View in Sql Server


View in Sql Server

A view is nothing but a SQL statement that is stored in the database with an allied name. A view is truly an arrangement of a table in the form of a SQL query. A view can be created from one or many tables which depends on the written SQL query to create a view.
Views, which are kind of virtual tables, allow users to do the following:

•        Structure data in a way that users or classes of users find natural or intuitive.
•        Limit access to the data such that a user can see and modify exactly what they need.
•        Summarize data from various tables which can be used to produce reports.

How to create view in DB:

Database views are created using the CREATE VIEW statement.
The basic CREATE VIEW syntax is as follows:

CREATE VIEW view_name AS
SELECT columns .....
FROM table_name
WHERE [condition];

You can have multiple tables in SELECT statement in very like you use them in normal SQL SELECT query.

WITH CHECK OPTION:

The WITH CHECK OPTION is a CREATE VIEW statement option. The purpose of the WITH CHECK OPTION is to ensure that all UPDATE and INSERTs satisfy the condition(s) in the view definition.
If they do not satisfy the condition, the UPDATE or INSERT returns an error.

The following is an example of creating same view CUSTOMERS_VIEW with the WITH CHECK OPTION:

CREATE VIEW Emp_Details_View AS
SELECT name, Address, PhoneNo, Salary, age
FROM  Emp_Details
WHERE age IS NOT NULL WITH CHECK OPTION;

The WITH CHECK OPTION in this case should deny the entry of any NULL values in the view's AGE column, because the view is defined by data that does not have a NULL value in the AGE column.

Update a View:

A view can be updated under certain conditions:

•        SELECT clause may not contain the keyword DISTINCT.
•        SELECT clause may not contain summary functions.
•        SELECT clause may not contain set operators.
•        SELECT clause may not contain an ORDER BY clause.
•        FROM clause may not contain multiple tables.
•        WHERE clause may not contain subqueries.
•        SELECT clause may not contain set functions.
•        Query may not contain GROUP BY or HAVING.
•        Calculated columns may not be updated.
•        All NOT NULL columns from the base table must be included in the view in order for the INSERT query to function.

Inserting Rows into a View:

Rows of data can be inserted into a view. The same rules that apply to the UPDATE command also apply to the INSERT command.
Here we cannot insert rows in Emp_Details_VIEW because we have not included all the NOT NULL columns in this view, otherwise you can insert rows in a view in similar way as you insert them in a table.

Deleting Rows into a View:

Rows of data can be deleted from a view. The same rules that apply to the UPDATE and INSERT commands apply to the DELETE command.
Following is an example to delete a record having AGE= 22.

DELETE FROM Emp_Details_VIEW  WHERE age = 22;

Dropping Views:

 Where you have a view, you need a way to drop the view if it is no longer needed. The syntax is very simple as given below:

DROP VIEW view_name;

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