Writing & Running Your First SQL Script0%

Writing & Running Your First SQL Script

Beginner12 min read•Updated: 2026-09-12

Writing & Running Your First SQL Script

Now that you have MySQL installed and understand the tooling, it is time to write and execute your first real SQL script. In this tutorial, you will write a complete, self-contained SQL script that creates a database, creates a table, inserts records, queries data, and explores SQL comment conventions.

1. Writing Comments in SQL & MySQL

Good code documentation is as important in SQL as it is in any programming language. MySQL supports three distinct commenting styles:

1-- 1. Standard Single-Line Comment (ANSI SQL):
2-- Note the space after the two hyphens! This space is mandatory in MySQL.
3 
4# 2. MySQL-Specific Single-Line Comment:
5# Hash symbols can also be used for comments in MySQL scripts.
6 
7/* 3. Multi-Line Comment:
8   This comment can span across
9   multiple lines of text without
10   affecting execution. */

2. Your First Complete SQL Script

Copy and execute this complete script in MySQL Workbench or your CLI:

1-- Step 1: Create a brand new database for an institute
2CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS msk_tech_academy;
3 
4-- Step 2: Set the database as our active working context
5USE msk_tech_academy;
6 
7-- Step 3: Create a clean table for registered students
8CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS students (
9    student_id INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
10    full_name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
11    course_name VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
12    fee_paid DECIMAL(8, 2) NOT NULL,
13    enrollment_date DATE NOT NULL
14);
15 
16-- Step 4: Insert sample student records
17INSERT INTO students (full_name, course_name, fee_paid, enrollment_date) 
18VALUES 
19    ('Aarav Sharma', 'Python Mastery', 15000.00, '2026-01-10'),
20    ('Priya Patel', 'Web Development', 18000.00, '2026-01-15'),
21    ('Rohan Verma', 'Data Analytics', 16500.00, '2026-02-01'),
22    ('Ananya Gupta', 'Python Mastery', 15000.00, '2026-02-10');
23 
24-- Step 5: Query all students enrolled in 'Python Mastery'
25SELECT 
26    student_id,
27    full_name,
28    fee_paid,
29    enrollment_date
30FROM students
31WHERE course_name = 'Python Mastery';

3. Breaking Down the Query Output

When the final SELECT query executes, MySQL returns a structured tabular result set:

Visual Architecture Blueprint

+------------+---------------+----------+-----------------+
| student_id | full_name     | fee_paid | enrollment_date |
+------------+---------------+----------+-----------------+
|          1 | Aarav Sharma  | 15000.00 | 2026-01-10      |
|          4 | Ananya Gupta  | 15000.00 | 2026-02-10      |
+------------+---------------+----------+-----------------+
2 rows in set (0.00 sec)

What Just Happened Under the Hood?

1
Schema Check: The MySQL server checked if msk_tech_academy existed; if not, it created a dedicated schema directory in its data folder.
2
Table Definition: InnoDB allocated a table dictionary entry and created the table space.
3
Data Ingestion: The 4 rows were written to the active buffer pool page and committed to the redo log for durability.
4
Filtered Read: The SELECT statement filtered the rows, returning only those matching course_name = 'Python Mastery'.

4. Running SQL Scripts from a File

In professional DevOps workflows, you rarely type SQL statements interactively one by one. You save them to a .sql script file and execute them via the CLI:

1# Method 1: Using input redirection in terminal:
2mysql -u root -p msk_tech_academy < setup_database.sql
3 
4# Method 2: From inside the MySQL prompt using the source command:
5mysql> USE msk_tech_academy;
6mysql> SOURCE /path/to/your/script.sql;

5. Best Practices & Common Pitfalls

Always Use IF NOT EXISTS: Adding IF NOT EXISTS to CREATE DATABASE and CREATE TABLE prevents fatal script crashes when running initialization scripts multiple times in deployment pipelines.
Hyphen Comment Spacing: In standard ANSI SQL and MySQL, single-line comments using -- must be followed by at least one space (e.g., -- comment). Writing --comment without a space will trigger a syntax error in MySQL!
Consistent Semicolons: Always terminate every DDL and DML statement with a semicolon (;).

Interactive Quiz• Knowledge Check

Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1

In MySQL, what is required immediately after the two hyphens (--) for a single-line comment to be valid?

Question 2

Which SQL clause prevents an error from occurring if a table with the specified name already exists?

Question 3

Which command executed inside the MySQL CLI prompt loads and runs an external .sql script file?

Question 4

What is the effect of the AUTO_INCREMENT attribute on a primary key column in MySQL?

Question 5

How can you execute a file named schema.sql directly from the operating system shell without opening the interactive MySQL prompt?

Next Lesson

Creating & Listing Databases

Continue learning with hands-on practice, examples, and exercises in the upcoming topic.

Related Lessons

Previous Lesson	Next Lesson
Setting Up MySQL Workbench	Creating & Listing Databases

Practice Quiz

Test your understanding of this lesson with 5 questions. Each question has one correct answer.

Previous Next

PreviousPrevNext

MSK Institute • Shikohabad

Loading Page Content...

