INTRODUCTION TO SQL
RESHMI PRADEEP
index
What is SQL
What Can SQL do?
SQL Commands
SQL Aggregate Functions
SQL Joins
What is SQL?
• SQL stands for Structured Query Language
• SQL lets you access and manipulate databases
• SQL became a standard of the American National
Standards Institute (ANSI) in 1986, and of the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in
1987
What Can SQL do?
• SQL can execute queries against a database
• SQL can retrieve data from a database
• SQL can insert records in a database
• SQL can update records in a database
• SQL can delete records from a database
• SQL can create new databases
• SQL can create new tables in a database
• SQL can create stored procedures in a database
• SQL can create views in a database
• SQL can set permissions on tables, procedures, and views
SQL Commands
• Types of SQL Commands:
• DDL (Data Definition Language):
• DML (Data Manipulation Language):
• DCL (Data Control Language
• TCL (Transaction Control Language)
Data Definition Language (DDL)
Commands
Data Definition Language, is a subset of SQL (Structured
Query Language) commands used to define and modify
the database structure. These commands are used to
create, alter, and delete database objects like tables,
indexes, and
1. CREATE schemas.
: Creates a new table or database.
2. ALTER: Modifies an existing database object.
3. DROP: Deletes an entire table, database, or other
objects.
4. TRUNCATE: Removes all records from a table, deleting
the space allocated for the records.
DDL commands play a crucial role in defining the database schema.
The primary DDL commands in SQL include:
• CREATE: This command is used to create a new database
object. For example, creating a new table, a view, or a database.
Syntax for creating a table: CREATE TABLE table_name (column1 datatype,
column2 datatype, ...);
ALTER: This command is used to modify an existing database
object, such as adding, deleting, or modifying columns in an
existing table.
Syntax for adding a column in a table: ALTER TABLE table_name ADD
column_name datatype;
Syntax for modifying a column in a table: ALTER TABLE table_name MODIFY
COLUMN column_name datatype;
• TRUNCATE: This command is used to
delete all data from a table, but the
structure of the table remains. It’s a
fast way to clear large data from a
table.
Syntax: TRUNCATE TABLE table_name;
• COMMENT: Used to add comments to
the data dictionary.
Syntax: COMMENT ON TABLE table_name IS 'This is a comment.’;
• RENAME: Used to rename an existing
Data Manipulation
Language (DML)
Data Manipulation Language (DML) is a subset of SQL
commands used for adding (inserting), deleting, and
modifying (updating) data in a database. DML commands are
crucial for managing the data within the tables of a database.
1. SELECT: Retrieves data from the database.
2. INSERT: Adds new data to a table.
3. UPDATE: Modifies existing data within a table.
4. DELETE: Removes data from a table.
INSERT: This command is used to add new rows (records) to a table.
Syntax: INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2, column3, ...)
VALUES (value1, value2, value3, ...);
UPDATE: This command is used to modify the existing records in a table.
Syntax: UPDATE table_name SET column1 = value1, column2 =
value2, ... WHERE condition;
The WHERE clause specifies which records should be updated. Without it, all
records in the table will be updated.
DELETE: This command is used to remove one or more rows from a table.
Syntax: DELETE FROM table_name WHERE condition;
Like with UPDATE, the WHERE clause specifies which rows should be deleted.
Omitting the WHERE clause will result in all rows being deleted
SELECT: Although often categorized separately, the SELECT command is
sometimes considered part of DML as it is used to retrieve data from the database.
Syntax: SELECT column1, column2, ... FROM table_name WHERE condition;
The SELECT statement is used to query and extract data from a table, which can
then be used for various purposes.
Data Control Language (DCL)
Commands in SQL
Data Control Language (DCL) is a subset of SQL commands
used to control access to data in a database. DCL is crucial for
ensuring security and proper data management, especially in
multi-user database environments.
• GRANT: This command is used to give users access
privileges to the database. These privileges can include the
ability to select, insert, update, delete, and so on, over
database objects like tables and views.
Syntax: GRANT privilege_name ON object_name TO user_name;
For example, GRANT SELECT ON employees TO user123; gives
user123 the permission to read data from the employees table.
• REVOKE: This command is used to remove previously granted access
privileges from a user.
Syntax: REVOKE privilege_name ON object_name FROM user_name;
For example, REVOKE SELECT ON employees FROM user123; would
remove user123‘s permission to read data from the employees table.
Transaction Control Language
(TCL)
Transaction Control Language, is a subset of SQL used to manage
database transactions. TCL commands ensure data integrity by allowing
you to control when changes to the database are saved permanently or
rolled back.
COMMIT:The COMMIT command is used to save changes made during
a transaction to the database permanently:
BEGIN;
-- SQL statements
COMMIT;
ROLLBACK:The ROLLBACK command is used to undo
changes made during a transaction:
BEGIN;
-- SQL statements
ROLLBACK;
This example begins a transaction, performs SQL statements, and then
rolls back the changes, restoring the database to its previous state.
SAVEPOINT:The SAVEPOINT command allows you to set a
point within a transaction to which you can later roll back:
BEGIN;
-- SQL statements
SAVEPOINT my_savepoint;
-- More SQL statements
ROLLBACK TO my_savepoint;
This example creates a savepoint and later rolls back to that
SQL Aggregate Functions
• MIN() - returns the smallest value within the selected column
Syntax:
SELECT MIN(column_name)
FROM table_name
WHERE condition;
• Example: SELECT MIN(Price)FROM Products;
• MAX() - returns the largest value within the selected column
Syntax:
SELECT MAX(column_name)
FROM table_name
WHERE condition;
• Example: SELECT MAX(Price)FROM Products;
• COUNT() - returns the number of rows in a set
Syntax
SELECT COUNT(column_name)
FROM table_name
WHERE condition;
• Example: SELECT COUNT(*) FROM Products;
• SUM() - returns the total sum of a numerical column
Syntax
SELECT SUM(column_name)
FROM table_name
WHERE condition;
• Example:SELECT SUM(Quantity) FROM OrderDetails;
• AVG() - returns the average value of a numerical column
• Syntax
SELECT AVG(column_name)
FROM table_name
WHERE condition;
Example:SELECT AVG(Price) FROM Products;
SQL Joins
A JOIN clause is used to combine rows from two or more tables, based
on a related column between them.
SELECT [Link], [Link], [Link]
FROM Orders
INNER JOIN Customers ON [Link]=[Link];
Different Types of SQL JOINs
• (INNER) JOIN: Returns records that
have matching values in both tables
• LEFT (OUTER) JOIN: Returns all
records from the left table, and the
matched records from the right table
• RIGHT (OUTER) JOIN: Returns all
records from the right table, and the
matched records from the left table
• FULL (OUTER) JOIN: Returns all
records when there is a match in
either left or right table
The SQL SELECT DISTINCT
Statement
The SELECT DISTINCT statement is used to return only distinct
(different) values.
Syntax
SELECT DISTINCT column1, column2, ...
FROM table_name;
Example
SQL WHERE Clause
The WHERE clause is used to filter records.
It is used to extract only those records that fulfill a specified condition.
Example
SQL ORDER BY Keyword
The ORDER BY keyword is used to sort the result-set in
ascending or descending order.
Example
