mydatabase;
SELECT DAY(GETDATE()) as "Day";

SELECT DAY('8/14/04') as "Day";
Understanding timestamps and extracting pieces of

dates is the first step in being able to perform date
calculations and work more in-depth with SQL
Dates.
SQL - Datepart
DATEPART() is a SQL function used to extract all
kinds of date information from timestamps, and it is a
function that is unique to Microsoft's SQL Server
Application.
SQL Datepart:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT DATEPART(year, '2007-06-01') AS

"Year";
SQL Results:
Year
2007
DATEPART() requires 2 parameters separated by a

comma (,). The first parameter specifies what type of
date data will be extracted, and the second parameter
is a timestamp value.
SQL Datepart:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT DATEPART(year, '2007-06-01') AS

"Year",
DATEPART(month, '2007-06-01') AS
"Month",
DATEPART(day, '2007-06-01') AS "Day",
DATEPART(dayofyear, '2007-06-01') AS
"DayofYear",
DATEPART(weekday, '2007-06-01') AS
"Weekday";
SQL Results:
Year Month Day DayofYear Weekday
2007 6 1 152 6
Datepart Abbreviation Chart:

DatePart Abbreviation Example
DATEPART(yy,
year yy, yyyy
getdate())
DATEPART(qq,
quarter qq, q
getdate())
DATEPART(mm,
month mm, m
getdate())
DATEPART(dy,
dayofyear dy, y
getdate())
DATEPART(dd,
day dd, d
getdate())
DATEPART(wk,
week wk, ww
getdate())
weekday dw DATEPART(dw,
getdate())
DATEPART(hh,
hour hh
getdate())
DATEPART(mi,
minute mi
getdate())
DATEPART(ss,
second ss
getdate())
DATEPART(ms,
millisecond ms
getdate())
SQL - DateAdd()
DATEADD() is the SQL function used to add and
increment date values. Hours, minutes, months, and
days can be added to any date value. In fact, dates
can be added based on any type of date part
discussed in the SQL DATEPART() lesson.
SQL Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT DATEADD(year, 1, getdate()) AS "+1

Year";
SQL Results:
+1 Year
2009-06-31 00:00:00.000
This example shows how to use DATEADD() to take

a specified date value and increment it by the 'year'
date part. By replacing the middle parameter with a
negative value, we can utilize the same DATEADD()
function to subtract dates as well.
SQL Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT DATEADD(day,-1, '2006-06-01') AS "-1
Day";
SQL Results:
-1 Day
2006-05-31 00:00:00.000
In each example, SQL is able to perform a

calculation on each date value based on a timestamp,
and after the calculation, a timestamp value returned.
Also note that the date parameter can be based on
another SQL function or the result of a subquery.
SQL Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT DATEADD(day,-30, (SELECT

MAX(day_of_order) FROM orders)) AS "-30
Days";
SQL Results:
-30 Days
2008-07-17 00:00:00.000
Here we have now constructed a very useful,

dynamic statement pulling the most current order
(MAX) in the orders table, and we've been able to
subtract one day from that value. While this
information does not directly prove useful, if we take
this query one step further and place this statement in
a WHERE as a subquery, we should be more
satisfied with the results.
SQL Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT *
FROM orders
WHERE day_of_order >
(SELECT DATEADD(day,-30, (SELECT
MAX(day_of_order) FROM orders)) AS "-30
Days");
SQL Results:
customer product
d r y
2008-08-01 Hangin
1 Tizag 11
00:00:00.000 g Files
2008-08-01
2 Tizag Stapler 3
00:00:00.000
3 14
e 00:00:00.000 g Files
19"
2008-08-15
00:00:00.000
Screen
19"
2008-07-25
5 Tizag LCD 5
00:00:00.000
Screen
6 Tizag 2008-07-25 HP 4
00:00:00.000 Printer
By placing this calculated date in the WHERE

clause, we were able to pull all the records that have
happened within 30 days of the most recent order
(2008-07-17 00:00:00.000). We are able to query the
orders table and request this information with a
dynamic query that will yield different results as new
orders are placed and time goes by.
SQL - Delete
Command(s)
In the SQL world, databases, rows, and columns all
have one thing in common: once a DELETE
statement has been executed successfully against
them, the data they once contained is lost forever! Be
very careful with these commands and be sure to
properly backup all data before proceeding with any
type of DELETE command(s).
SQL offers several ways to tackle data deletion. Here
are the differences.
SQL Delete Commands:

DELETE - Deletes any number of rows from a
data object.
DROP - Removes table columns, tables, and
all data objects SQL applications.
TRUNCATE - Empties out data without
removing the object itself.
SQL - Delete
DELETE queries work much like UPDATE queries
and like UPDATE, it is much advised to always use
a WHERE condition when running any delete query
or else you risk deleting too much data.
SQL Delete Query:

USE mydatabase;
DELETE
FROM orders
WHERE customer = 'A+Maintenance';
SQL Results:
1 Row(s) affected
SQL - Truncate
SQL TRUNCATE is the fastest way to remove all
data from a SQL table, leaving nothing but an empty
shell. You might choose to use this command when
all the data inside of a table needs to be removed but
you'd like the table column definitions to remain
intact.
SQL Truncate Table Code:

USE mydatabase;
TRUNCATE TABLE orders;
NOTE: Executing the command above will empty

your table data and you will lose this data forever! If
you plan on following along do not execute this
query.
SQL - Drop
SQL DROP is another command that removes data
from the data store. The DROP command must be
performed on SQL objects including databases,
tables, table columns, and SQL views. Dropping any
of these objects removes them completely from your
SQL application and all data contained in any of the
data objects dropped are lost forever.
SQL Drop Examples:

USE mydatabase;
DROP TABLE orders;

DROP DATABASE mydatabase;
DROP VIEW viewname;
DROP INDEX orders.indexname;
-- FOR USE WITH ALTER COMMANDS

DROP COLUMN column_name
DROP FOREIGN KEY (foreign_key_name)
The above example also includes the syntax to drop

table columns and foreign keys. These items are
outlined in the SQL ALTER lesson.
SQL - Union
SQL UNION combines two separate SQL queries
into one result set. A JOIN statement adds additional
table columns to a result set (horizontally), UNION
combines row results from one table with rows of
another table (vertically).
In order to perform a UNION the columns of table 1

must match those of table 2. This rule ensures that
the result set is consistent as rows are fetched by
SQL.
For these next exercises we suggest creating two

different tables that are identical in structure but
contain unique rows of data. We challenge you to do
this by reviewing the SQL Create queries and
modifying them to create two brand new employee
tables.
SQL Select Union Code:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT * FROM employees

UNION
SELECT * FROM employees2;
SQL Table:
ID Lastname Firstname Title
1 Johnson David crew
2 Hively Jessica crew
9 Hicks Freddy crew
10 Harris Joel crew
11 Davis Julie manager
101 Yazzow Jim crew
102 Anderson Craig crew
103 Carlson Kevin crew
104 Maines Brad crew
The result is a complete listing of every employee

from the two tables, perhaps representing a list of
employees from two different departments.
The next example shows a more practical means of

using a union clause. Here we will select all of our
employees from both tables and join them with our
invoices table to generate a complete list of sales
from both stores on a given day.
SQL Code:
SELECT employees.Lastname,
employees.Firstname, invoices.Sale,
invoices.Price
FROM employees
INNER JOIN invoices
ON employees.id = invoices.EmployeeID
UNION
SELECT employees2.Lastname,
employees2.Firstname, invoices.Sale,
invoices.Price
FROM employees2
INNER JOIN invoices
ON employees2.id = invoices.EmployeeID;
SQL Table:
Lastname Firstname Sale Price
Johnson David HOT DOG 1.99
Hively Jessica LG SFT DRK 1.49
Davis Julie CK SLD 3.99
Yazzow Jim HOT DOG 1.99
Carlson Kevin LG SFT DRK 1.49
Here we combined a join query with the union clause
to create one table.
SQL - Union All

