Create MySQL Tables
To begin with, the table creation command requires the following details −
Syntax
Here is a generic SQL syntax to create a MySQL table −
CREATE TABLE table_name (column_name column_type);
Now, we will create the following table in the TUTORIALS database.
tutorials_tbl(
tutorial_id INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
tutorial_title VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
tutorial_author VARCHAR(40) NOT NULL,
submission_date DATE,
PRIMARY KEY ( tutorial_id )
);
Here, a few items need explanation −
· Field Attribute NOT NULL is being used because we do not want this field to be NULL. So, if a user will try to create a record with a NULL value, then MySQL will raise an error.
· Field Attribute AUTO_INCREMENT tells MySQL to go ahead and add the next available number to the id field.
· Keyword PRIMARY KEY is used to define a column as a primary key. You can use multiple columns separated by a comma to define a primary key.
Creating Tables from Command Prompt
It is easy to create a MySQL table from the mysql> prompt. You will use the SQL command CREATE TABLE to create a table.
Example
Here is an example, which will create tutorials_tbl −
root@host# mysql -u root -p
Enter password:*******
mysql> use TUTORIALS;
Database changed
mysql> CREATE TABLE tutorials_tbl(
-> tutorial_id INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
-> tutorial_title VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
-> tutorial_author VARCHAR(40) NOT NULL,
-> submission_date DATE,
-> PRIMARY KEY ( tutorial_id )
-> );
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.16 sec)
mysql>
NOTE − MySQL does not terminate a command until you give a semicolon (;) at the end of SQL command.
Creating Tables Using PHP Script
To create new table in any existing database you would need to use PHP function mysql_query(). You will pass its second argument with a proper SQL command to create a table.
Example
The following program is an example to create a table using PHP script −
<html>
<head>
<title>Creating MySQL Tables</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$dbhost = 'localhost:3036';
$dbuser = 'root';
$dbpass = 'rootpassword';
$conn = mysql_connect($dbhost, $dbuser, $dbpass);
if(! $conn ) {
die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
}
echo 'Connected successfully<br />';
$sql = "CREATE TABLE tutorials_tbl( ".
"tutorial_id INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT, ".
"tutorial_title VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL, ".
"tutorial_author VARCHAR(40) NOT NULL, ".
"submission_date DATE, ".
"PRIMARY KEY ( tutorial_id )); ";
mysql_select_db( 'TUTORIALS' );
$retval = mysql_query( $sql, $conn );
if(! $retval ) {
die('Could not create table: ' . mysql_error());
}
echo "Table created successfully\n";
mysql_close($conn);
?>
</body>
</html>