| Let's look at some basic operations you might want to do when interacting directly with your database server. Listing Available Databases To list those databases available to you when you first connect to a database server, use the following: Server | Syntax |
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MySQL | SHOW DATABASES; | PostgreSQL | \l | Oracle | Individual Oracle server instances are centered on a particular database. This does not really make sense for this server. | Microsoft SQL Server | Set Database=master and execute sp_databases. The first column returned from sp_databases contains the name. The second column is the size of the database. |
Listing Tables in a Database To list tables available in the currently selected database (USE DatabaseName), use this: Server | Syntax |
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MySQL | SHOW TABLES; | PostgreSQL | \dt | Oracle | SELECT * FROM all_tables | user_tables | dba_tables | Microsoft SQL Server | select * from sysobjects where type = 'u' |
Describing a Table To see the structure of a table, use this: Server | Syntax |
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MySQL | DESCRIBE TableName; | PostgreSQL | \d TableName | Oracle | DESC TableName; | Microsoft SQL Server | SELECT COLUMN_NAME, DATA_TYPE, IS_NULLABLE FROM pubs.INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS WHERE table_name = 'titles' |
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