Preparing courses, live labs, and learning resources.सामग्री लोड हो रही है, कृपया प्रतीक्षा करें...

Connecting serverPlease wait...

💻 Practical Labs🚀 Free Demo📜 Verified Certificates

Creating & Listing Databases

Writing & Running Your First SQL Script

Beginner12 min read•Updated: 2026-09-12

Study Materials Cheatsheet

Writing & Running Your First SQL Script

1. Writing Comments in SQL & MySQL

Good code documentation is as important in SQL as it is in any programming language. MySQL supports three distinct commenting styles:

1-- 1. Standard Single-Line Comment (ANSI SQL):
2-- Note the space after the two hyphens! This space is mandatory in MySQL.
3 
4# 2. MySQL-Specific Single-Line Comment:
5# Hash symbols can also be used for comments in MySQL scripts.
6 
7/* 3. Multi-Line Comment:
8   This comment can span across
9   multiple lines of text without
10   affecting execution. */

2. Your First Complete SQL Script

Copy and execute this complete script in MySQL Workbench or your CLI:

1-- Step 1: Create a brand new database for an institute
2CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS msk_tech_academy;
3 
4-- Step 2: Set the database as our active working context
5USE msk_tech_academy;
6 
7-- Step 3: Create a clean table for registered students
8CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS students (
9    student_id INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
10    full_name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
11    course_name VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
12    fee_paid DECIMAL(8, 2) NOT NULL,
13    enrollment_date DATE NOT NULL
14);
15 
16-- Step 4: Insert sample student records
17INSERT INTO students (full_name, course_name, fee_paid, enrollment_date) 
18VALUES 
19    ('Aarav Sharma', 'Python Mastery', 15000.00, '2026-01-10'),
20    ('Priya Patel', 'Web Development', 18000.00, '2026-01-15'),
21    ('Rohan Verma', 'Data Analytics', 16500.00, '2026-02-01'),
22    ('Ananya Gupta', 'Python Mastery', 15000.00, '2026-02-10');
23 
24-- Step 5: Query all students enrolled in 'Python Mastery'
25SELECT 
26    student_id,
27    full_name,
28    fee_paid,
29    enrollment_date
30FROM students
31WHERE course_name = 'Python Mastery';

3. Breaking Down the Query Output

When the final SELECT query executes, MySQL returns a structured tabular result set:

Visual Architecture Blueprint

+------------+---------------+----------+-----------------+
| student_id | full_name     | fee_paid | enrollment_date |
+------------+---------------+----------+-----------------+
|          1 | Aarav Sharma  | 15000.00 | 2026-01-10      |
|          4 | Ananya Gupta  | 15000.00 | 2026-02-10      |
+------------+---------------+----------+-----------------+
2 rows in set (0.00 sec)

What Just Happened Under the Hood?

1
Schema Check: The MySQL server checked if msk_tech_academy existed; if not, it created a dedicated schema directory in its data folder.
2
Table Definition: InnoDB allocated a table dictionary entry and created the table space.
3
Data Ingestion: The 4 rows were written to the active buffer pool page and committed to the redo log for durability.
4
Filtered Read: The SELECT statement filtered the rows, returning only those matching course_name = 'Python Mastery'.

4. Running SQL Scripts from a File

In professional DevOps workflows, you rarely type SQL statements interactively one by one. You save them to a .sql script file and execute them via the CLI:

1# Method 1: Using input redirection in terminal:
2mysql -u root -p msk_tech_academy < setup_database.sql
3 
4# Method 2: From inside the MySQL prompt using the source command:
5mysql> USE msk_tech_academy;
6mysql> SOURCE /path/to/your/script.sql;

5. Best Practices & Common Pitfalls

Always Use IF NOT EXISTS: Adding IF NOT EXISTS to CREATE DATABASE and CREATE TABLE prevents fatal script crashes when running initialization scripts multiple times in deployment pipelines.
Hyphen Comment Spacing: In standard ANSI SQL and MySQL, single-line comments using -- must be followed by at least one space (e.g., -- comment). Writing --comment without a space will trigger a syntax error in MySQL!
Consistent Semicolons: Always terminate every DDL and DML statement with a semicolon (;).

Interactive Quiz• Knowledge Check

Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1

In MySQL, what is required immediately after the two hyphens (--) for a single-line comment to be valid?

Question 2

Which SQL clause prevents an error from occurring if a table with the specified name already exists?

Question 3

Which command executed inside the MySQL CLI prompt loads and runs an external .sql script file?

Question 4

What is the effect of the AUTO_INCREMENT attribute on a primary key column in MySQL?

Question 5

How can you execute a file named schema.sql directly from the operating system shell without opening the interactive MySQL prompt?

Next Lesson

Creating & Listing Databases

Continue learning with hands-on practice, examples, and exercises in the upcoming topic.

Related Lessons

Previous Lesson	Next Lesson
Setting Up MySQL Workbench	Creating & Listing Databases

Practice Quiz

Test your understanding of this lesson with 5 questions. Each question has one correct answer.

Previous Next