UNION ALL selects all rows from each table and
combines them into a single table. The difference
between UNION and UNION ALL is that UNION
ALL will not eliminate duplicate rows. Instead, it just
pulls all rows from all tables fitting your query
specifics and combines them into a table.
SQL Code:
SELECT * FROM employees
UNION ALL
SELECT * FROM employees2;
SQL Table:
ID Lastname Firstname Title
1 Johnson David crew
2 Hively Jessica crew
9 Hicks Freddy crew
10 Harris Joel crew
101 Yazzow Jim crew
102 Anderson Craig crew
103 Carlson Kevin crew
104 Maines Brad crew
SQL Code:
SELECT employees.Lastname,
employees.Firstname, invoices.Sale,
invoices.Price
FROM employees
INNER JOIN invoices
ON employees.id = invoices.EmployeeID
UNION ALL
SELECT employees2.Lastname,
employees2.Firstname, invoices.Sale,
invoices.Price
FROM employees2
INNER JOIN invoices
ON employees2.id = invoices.EmployeeID;
SQL Table:
Lastname Firstname Sale Price
Johnson David HOT DOG 1.99
Hively Jessica LG SFT DRK 1.49
Davis Julie CK SLD 3.99
Yazzow Jim HOT DOG 1.99
Carlson Kevin LG SFT DRK 1.49
SQL - Syntax -
(Speaking SQL)
Syntax, by definition, means the study of linguistic
rules and patterns. Every programming language,
including SQL, must follow a unique set of
guidelines termed syntax. Punctuation, spaces,
mathematical operators, and special characters have
special meaning when used inside of SQL commands
and query statements. For example, each and every
SQL command will end with a semi colon (;).
Executing SQL commands that do not have proper

syntax and formatting will result in a syntax error.
Syntax errors might be the most common and first
error messages new SQL developers will experience.
Let's now take a look at a very simple SQL command
that will be used in just about every example
contained in this tutorial from here on out.
Sample SQL Command:

use mydatabase;
This command identifies a database as a target

database, meaning that any SQL command or query
executed after this line will be run against the
identified database. In this case, the database
'mydatabase' will be the target database. This is a
good way to prevent mistakes and avoid potential
data loss and a good reason to include this command
into each and every authored SQL query.
SQL - Syntax:
Capitalization and
Spacing
In some programming languages, capitalizing
commands or excessive spacing may or may not
cause syntax code errors and cause the command to
fail. SQL syntax is very loose when it comes to
capitalization and spacing, allowing a lot of room for
the developer to decide on his/her own preference in
regards to capitalization and spacing.
Let's rewrite the same SQL command from the

previous example and take advantage of SQL's loose
syntax characteristics.
Sample SQL Command:

USE
mydatabase;
The example above, though it does look different due

to the capitalization and spacing, will yield the same
results as the first example.
SQL - Syntax: Building
good habits
While coding in any language, it is important to
develop good, consistent habits and maintain clean
code. Clean code allows another SQL developer to
step right in where you have left off without missing
a beat. A developer with diligent coding habits will
prevent many syntax errors before executing his/her
scripts and also will be able to detect possibly syntax
problems before they cause problems in a SQL
Command.
Good habits include:
 Consitency
 Clean and Concise
 Use of Comments (more on this later)
 Scalability
Coding in any language is as much of an art form as
authoring best selling novels and stories. Take pride
in doing so and always do your best to follow good
coding habits.
SQL - Data Types

