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Structured Query Language

A database is a structured collection of data. Structured query language (SQL) is a language used to query this data.

SQL

SQL

  • SQL is a language that can tell databases what to do.
  • SQL can be used for selecting, inserting, updating, and deleting data.
  • For GCSE you only need to know how to select (search for) data.
Select statements

Select statements

  • A SELECT statement searches for and returns data. E.g:
    • SELECT * FROM table_name;
  • The * character tells the database to return all fields.
  • The * character can be replaced by specific fields. E.g:
    • SELECT name FROM users;
Where clause

Where clause

  • Sometimes we don't want to return data for all records.
  • We can filter the data using a where clause as follows:
    • SELECT * FROM users WHERE ID=3;
  • The above line would only return a user's data where they have an ID of 3.
Wildcards

Wildcards

  • Sometimes we don't know the exact value we want to use in a where clause.
  • We can use wildcards to find records which match some sort of pattern.
  • The % symbol can be used to represent anything.
  • For example, if we want to find any names starting with 'Ba' then we could query:
    • SELECT name FROM users WHERE name LIKE "Ba%";
Jump to other topics
1

Computer Systems

1.1

Data Representation

1.2

Data Transmission

1.3

Hardware

1.4

Software

1.5

The Internet & its Uses

1.6

Cyber Security

1.7

Automated & Emerging Technologies

2

Algorithms, Programming & Logic

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