Relational databases and SQL

Data in tables

A relational database stores information in tables, like a spreadsheet: columns (the fields) and rows (the records).

For example, a products table:

SQL

SQL (Structured Query Language) is the language for querying and manipulating that data. The most common query is SELECT, which reads rows.

SELECT name, price FROM products;

• SELECT indicates which columns you want (or * for all of them).
• FROM indicates which table.
• The query ends with ;.

In these exercises you write the query and run it against a real database (SQLite, inside the browser). You will see the result as a table.