lesson-1-2-creating-a-table.md

title	Creating a Table (Tutorial) | Microsoft Docs
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ms.date	06/13/2017
ms.prod	sql-server-2014
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ms.topic	conceptual
helpviewer_keywords	creating tables
ms.assetid	653f2dd3-36a2-4bd5-8703-71a57d244661
author	VanMSFT
ms.author	vanto
manager	craigg

Creating a Table (Tutorial)

To create a table, you must provide a name for the table, and the names and data types of each column in the table. It is also a good practice to indicate whether null values are allowed in each column.

Most tables have a primary key, made up of one or more columns of the table. A primary key is always unique. The [!INCLUDEssDE] will enforce the restriction that any primary key value cannot be repeated in the table.

For a list of data types and links for a description of each, see Data Types (Transact-SQL).

Note

The [!INCLUDEssDE] can be installed as case sensitive or non-case sensitive. If the [!INCLUDEssDE] is installed as case sensitive, object names must always have the same case. For example, a table named OrderData is a different table from a table named ORDERDATA. If the [!INCLUDEssDE] is installed as non-case sensitive, those two table names are considered to be the same table, and that name can only be used one time.

To create a database to contain the new table

• Enter the following code into a Query Editor window.

  USE master;  
  GO  
  
  --Delete the TestData database if it exists.  
  IF EXISTS(SELECT * from sys.databases WHERE name='TestData')  
  BEGIN  
      DROP DATABASE TestData;  
  END  
  
  --Create a new database called TestData.  
  CREATE DATABASE TestData;  
  Press the F5 key to execute the code and create the database.  
  

Switch the Query Editor connection to the TestData database

• In a Query Editor window, type and execute the following code to change your connection to the TestData database.

  USE TestData  
  GO  
  

To create a table

• In a Query Editor window, type and execute the following code to create a simple table named Products. The columns in the table are named ProductID, ProductName, Price, and ProductDescription. The ProductID column is the primary key of the table. int, varchar(25), money, and text are all data types. Only the Price and ProductionDescription columns can have no data when a row is inserted or changed. This statement contains an optional element (dbo.) called a schema. The schema is the database object that owns the table. If you are an administrator, dbo is the default schema. dbo stands for database owner.

  CREATE TABLE dbo.Products  
     (ProductID int PRIMARY KEY NOT NULL,  
      ProductName varchar(25) NOT NULL,  
      Price money NULL,  
      ProductDescription text NULL)  
  GO  
  

Next Task in Lesson

Inserting and Updating Data in a Table (Tutorial)

See Also

CREATE TABLE (Transact-SQL)