SQL: VIEWS

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A view is, in essence, a virtual table. It does not physically exist. Rather, it is created by a query joining one or more tables.

Creating a VIEW

The syntax for creating a VIEW is:

CREATE VIEW view_name AS

SELECT columns

FROM table

WHERE predicates;

For example:

CREATE VIEW sup_orders AS

SELECT suppliers.supplier_id, orders.quantity, orders.price

FROM suppliers, orders

WHERE suppliers.supplier_id = orders.supplier_id

and suppliers.supplier_name = 'IBM';

This would create a virtual table based on the result set of the select statement. You can now query the view as follows:

SELECT *

FROM sup_orders;

Updating a VIEW

You can update a VIEW without dropping it by using the following syntax:

CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW view_name AS

SELECT columns

FROM table

WHERE predicates;

For example:

CREATE or REPLACE VIEW sup_orders AS

SELECT suppliers.supplier_id, orders.quantity, orders.price

FROM suppliers, orders

WHERE suppliers.supplier_id = orders.supplier_id

and suppliers.supplier_name = 'Microsoft';

Dropping a VIEW

The syntax for dropping a VIEW is:

DROP VIEW view_name;

For example:

DROP VIEW sup_orders;