Transact\-SQL statements can be written and submitted to the Transact\-SQL Database Engine in the following ways:
By using SQL Server Management Studio This tutorial assumes that you are using SQL Server Management Studio Management Studio but you can also use SQL Server Management Studio Management Studio Management Studio Express, which is available as a free download from the Microsoft Download Center.
By using the sqlcmd utility.
By connecting from an application that you create.
The code executes on the Database Engine in the same way and with the same permissions, regardless of how you submit the code statements.
To run Transact\-SQL statements in Transact\-SQL Management Studio open Transact\-SQL Management Studio Management Studio and connect to an instance of the Transact\-SQL Management Studio Management Studio SQL Server Database Engine
To complete this tutorial, you need SQL Server Management Studio and access to a SQL Server instance.
If you don’t have access to a SQL Server instance, select your platform from the following links. If you choose SQL Authentication, use your SQL Server login credentials. - Windows: Download SQL Server 2017 Developer Edition. - macOS: Download SQL Server 2017 on Docker.
Like many Transact\-SQL statements, the CREATE DATABASE statement has a required parameter: the name of the database. CREATE DATABASE also has many optional parameters, such as the disk location where you want to put the database files. When you execute CREATE DATABASE without the optional parameters, Transact\-SQL SQL Server uses default values for many of these parameters. This tutorial uses very few of the optional syntax parameters.
In a Query Editor window, type but do not execute the following code:
Use the pointer to select the words CREATE DATABASE, and then press F1. The CREATE DATABASE topic in SQL Server Books Online should open. You can use this technique to find the complete syntax for CREATE DATABASE and for the other statements that are used in this tutorial.
In Query Editor, press F5 to execute the statement and create a database named TestData.
When you create a database, SQL Server makes a copy of the model database, and renames the copy to the database name. This operation should only take several seconds, unless you specify a large initial size of the database as an optional parameter.
[!NOTE]
The keyword GO separates statements when more than one statement is submitted in a single batch. GO is optional when the batch contains only one statement.
To create a table, you must provide a name for the table, and the names and data types of each column in the table. It is also a good practice to indicate whether null values are allowed in each column. To create a table, you must have the CREATE TABLE permission, and the ALTER SCHEMA permission on the schema that will contain the table. The db_ddladmin fixed database role has these permissions.
Most tables have a primary key, made up of one or more columns of the table. A primary key is always unique. The Database Engine will enforce the restriction that any primary key value cannot be repeated in the table.
For a list of data types and links for a description of each, see Data Types (Transact-SQL).
[!NOTE]
The Database Engine can be installed as case sensitive or non-case sensitive. If the Database Engine Database Engine is installed as case sensitive, object names must always have the same case. For example, a table named OrderData is a different table from a table named ORDERDATA. If the Database Engine Database Engine Database Engine is installed as non-case sensitive, those two table names are considered to be the same table, and that name can only be used one time.
In a Query Editor window, type and execute the following code to change your connection to the TestData database.
In a Query Editor window, type and execute the following code to create a simple table named Products. The columns in the table are named ProductID, ProductName, Price, and ProductDescription. The ProductID column is the primary key of the table. int, varchar(25), money, and text are all data types. Only the Price and ProductionDescription columns can have no data when a row is inserted or changed. This statement contains an optional element (dbo.) called a schema. The schema is the database object that owns the table. If you are an administrator, dbo is the default schema. dbo stands for database owner.
CREATE TABLE dbo.Products
(ProductID int PRIMARY KEY NOT NULL,
ProductName varchar(25) NOT NULL,
Price money NULL,
ProductDescription text NULL)
GO Now that you have created the Products table, you are ready to insert data into the table by using the INSERT statement. After the data is inserted, you will change the content of a row by using an UPDATE statement. You will use the WHERE clause of the UPDATE statement to restrict the update to a single row. The four statements will enter the following data.
| ProductID | ProductName | Price | ProductDescription |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clamp | 12.48 | Workbench clamp |
| 50 | Screwdriver | 3.17 | Flat head |
| 75 | Tire Bar | Tool for changing tires. | |
| 3000 | 3mm Bracket | .52 |
The basic syntax is: INSERT, table name, column list, VALUES, and then a list of the values to be inserted. The two hyphens in front of a line indicate that the line is a comment and the text will be ignored by the compiler. In this case, the comment describes a permissible variation of the syntax.
