SQL Server 2014 - Create a
Table
Seeing as our database is a task-tracker database, let's call our first
table "Tasks". This table will hold all tasks - regardless of their
status (eg. done, to do, in progress, etc). Then we can create another table
called "Status". Then once our tables contain data, we will be able
to run queries against these tables to find out what tasks need to be done and
which ones are in a given status, etc.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's create our first table.
These are the steps to create a
table in a SQL Server 2014 database using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).
1. Ensuring you have the correct database expanded
(in our case, the TaskTracker database), right click on the Tables icon
and select Table...from the contextual menu:
2.A new table will open in Design view. While you
have this screen open, do the following
Ø
Using the values in the screenshot, complete the
details in the Column Name column, the Data Type column,
and Allow Nulls column.
Ø
Make the TaskId column a Primary Key field
by right-clicking the button next to TaskId (i.e. the same area where
the key appears in the following screenshot) and selecting Set Primary Key.
Ø
Make the TaskId column an identity
column by setting Is Identity to Yes (you can find
this option under the Identity Specification section in the bottom
pane). Note that to set values in the bottom pane, you need to select the
column name in the top pane first. We're setting this column to be an
auto-number column - it will automatically generate a new number for each
record that is created.
Ø
Set the Default Value of the DateCreated column
to (getdate()). (This will automatically insert the current date into that
field for each new record).
What we are doing is creating the
column names, specifying the type of data that can be entered into them, and
setting default values. Restricting the data type for each column is very
important and helps maintain data integrity. For example, it can prevent us
from accidentally entering a task name into a field for storing the current
date. SQL Server will prevent data from entering tables where the data doesn't
adhere to the rules that we've set for each column.
3. Save the table by selecting File > Save
Table_1 or by right-clicking on the Table's tab and selecting Save
Table_1 from the contextual menu
4. When prompted, name your table
New Table
Now that you've created a new table, it will
appear under your database in the Tables section. If you don't see it
immediately, try refreshing the Object Explorer. You can do this by
right-clicking on Tables and clicking Refresh from the
contextual menu
Table View
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