SQL CREATE VIEW Keyword

In SQL, a view is a virtual table based on the result-set of an SQL statement. It doesn't store data itself; instead, it provides a customized way to view or access data from one or more underlying tables.

Creating a View

Using CREATE VIEW

The CREATE VIEW command creates a new view. This view acts like a regular table but dynamically reflects the data from the underlying query.

CREATE VIEW view_name AS
SELECT column1, column2, ...
FROM table_name
WHERE condition;
      

Example: Creating a View of Brazilian Customers

CREATE VIEW BrazilCustomers AS
SELECT CustomerName, ContactName
FROM Customers
WHERE Country = "Brazil";
      

Querying the View

You can query a view just like a regular table:

SELECT * FROM BrazilCustomers;
      

CustomerName | ContactName
----------------------------
Maria Santos  | Maria Silva
...           | ...
      

Updating a View

Using CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW

The CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW command lets you modify an existing view. If the view doesn't exist, it creates it; otherwise, it replaces the old definition with the new one.

Example: Adding a Column to the View

CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW BrazilCustomers AS
SELECT CustomerName, ContactName, City
FROM Customers
WHERE Country = "Brazil";
      

Deleting a View

Using DROP VIEW

The DROP VIEW command removes a view from the database.

DROP VIEW BrazilCustomers;