SQL data takes shape in several different forms,
including character strings, numbers, file stores, and
dates. SQL developers call the shots as to what types
of data will be stored inside each and every table
column when creating a SQL table. The developer
must specify the column type of each new SQL table
column.
Column types are synonymous with data types as the

column type is what designates the type of data that
will be stored inside the column. In other words, a
SQL data type is a label and a guideline for SQL to
understand what type of data is expected inside of
each table column and this identifies how SQL will
interact with the stored data. Below, we will give you
an overview on the types of data that can be stored
within a SQL table.
SQL - Numbers,
Decimals, and Dates
Data Types:
 Integers - (3, -17)
 Point(Decimal) - (3.23415)
 Date - (2004-06-22 10:33:11.840)
Storing numbers and decimals allows the developer

to collect statistical data and create reports based on
the data contained inside the table. SQL can even
perform mathematical calculations against numeric
data, providing endless number-crunching abilities.
In SQL, decimals are often referred to as point or
floating-point numbers. These data types are slightly
different from the normal 'integer' data types.
For the most part, date values are treated like

numbers and they can even be added together and
subtracted offering the developer the option to add
days, months, or years together to create new dates
(more on this later). Additionally, specific data can
be extracted from date values, allowing the developer
to pull specific date information from a date value
like only the month number, the year, or the day of
the week.
SQL - Boolean Data

 ("TRUE" / "FALSE")
 (1/0)
Boolean values are true/false types of data. A

Boolean table column will contain either string
values of "True" and "False" or the numeric
equivalent representation, with 0 being false and 1
being true.
SQL - Character Strings

Character Strings:
 VARCHAR - ('Words or numbers')
 Text - ('Once upon a time...')
Strings range from a single word or character to large

blocks of text including multiple paragraphs and
unique symbols. Set the table column type to
VARCHAR or Text in order to incorporate string
data types into SQL tables.
SQL Server Table Column

Types:
bigint Integer value (- 2^63
9,223,372,036,854,775,808
-
9,223,372,036,854,775,807)
smaller Integer value (-
int 2,147,483,648) - 2^31
(2,147,483,647)
smaller Integer value (-
smallint 2^15
32,768) - (32,767)
smaller Integer values 0 -
tinyint 2^8
255
Integer data value (either 1
bit 1 or 0
or 0 value)
Decimal values from - 10^3
decimal
10^38 - 10^38 8
Decimal values from - 10^3
numeric
10^38 - 10^38 8
Money values (-
922,337,203,685,477.5808)
money - 2^63
(922,337,203,685,477.5807
)
Smaller Money Values (-
smallmoney 214,748.3648) - 2^31
(214,748.3647)
Date value (January 1,
datetime 1753) - (December 31,
9999)
Smaller Date Value
smalldatetime (January 1, 1900) - (June 6,
2079)
Unique Number Value
timestamp (updates when row is
updated)
Character String Value
char
(max 8,000 characters)
maximum of 8,000
varchar
characters, unless otherwise
noted)
nchar
nvarchar Character String Value
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SQL - Defaults and Null

Values
NULL values are 'nothing' values. When a value is
null, it means the value is empty and contains no
value -- not even '0'. NULLs are unique data types
that are usually the default setting for all table
columns. When a SQL developer runs across a
NULL value in a database, it is generally an
indication that this value is either new or has not
been modified.
The SQL developer may specify to allow or disallow

the NULL values eliminating the possibility of
running across 'empty' table columns when creating a
SQL table. If the developer chooses not to allow
NULL values he/she may specify a custom default
value instead of the NULL (nothing) value. Primary
Key table columns do not allow NULL values since
this column's sole purpose is to be the unique
identifier for a table column. Having a NULL unique
identifier would be similar to having a car license
plate that is blank.
By default, NULL values are allowed on all newly

created table columns meaning a table column is
allowed to be 'empty', except primary key columns.
A NULL value is a special type of value that can be
tested for by most programming languages including
SQL and can provide the developer a means to 'test'
and see if data exists or has been modified. As a new
programmer you may not fully understand the
benefits a NULL value can bring, but with
experience, you will learn to hate/appreciate them.
SQL - Expressions
SQL Expressions are the pieces of a SQL query that
compare values against other values or perform
arithmetic calculations. Expressions can be found
inside of any SQL command usually in the form of a
conditional statement. In the SQL world,
conditional statements and expressions test or
compare values against other values.
SQL - Boolean
Expressions
Boolean expressions return rows (results) when a
single value is matched.
SQL Boolean Expression:

