104 SQL CREATE TABLE

The current webpage explains the SQL CREATE TABLE statement, which is used to create a new table in a database.

Syntax:
```
CREATE TABLE table_name (
    column1 datatype,
    column2 datatype,
    column3 datatype,
    ...
);
```
- table_name is the name of the new table.
- Each column is defined by a name and data type (e.g., varchar, int, date).

Example:
To create a Persons table:

CREATE TABLE Persons (
    PersonID int,
    LastName varchar(255),
    FirstName varchar(255),
    Address varchar(255),
    City varchar(255)
);

This table will have columns for PersonID, LastName, FirstName, Address, and City.

Notes:
- The empty table can be populated using the INSERT INTO statement.
- Data types determine what kind of data each column can store.

Advanced:
You can also create a new table by copying data from an existing table using:

CREATE TABLE new_table_name AS
SELECT column1, column2, ...
FROM existing_table_name
WHERE ...;

For example, creating TestTable from selected columns in the Customers table:

CREATE TABLE TestTable AS
SELECT customername, contactname
FROM customers;

Tip:
The page provides a link to a complete list of SQL data types.
There is an interactive exercise to test your understanding of the CREATE TABLE statement.

This tutorial is part of a larger SQL learning series provided by W3Schools, with links to related SQL operations and concepts.[1]

The SQL CREATE TABLE Statement

The CREATE TABLE statement is used to create a new table in a database.

Syntax

CREATE TABLE table_name (
    column1 datatype,
    column2 datatype,
    column3 datatype,
   ....
);

The column parameters specify the names of the columns of the table.

The datatype parameter specifies the type of data the column can hold (e.g. varchar, integer, date, etc.).

Tip: For an overview of the available data types, go to our complete Data Types Reference.

SQL CREATE TABLE Example

The following example creates a table called "Persons" that contains five columns: PersonID, LastName, FirstName, Address, and City:

CREATE TABLE Persons (  
    PersonID int,  
    LastName varchar(255),  
    FirstName varchar(255),  
    Address varchar(255),  
    City varchar(255)  
);

The PersonID column is of type int and will hold an integer.

The LastName, FirstName, Address, and City columns are of type varchar and will hold characters, and the maximum length for these fields is 255 characters.

The empty "Persons" table will now look like this:

PersonID	LastName	FirstName	Address	City

Tip: The empty "Persons" table can now be filled with data with the SQL INSERT INTO statement.

Create Table Using Another Table

A copy of an existing table can also be created using CREATE TABLE.

The new table gets the same column definitions. All columns or specific columns can be selected.

If you create a new table using an existing table, the new table will be filled with the existing values from the old table.

Syntax

CREATE TABLE new_table_name AS
    SELECT column1, column2,...
    FROM existing_table_name
    WHERE ....;

The following SQL creates a new table called "TestTable" (which is a copy of the "Customers" table):

Example

CREATE TABLE TestTable AS  
SELECT customername, contactname  
FROM customers;