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An Introductory Guide to SQL

Cheat Sheet

Explore essential SQL commands and syntax in this practical cheat sheet to enhance your database management and query skills. Learn to list databases, create tables, run joins, and understand core SQL functions for effective data handling.

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Task Example
What does SQL stand for? Structured Query Language
Default Port on which MySQL runs? 3306 TCP
Hello World example? SELECT "Hello World";
How to list all databases? SHOW DATABASES;
How to select a database to query against? USE DatabaseName
How to list storage engines? SHOW ENGINES;
How to display the structure of a table? DESCRIBE TableName or Explain TableName
How to list all tables in a database? SHOW TABLES;
How to list all views in a database? SHOW FULL TABLES IN <SUBSTITUTE_DATABASE_NAME> WHERE TABLE_TYPE LIKE 'VIEW';
How to display create database statement? SHOW CREATE DATABASE DBName;
How to display create table statement? DESCRIBE TableName; or, EXPLAIN TableName;
How to list available character sets? SHOW CHARACTER SET;
How to list available collations? SHOW COLLATION;
How to list variables and their values set for the running MySQL server? SHOW VARIABLES;
How to get rows from a table? SELECT * FROM TableName
How to create a table? CREATE TABLE MyTable (id INT, name VARCHAR(30));
How to create an index on a table? CREATE INDEX indexOnId ON MyTable(id);
How to create a table with a primary key? CREATE TABLE MyTable (id INT, name VARCHAR(30), PRIMARY KEY (id));
How to alter a name of a table? ALTER TABLE MyTable RENAME NotMyTable;
How to inner join two tables? SELECT * FROM TableA INNER JOIN TableB ON TableA.id = TableB.id;
How to left join two tables? SELECT * FROM TableA LEFT JOIN TableB ON TableA.id = TableB.id;
How to right join two tables? SELECT * FROM TableA RIGHT JOIN TableB ON TableA.id = TableB.id;
How to find a full outer join? SELECT * FROM TableA LEFT JOIN TableB ON TableA.id = TableB.id UNION ALL SELECT * FROM TableA RIGHT JOIN TableB ON TableA.id = TableB.id WHERE TableA.id IS NULL;