USE mydatabase;
SELECT * FROM orders WHERE id = '1';
SQL Results:
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
SQL - Numeric
Expression
Numeric Expressions return a single numeric value
instead of an entire row and usually perform
calculations.
SQL Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT 15 + 4;
SQL Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT (15 / 5) * 10;
SQL Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT ((5+5) * (5+5));
Each of the examples above returns a numeric value

which is displayed inside the results pane of the SQL
application. SQL also offers several built-in
functions to perform what is known as aggregate
data calculations against a table or a specific table
column.
 AVG() -- Returns the average value of a

stated column.
 COUNT(*) -- Returns a count of the number
of rows of table.
 SUM() -- Returns the sum of a given column.
Using one of the following functions also returns a

numeric value:
SQL Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT COUNT(*) AS "Number of Orders"
FROM orders;
SQL Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT SUM(quantity)AS "Total Number of

Items Purchased"
FROM orders;
SQL Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT AVG(quantity) AS "Average Number of

Items Purchased"
FROM orders;
We can also combine these queries into a single

query so that the results are viewable all at once.
SQL Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT COUNT(*) AS "Number of Orders",

SUM(quantity)AS "Total Number of Items
Purchased",
AVG(quantity)AS "Average Number of Items
Purchased"
FROM orders;
SQL - Date Expressions

As the name suggests, Date Expressions return
date/time values.
 GetDate() -- Returns the current date/time.

 Current_Timestamp -- Returns the current
timestamp.
Date expressions as you may have guessed, return

date values. We will be taking a closer look at date
expressions later on in this tutorial. Stay tuned.
SQL Code:
USE mydatabase;
SELECT Current_Timestamp;
SELECT GETDATE();
SQL - Historical
Information
In the '60's database software required the use of
complex mainframe machines that were difficult to
maintain and run. Information technologists worked
around the clock monitoring, updating, and manually
uncorrupting these machines.
Each mainframe ran different software from different

manufacturers. IBM pulled ahead in software
development internationally with efforts of software
aimed at database management. The problem was
that each mainframe ran a different type of
"language".
Enter SQL, the new standard for any database

program: Structured Query Language. SQL bridged
the barriers between mainframes and allowed large
corporations to network their efforts. SQL was
introduced in the 1970's and quickly gained
international popularity. SQL allows a programmer
to tell a program exactly what data to retrieve and
how to display it.
SQL - Under
Development
Software at the time was still underdeveloped and
several continuous problems plagued database
storage. Transactions happening at the same time
were often combined, mixed together, or even lost
altogether. For instance, say two individuals made a
deposit at exactly the same time from two different
locations. The software was unable to cope with this,
and their bank transactions were completely
switched. Suzy deposited $10,000 while Joe
withdrew $15. Because of the faulty software Joe's
withdrawal was posted on Suzy's account and Suzy's
deposit was posted to Joe's account.
Along came Relational Database Management

Systems (RDBMS). This software is still being used
and is quite powerful. Relational databases allow
developers to build relationships between databases
and tables. This provides tremendous opportunities
for data management and is still the favorite software
used today. MySQL, SQL Server, DB2, and Oracle
are all RDBMSs, and each have a substantial hold in
the market share to this day.
SQL - Platforms
Applications
There are many, many different SQL applications in
existence. A handful of platforms are available for
free and are the preferred choice among individuals
and small businesses. Other SQL platforms are
designed with enterprise level customers in mind and
are much more expensive.
SQL Applications:
 IBM's DB2
 MySQL
 PostgreSQL
 Oracle
 Microsoft's SQL Server
SQL - MySQL and

