The SQL Views are the virtual tables, which consists of a columns, rows from the referenced table. Unless, we defined indexed views, a view does not store a set of values in a database. When you use the SELECT Statement against a view, then the records will come from the table that we referenced while creating a view.
In this article we will explain you, How to create View in SQL, modify, rename, and delete Views in SQL Server.
Create View in SQL Server
You can use Transact-SQL Query, or SQL Management Studio to create the views in SQL Server. Before we get into the example, You can use a View for the following purposes:
- To simplify the data as per the user needs.
- Restricting the Users not to access the entire database.
NOTE: Some clients give access to Views only, and they will not allow you to access their main database.
Create View in SQL Server Management Studio
In this example we will show you the steps involved in create View in Sql Server using the Management Studio. Following are the restrictions we have to remember, while creating views, and they are:
- A View can be created only in the current database
- SQL Server View allows us to have maximum of 1024 columns
In order to view the existing Sql Server Views, Please select the Database that has the views.
From the below screenshot you can observe that, our [SQL Tutorial] database has no views.
Right click on the Views folder will open the context menu. Please select the New View.. option from the context menu as shown below.
Once you click on the New View… option it will open the Query Designer in separate window, and a Pop up window to add the required tables.
Here, you can add functions, tables, or views. From the below screenshot you can observe that, we selected the MyEmployees table, and Department table.
Once you selected the required tables it will show the Query Designer. Please select the required columns by check marking the column names in the Diagram Pane.
In this example we selected the First Name, Last Name, Education, Occupation, Department, Yearly Income, Sales, Hire Date from two tables. Remember, you can Join two tables by dragging one column on to the other.
Sort Type property is used to apply SQL ORDER BY functionality. Within the Grid Pane, Please change the Sort Type to Ascending or Descending as per you requirement. In this Sql Server views example we are sorting Yearly Income in the Descending Order.
Once you selected the Descending Operation, it will show you the sorting representation
From the below screenshot you can see the final query that we designed
Let us execute this Sql Server views query that we designed using the Management Studio and see the result
SQL CODE
-- SQL View Example SELECT TOP (100) PERCENT dbo.[MyEmployees Table].FirstName, dbo.[MyEmployees Table].LastName, dbo.[MyEmployees Table].Education, dbo.[MyEmployees Table].Occupation, dbo.Department.DepartmentName, dbo.[MyEmployees Table].YearlyIncome, dbo.[MyEmployees Table].Sales, dbo.[MyEmployees Table].HireDate FROM dbo.Department INNER JOIN dbo.[MyEmployees Table] ON dbo.Department.id = dbo.[MyEmployees Table].DeptID ORDER BY dbo.[MyEmployees Table].YearlyIncome DESC
OUTPUT
Next, go to File Menu and select the Save option to save the designed View.
That will open the pop up window called Choose Name to change the default name.
The following screenshot will show you the View that we created, and expand it to see the Column names.
Create SQL View using Transact-SQL Query
In this Sql Server view example we will show you, How to create a View in SQL Server using the Create View Statement
SQL CODE
-- SQL View Example USE [SQL Tutorial] GO CREATE VIEW EmployeesViewbyQuery AS SELECT [FirstName] + ' ' + [LastName] AS Name ,[Occupation] ,[Education] ,dept.DepartmentName AS Department ,[YearlyIncome] AS Income ,[Sales] FROM [MyEmployees Table] INNER JOIN Department AS dept ON Dept.[id] = [MyEmployees Table].DeptID GO
Let us see the Output
SQL CODE
-- SQL View Example USE [SQL Tutorial] GO SELECT * FROM [dbo].[EmployeesViewbyQuery]
OUTPUT
Rename Views in SQL Server
The SQL Server allows you to use the built-in stored procedure sp_rename, or the management studio to rename views in SQL Server.
Rename SQL View in SQL Management Studio
In this example we will show you, How to rename the SQL View using SSMS.
In order to rename, Please navigate to the View that you want to modify (EmployeesViewbySSMS), and right click on the view will open the context menu. Here, select the Rename option as shown below
Once you click on the Rename option, SSMS allows us to rename as per our requirements.
