Create MySQL Tables

To begin with, the table creation command requires the following details −

• Name of the table
• Name of the fields
• Definitions for each field
  

  Syntax

  Here is a generic SQL syntax to create a MySQL table −

  CREATE TABLE table_name (column_name column_type);

  Now, we will create the following table in the mydb database.

  CREATE TABLE employees(
  `id` INT(11) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
  `company` VARCHAR(50) ,
  `first_name` VARCHAR(50) ,
  `last_name` VARCHAR(50) ,
  `job_title` VARCHAR(50) ,
  `mobile_phone` VARCHAR(25) ,
  `email_address` VARCHAR(50) ,
  PRIMARY KEY (`id`)
  );
  Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.24 sec)

  Here, a few items need explanation −

• Field Attribute NOT NULL is being used because we do not want this field to be NULL. So, if a user will try to create a record with a NULL value, then MySQL will raise an error.
• Field Attribute AUTO_INCREMENT tells MySQL to go ahead and add the next available number to the id field.
• Keyword PRIMARY KEY is used to define a column as a primary key. You can use multiple columns separated by a comma to define a primary key.
  

  Creating Tables from Command Prompt

  It is easy to create a MySQL table from the mysql> prompt. You will use the SQL command CREATE TABLE to create a table.

  Example

  Here is an example, which will create tutorials_tbl −

  root@host# mysql -u root -p
  Enter password:
  [mysql]> use mydb
  Database changed
  [mydb]> CREATE TABLE employees(
  ->   `id` INT(11) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
  ->   `company` VARCHAR(50) ,
  ->   `first_name` VARCHAR(50) ,
  ->   `last_name` VARCHAR(50) ,
  ->   `job_title` VARCHAR(50) ,
  ->   `mobile_phone` VARCHAR(25) ,
  ->   `email_address` VARCHAR(50) ,
  ->   PRIMARY KEY (`id`)
  ->   );
  Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.24 sec)

  NOTE − MySQL does not terminate a command until you give a semicolon (;) at the end of SQL command.

  Creating Tables Using PHP Script

  To create new table in any existing database you would need to use PHP function mysqli_query(). You will pass its second argument with a proper SQL command to create a table.

  Example

  The following program is an example to create a table using PHP script −

  <title>Creating Table in Mysql</title>
  query($sql) === TRUE) {
  echo "Table employees created successfully";
  } else {
  echo "Error creating table: " . $conn->error;
  }
  $conn->close();
  ?>