SQL CREATE TABLE Statement

The CREATE TABLE statement in SQL is used to create new tables in a database. Tables are the fundamental structures for organizing and storing data.

CREATE TABLE: Definition and Usage

When you create a table, you define its name and the columns it will contain. For each column, you specify a data type that determines what kind of data it can hold (e.g., numbers, text, dates).

Syntax

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

table_name is the name you choose for your new table. Each columnN datatype line defines a column; columnN is the column's name, and datatype specifies the type of data it will store (e.g., INT, VARCHAR(255), DATE). For more information on data types see the Data Types Reference.

Examples

Creating a New Table

This example creates a table named "Persons" with 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)
);
      

Creating a Table from an Existing Table

You can create a new table by copying data from an existing table using a SELECT statement. This is useful for making a copy of a table or creating a new table containing only certain columns from the original table.

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

Example: Copying Data from Customers to TestTable

CREATE TABLE TestTable AS
SELECT customername, contactname
FROM customers;