What does CREATE TABLE do?

The CREATE TABLE statement is used to create a new table in a database.

A table gives your data a clear structure before any rows are inserted. It defines the table name, the column names, the data type for each column, and any optional rules or constraints.

Basic CREATE TABLE syntax

A CREATE TABLE statement starts with the table name, followed by a list of columns. Each column should have a name and a data type.

CREATE TABLE table_name (
    column1 data_type,
    column2 data_type,
    column3 data_type
);

Here is a practical SQL Server-friendly example:

CREATE TABLE Employees (
    employee_id INT,
    employee_name VARCHAR(100),
    department VARCHAR(50),
    salary DECIMAL(10, 2)
);

Planning the table

Before writing CREATE TABLE, decide what data the table should store.

For an Employees table, we can plan the columns like this:

Creating the Employees table

This command creates a table called Employees.

CREATE TABLE Employees (
    employee_id INT,
    employee_name VARCHAR(100),
    department VARCHAR(50),
    salary DECIMAL(10, 2)
);

Created table structure

After running the CREATE TABLE statement, the table structure is defined like this:

Key takeaway