An Interactive SQL(Structured Query Language) Tutorial

SQL, or Structured Query Language, is the language used to access and manipulate data within a database. It is very simple and very powerful.

There are many database systems - like MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQLite, SQL Server, etc. All popular databases uses SQL - but there are slight variations in the syntax.

This tutorial will focus on the syntax of MySQL. Partly because it is the system I am most used to and partly because it is the most popular one around. Also, if you are familiar with one, you can easily learn another.

Try out SQL Interactively

I have a theory about learning programming languages - you cannot learn a programming language by just learning it - you can only learn it by using it. The more code you write in one language, the better they become in it.

To make using SQL easier for you, I have created an interactive query box. You can test almost all your SQL statements in this box without worrying about data loss - all the data is temporary in this system. But you will have to install an extension called Google Gears in your browser.

Google Gears

Google Gears is an open source browser extension that lets developers create web applications that can run offline. You can install it in Firefox and Internet Explorer. If you want to try out SQL queries as it is presented in the tutorial, you need this extension.

If you don't have Google Gears installed already, please install it and return to this page. I'll wait.

Query Box

To run a query, just enter the query into the query box and press the 'Execute' button. Easy, right? Wait, it gets better. You can see the result of the query in the DB Viewer. Just press the 'Execute' button in the below form and you will see what I am talking about.