Rename SQL View using Transact-SQL Query
In SQL Server, we can use the sp_rename stored procedure to rename the SQL view. The basic syntax behind this is:
Syntax
SP_RENAME View_Old_Name, View_New_Name
In this example we will show you, How to rename the existing view using sp_rename stored procedure. To do so, Click New query and return the following query.
SQL CODE
-- Rename SQL View USE [SQL Tutorial] GO SP_RENAME EmployeesViewbyStudio, EmployeesViewbySQLSMS
Modify Views in SQL Server
The following examples will help you understand the steps involved in modifying the SQL Views using the Query, and SSMS. Before we get into the example, let us see the limitations, or restrictions to follow:
- Dependency Objects such as triggers, or stored procedures will not be effected by modifying a view.
- You can use the ALTER VIEW statement on indexed views because, ALTER VIEW will unconditionally drops all the indexes on the views.
Modify Views in SQL Server using SSMS
In order to modify Views in Sql Server Management Studio, Please navigate to the view that you want to modify (EmployeeViewbySQLSMS), and right click on the view name will open the context menu. Here, select the Design option as shown below
Once you select the design option, a new design query window will be opened with existing tables, along with the relationship. You can modify as per your requirement.
Here, we are using the Filter (WHERE Clause) to restrict the Employees whose Occupation = Professional, and we are using two columns in ORDER BY Clause
Let me select all the records from the EmployeeViewbySQLSMS to show the modified records.
-- Modified SQL View USE [SQL Tutorial] GO SELECT [FirstName] ,[LastName] ,[Education] ,[Occupation] ,[DepartmentName] ,[YearlyIncome] ,[Sales] ,[HireDate] FROM [dbo].[EmployeesViewbySQLSMS] GO
OUTPUT
Use Query to Modify Views in SQL Server
In this SQL View example, we will show you the steps involved in modifying the existing view using ALTER VIEW statement. To do so, Click New query and return the following query.
-- Modified SQL View USE [SQL Tutorial] GO ALTER VIEW [dbo].[EmployeesViewbySQLSMS] AS SELECT TOP 10 emp.FirstName, emp.LastName, emp.Education, emp.Occupation, Dept.DepartmentName, emp.YearlyIncome, emp.Sales FROM dbo.Department AS Dept INNER JOIN dbo.[MyEmployees Table] AS emp ON Dept.id = emp.DeptID ORDER BY emp.YearlyIncome DESC, emp.Sales DESC GO
Let us see the Output
SQL CODE
-- Modified SQL View SELECT [FirstName] ,[LastName] ,[Education] ,[Occupation] ,[DepartmentName] ,[YearlyIncome] ,[Sales] FROM [SQL Tutorial].[dbo].[EmployeesViewbySQLSMS]
OUTPUT
From the above screenshot you can observe that, View is returning top 10 records
Find definition Of a Views in SQL Server
In this example we will show you, how to use the sp_helptext stored procedure to get the definition of any view in SQL server.
-- SQL View Definition USE [SQL Tutorial] GO SP_HELPTEXT [EmployeesViewbyQuery]
OUTPUT
Delete Views in SQL Server
The following examples will show you, How to delete Views in SQL using the SSMS, and Transact-SQL Query. Before we get into the examples, remember:
- Deleting, or Dropping a Table will not drop the dependent View. You have to explicitly use the DROP VIEW statement to delete Sql Server view.
- When you drop a view, all the view information (including the definition) will be deleted from the system catalog.
Delete Views in SQL Server Management Studio
In this example we will show you, How to delete a view in SQL Server using the Management Studio. In order to do so, Please navigate to the view that you want to delete, and right click on the view name to open the context menu. You can click on the Delete option as shown below
For this demonstration we want to delete EmployeesViewbySQLSMS
Once you select the delete option, a Delete Object window will be opened as shown below. Click on the show Dependencies button to check the dependencies, and then click OK to delete the view.
Delete Views in SQL using Query
In this example we will show you, How to delete a SQL View using the T-SQL query.
SQL CODE
-- Delete SQL View USE [SQL Tutorial] GO DROP VIEW [dbo].[EmployeesViewbyQuery] GO
TIP: It is good practice to check, whether the Sql Server view exists in database or not using IF OBJECT_ID (N’View_Name’, ‘V’) IS NOT NULL
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