1.
Add Column
ALTER TABLE table_name
ADD column_name datatype;
Example:
ALTER TABLE employees
ADD birthdate DATE;
2. Drop Column
ALTER TABLE table_name
DROP COLUMN column_name;
Example:
ALTER TABLE employees
DROP COLUMN birthdate;
3. Modify Column Data Type
ALTER TABLE table_name
MODIFY COLUMN column_name new_datatype;
Example (MySQL):
ALTER TABLE employees
MODIFY COLUMN salary DECIMAL(10,2);
⚠️Note: In some SQL dialects like PostgreSQL, use ALTER COLUMN ... TYPE:
ALTER TABLE employees
ALTER COLUMN salary DECIMAL(10,2);
4. Rename Column
ALTER TABLE table_name
RENAME COLUMN old_name TO new_name;
Example (PostgreSQL / recent MySQL):
ALTER TABLE employees
RENAME COLUMN fullname TO full_name;
⚠️Note: For older MySQL versions, use CHANGE:
ALTER TABLE employees
CHANGE fullname full_name VARCHAR(255);
OR use this:
exec sp_rename 'employees.DOB' ,'dob','column';
5. LIKE is used in SQL for pattern matching, typically with the SELECT
statement.
Basic Syntax of LIKE
SELECT column_name
FROM table_name
WHERE column_name LIKE 'pattern';
Wildcards Used with LIKE
% → Matches any number of characters (including zero)
_ → Matches exactly one character
Examples:
1. Names that start with 'A':
SELECT * FROM employees
WHERE full_name LIKE 'A%';
2. Names that end with 'n':
SELECT * FROM employees
WHERE full_name LIKE '%n';
3. Names that contain 'ohn':
SELECT * FROM employees
WHERE full_name LIKE '%ohn%';
4. Names with exactly 5 letters:
SELECT * FROM employees
WHERE full_name LIKE '_____';
5. Email addresses from Gmail:
SELECT * FROM employees
WHERE email LIKE '%@gmail.com';