I really, really like the power of SQL, as you might have noticed from my article on how to edit thousands of WordPress articles with one SQL command. These are the sorts of cool things you can accomplish if you have some familiarity with SQL calls and the structure of databases.
That knowledge and experience doesn’t come overnight, it comes from playing around with SQL calls on a live database. It isn’t always easy to do that when the only database you might have access to is one at work. Well, using SQL Lite, you can create your own personal SQL database, fill it with as much data of all types, and then practice new SQL commands on that data to see how the results look.
Of course, another more simple use for SQLite Browser is to create a simple database to store any information you’d like to have in a searchable, database format. This is probably the quickest, easiest way to do so without the need to install or configure an actual database.
Creating a Database with SQLite
Whether you want to practice SQL programming or just want a simple database to store info, the starting point is the same. You’re going to need to create a database.When you first run the SQLite Database Browser, you’ll see a straightforward main window with a menu bar, a toolbar and three tabs. When you first get started, obviously there won’t be any database structure available, so the main display area will be blank.
Each database field can be a string (text), a number (numeric), a blob (binary data) or an integer key.
When you’re done creating your first table in the database, you’ll see the structure under the Database Structure tab on the main window. As you create each table in the database, you’ll see the tree start forming that will contain all tables and the fields within them. This is a fast, quick overview of what your entire database looks like, and an easy way to navigate it once it’s starts growing.
However, as a tool to learn SQL, the error message field is kind of nice because it tells you what you’re doing wrong. You can use that as a clue to rework your SQL statement and try again.
SQLite Browser is a sweet application to get started with database programming and if you want to quickly create a personal database to store some data that you’ve got kicking around. Having it in such a database gives you the added benefit of conducting SQL queries on it, which you couldn’t really do with the data if it’s just in some spreadsheet.
So, give SQLite Browser a try and see if it gives your SQL programming skills a bit of a boost. Share your experiences and thoughts with us in the comments section below.
Image Credits: Database Structure via Shutterstock
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