Products table that was created in the previous task. This is the basic syntax.-- Standard syntax
INSERT dbo.Products (ProductID, ProductName, Price, ProductDescription)
VALUES (1, 'Clamp', 12.48, 'Workbench clamp')
GO ProductID and ProductName in both the field list (in parentheses) and in the values list.-- Changing the order of the columns
INSERT dbo.Products (ProductName, ProductID, Price, ProductDescription)
VALUES ('Screwdriver', 50, 3.17, 'Flat head')
GO NULL is specified for the Price column because the price for this product is not yet known.-- Skipping the column list, but keeping the values in order
INSERT dbo.Products
VALUES (75, 'Tire Bar', NULL, 'Tool for changing tires.')
GO ProductDescription column allows null values and no value is being provided, the ProductDescription column name and value can be dropped from the statement completely.-- Dropping the optional dbo and dropping the ProductDescription column
INSERT Products (ProductID, ProductName, Price)
VALUES (3000, '3mm Bracket', .52)
GO Type and execute the following UPDATE statement to change the ProductName of the second product from Screwdriver, to Flat Head Screwdriver.
Use the SELECT statement to read the data in a table. The SELECT statement is one of the most important Transact\-SQL statements, and there are many variations in the syntax. For this tutorial, you will work with five simple versions.
Products table.-- The basic syntax for reading data from a single table
SELECT ProductID, ProductName, Price, ProductDescription
FROM dbo.Products
GO -- Returns all columns in the table
-- Does not use the optional schema, dbo
SELECT * FROM Products
GO WHERE clause to limit the rows that are returned to the user.-- Returns only two of the records in the table
SELECT ProductID, ProductName, Price, ProductDescription
FROM dbo.Products
WHERE ProductID < 60
GO Price column. Columns that have been changed in this way will not have a name unless you provide one by using the AS keyword.-- Returns ProductName and the Price including a 7% tax
-- Provides the name CustomerPays for the calculated column
SELECT ProductName, Price * 1.07 AS CustomerPays
FROM dbo.Products
GO For information about some functions that you can use to work with data in SELECT statements, see the following topics:
| String Functions (Transact-SQL) | Date and Time Data Types and Functions (Transact-SQL) |
| Mathematical Functions (Transact-SQL) | Text and Image Functions (Transact-SQL) |
A view is a stored SELECT statement, and a stored procedure is one or more Transact\-SQL statements that execute as a batch.
Views are queried like tables and do not accept parameters. Stored procedures are more complex than views. Stored procedures can have both input and output parameters and can contain statements to control the flow of the code, such as IF and WHILE statements. It is good programming practice to use stored procedures for all repetitive actions in the database.
For this example, you will use CREATE VIEW to create a view that selects only two of the columns in the Products table. Then, you will use CREATE PROCEDURE to create a stored procedure that accepts a price parameter and returns only those products that cost less than the specified parameter value.
Execute the following statement to create a very simple view that executes a select statement, and returns the names and prices of our products to the user.
Views are treated just like tables. Use a SELECT statement to access a view.
The following statement creates a stored procedure name pr_Names, accepts an input parameter named @VarPrice of data type money. The stored procedure prints the statement Products less than concatenated with the input parameter that is changed from the money data type into a varchar(10) character data type. Then, the procedure executes a SELECT statement on the view, passing the input parameter as part of the WHERE clause. This returns all products that cost less than the input parameter value.
CREATE PROCEDURE pr_Names @VarPrice money
AS
BEGIN
-- The print statement returns text to the user
PRINT 'Products less than ' + CAST(@VarPrice AS varchar(10));
-- A second statement starts here
SELECT ProductName, Price FROM vw_Names
WHERE Price < @varPrice;
END
GO To test the stored procedure, type and execute the following statement. The procedure should return the names of the two products entered into the Products table in Lesson 1 with a price that is less than 10.00.
The next article teaches you how to configure permissions on database objects. The objects created in lesson 1 will also be used in lesson 2.
Go to the next article to learn more: > [!div class=“nextstepaction”] > Next steps