PostgreSQL
MySQL and PostgreSQL are open source database
programs rich in functionality and flexibility. They
are often the choice of web developers and small
businesses simply because they are light-weight and
are offered at the right price: free. Most open source
software will also work across multiple different
operating systems, which is yet another benefit to
small businesses.
SQL - SQL Server

Microsoft's SQL Server is steadily on the rise in the
commercial world gaining popularity slowly. This
platform is only available to Windows users at this
time, but offers its users very user-friendly interface
that is great for beginning SQL developers. A free
trial version can be downloaded at the Microsoft
website.
SQL - DB2 and Oracle

By far the selection of choice for large corporations
is either Oracle or DB2. Companies that have large
ties to IBM stick to their DB2 software whereas
others have made the switch to Oracle. These
systems run on personal computers as well as large
corporate mainframes and are ideal for processing
vast amounts of data at the enterprise level.
SQL - Commands
SQL commands are lines of SQL code that ask the
SQL application to perform simple tasks against with
data inside of a database. Often we refer to
commands as query statements or scripts; all of these
terms are synonymous. Most of the commands and
statements you will see in this tutorial are fairly
standard and will work across multiple database
applications despite the fact this tutorial is aimed for
the SQL Server Express user.
SQL commands are declarative sentences or 'orders'
executed against a SQL database. The typical
command is comprised of several different
components including clauses, functions,
expressions, or objects but the only required
components are a SQL Clause and the data object (a
database or a database table).
SQL - Clauses
A SQL clause is the word or phrase that begins each
SQL command statement and the single most
important component to any SQL command.
Looking at the clause of any given SQL command
usually tells the SQL programmer what that
particular command intends to do to the database.
For instance, a SELECT command begins with the
SELECT clause and any level of SQL programmer
will recognize the SELECT query as a command
selecting data from the database.
Other SQL clauses include:

 Add
 Drop
 Create
 Insert
 Select
 Update
 Replace
 Delete
SQL - Sample
Commands
SQL Code:
SELECT getdate(); -- Selects the current
(server) date and time.
CREATE DATABASE MyDatabase; -- Creates a

database named Mydatabase;
INSERT INTO orders

-- Inserts data into a database table
VALUES('A+Maintenance','8/16/08','Hanging
Files',12);
SQL - Structure
The importance of building your tables correctly
could be considered its own form of art.
Psychologists have even gone as far to say that those
with the ability to organize their thoughts and
concepts well tend to be absolutely brilliant (ie
Mozart, Einstein, DaVinci). A database is only
slightly different from the human brain and clear
organization is a must, especially if large quantities
of people will be using the same database.
Designing the right database has a lot to do with what

you need to accomplish. A database with thousands
and thousands or even millions of records requires a
completely different solution than a database that
will only have a few hundred records. Think about
the future and plan ahead.
SQL - Table
Relationships
The key to a large database is having tables with
material that can relate to one another. A great
example is the employee ID. Ever wonder or joke
about being just another number to the company. A
lot of that has to do with the way they set up their
database. A large company is going to have a weekly
payroll and a personal information table. They might
be set up like the following:
personal_info
emp_id last_name first_name
0056 Mynce George
0097 Jenkins Fred
weekly_payroll
emp_id hours rateofpay
0056 37.5 27.00
0097 44.5 22.25
This set up proves useful in several ways. The tables

are smaller, more compact, and precise, allowing for
maximum access speeds with each query. We can
also moderate who has access to each table, meaning
that our accountant can have access to the payroll
table, but not the personal information table,
eliminating security risks.
Relationship tables are the choice for high-traffic

