However, it is easy to overcome this limitation by using the SQL Server Management Studio. This is a significant limitation as it is always good to see the columns of a table in the preferred ordering. When you use the ALTER TABLE command to add columns in SQL, it will, by default, add the columns to the end of the table. What are the Limitations and Restrictions to Add Columns in SQL? Now, use the syntax and rename your ‘Employee’ table to ‘Employees.’ You must then use the SELECT statement with the table name as ‘Employees’ to confirm the name change. Sp_rename 'old_table_name', 'new_table_name' Regardless, the syntax of renaming a table is given below. However, like columns, Microsoft also recommends dropping and recreating a table. Similar to a column, you can also rename a table. Sp_rename 'Employee.E_LastName', 'E_LName', 'COLUMN'Īlthough the sp_rename command helps rename the column, Microsoft recommends dropping the column and re-adding it with a new name to prevent breaking the stored procedures and scripts. Now that you know the syntax, it’s time to apply it and rename the ‘E_LastName’ column from your ‘Employee’ table to ‘E_LName.’ Sp_rename 'table_name.old_col_name', 'new_col_name', 'COLUMN' Instead, you have to use the sp_rename command for this. But you cannot do this with the ALTER TABLE command. Once you add columns in SQL, you can also rename them. How to Rename a Column From an Already Existing Table? Now, use it in your ‘Employee’ table to drop the ‘E_Address’ column. This will drop an already existing table from the table. The syntax for dropping a column is as follows: Like how you add columns in SQL, you can also drop it using the ALTER TABLE command. Now, try to insert VARCHAR data to see the results.Īs you can see, the query failed as the server had to convert the VARCHAR data to INT to add in the row, but it failed. If the column was modified, it will accept the data and insert it into the row.Īs you can see, it updated the data as it modified the column to be of INT data type. But add an integer number to the first row using the UPDATE statement and see if it accepts the data. You might not be able to witness any difference in the above output. Hence, you will modify the data_type for that column. But a salary can be either INT or decimal. If you have noticed, this example has used VARCHAR data_type for this column. In the syntax mentioned above, you can mention the modifications in the place of col_desription.įor this example, you will modify the E_Salary column. The ALTER TABLE command also lets you modify an existing column. How to Modify a Column in an Existing Table? Now that you know the syntax to add columns in SQL, use it to add two columns, ‘E_Address’ and ‘E_Salary,’ to your already existing ‘Employee’ table. With the same ALTER TABLE command, you can quickly add multiple columns to an existing table through a single ALTER TABLE command. NOTE: You will have to use a Microsoft SQL server throughout. You have set the ‘E_ID’ column as a primary key and the ‘E_Email_Id’ column as unique. INSERT INTO Employee VALUES (4, 'Rachel', 'F', 'ra.com') Īs you can see, the code mentioned above creates the ‘Employee’ table with four columns and four rows. INSERT INTO Employee VALUES (3, 'Florina', 'F', 'fl.com') INSERT INTO Employee VALUES (2, 'David', 'M', 'da.com') INSERT INTO Employee VALUES (1, 'George', 'M', 'ge.com') For this example, you must create a table named ‘Employee’ with E_ID, E_Name, E_Gender, and E_Email_Id columns. In the end, you will use the SELECT statement to view the table. Hence, before starting with anything else, create a table using the CREATE TABLE command and populate it using the INSERT INTO statement. Here, you will explore the ways to add column in sql to an existing table here. This command lets you add, modify, and delete several things including, constraints, views, and columns in SQL. For this, you can use the ALTER TABLE command. Hence, programmers are not likely to take that option leaving the better choice to add another column at disposal. The first option is not a good choice as it will consume a lot of time, especially if the table has vast data. There are two options available you can take backup, drop the table, and create a new one or add another column to the table. But now, HR comes and says that they want you to add column in SQL to the already created Employee table. You already successfully created the table. The HR and senior managers ask you to include columns such as employee_id, first_name, last_name, gender, email_id, and address. Picture this, you have created a large table in a database to manage employee data.
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