databases. There are countless security advantages,
faster query returns, and complete view
customization (more on this later).
SQL - Predicates
SQL Predicates are found on the tail end of clauses,
functions, and SQL expression inside of existing
query statements. We've actually already covered a
few SQL predicates already and most on this list
should be familiar to you.
SQL Predicates:
AND
OR
LIKE
BETWEEN
AS
TOP(LIMIT)
SQL - Top
SQL Top is used to limit the number of results
returned by a query. The top command is generally
followed by a number that indicates the maximum
number of results to return for a given query.
SQL Code:
use mydatabase;
SELECT TOP 2 *
FROM orders
SQL Results:
2008-08-01
1 Tizag Pen 4
00:00:00.000
2008-08-01
2 Tizag Stapler 3
00:00:00.000
SQL - Identifiers, Think

SQL
As with any programming language, there are a few
terms unique to SQL.
An Identifier is essentially a name of a database,

table, or table column. As the creator of the database,
you are free to identify these objects as you please;
we merely suggest you keep these guidelines in mind
when you do.
 Develop your own unique naming scheme.

-- Use terms that relate to one another and
will be easy to recognize apart from your
code.
 Be conscious of how long your names
become. -- Especially be aware when the
time comes to name your columns.
 Avoid names without meaning. -- Develop a
working scheme that also has meaning behind
the names.
 Be consistent. -- If you capitalize one table
name, capitalize each table name; if you
choose to use abbreviations, make sure they
do not have double meanings or ambiguous
meaning.
Develop a clear, concise schema, and stick to it as

your database develops.
SQL - Literals
Literal is a term for data types such as strings,
numbers, or boolean values in SQL. These values are
not named by you the programmer; they just exist.
Literal Breakdown:
string literals
'This is a string value'
'5893 Moon River Dr.'
number literals
823
-4.5
3.387920
boolean literals
TRUE
FALSE
1
0

SQL

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Arming yourself with a firm understanding of its

The loose structure and flexibility of this language

SQL - Tutorial Scope

SQL Server Express Download:

It is preferred that you select SQL Server Express

Follow the online installation guide that Microsoft

SQL has become popular among web developers due

A single database can house hundreds of tables

If you haven't yet created a new database, you may

SQL Create Database Query:

After executing this query, SQL will notify you that

Congratulations! You have executed your first SQL

SQL - Create a SQL

CREATE TABLE orders

The first line of the example, "USE mydatabase;", is

Each table column has its own set of guidelines or

SQL - INSERT DATA

SQL Insert Query:

INSERT INTO orders

SQL Insert Query Results:

This message ("1 row(s) affected") indicates that our

Listed above is a typical INSERT query used to

You may notice that we have not included the id

SQL Query Code:

SELECT * FROM orders;

SQL Query Results:

We'll explain the mechanics of this code in the next

Here's a look at a few different query types including

SQL Query Examples:

-- Selects data from a SQL Database/Table

-- Updates data in a Database/Table

More information about these queries can be found at

SQL Select Query Template:

Select queries require two essential parts. The first

Now we would like SQL to go and fetch some data

SQL Select Query Code:

SQL Orders Table Results:

Below, we will manipulate the result output by

SQL Select Query: Rearranged:

SELECT day_of_order, customer, product,

By rearranging the table column list inside the

SQL - Select All (*)

SQL Orders Table Results:

SQL - Selecting Data

Taking every precaution to avoid data corruption is

At this point, you should feel comfortable with

SQL Where Query:

As we take a look at the results, notice how only the

Conditional statements are not unique to SQL, and

SQL - Where Queries

SQL Where Date Query:

This conditional statement will return only the orders

Notice how the date value is formatted inside the

SQL - Where with

Perhaps the easiest way to go about this is to add

SQL Where And:

At this point, we have sent SQL two conditional

By applying the AND clause, SQL has now been

SQL Select As Code:

SELECT day_of_order AS "Date",

SQL AS allows us to use any name at the

SQL Select Arithmetic Query: