Describe Table (MySQL Tables & Views)

In MySQL, you can use the DESCRIBE statement or the SHOW COLUMNS statement to retrieve information about a table or view. This information includes the column names, data types, and any constraints that have been defined.

Syntax

The syntax for the DESCRIBE statement is as follows:

DESCRIBE table_name;

The syntax for the SHOW COLUMNS statement is as follows:

SHOW COLUMNS FROM table_name;

Both statements will return the same information.

Example

Let's say we have a table called employees. Here's how we can use the DESCRIBE statement to retrieve information about the table:

DESCRIBE employees;

This will return the following output:

+-------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+----------------+
| Field       | Type         | Null | Key | Default | Extra          |
+-------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+----------------+
| id          | int(11)      | NO   | PRI | NULL    | auto_increment |
| first_name  | varchar(50)  | NO   |     | NULL    |                |
| last_name   | varchar(50)  | NO   |     | NULL    |                |
| email       | varchar(100) | NO   |     | NULL    |                |
| hire_date   | date         | NO   |     | NULL    |                |
| salary      | int(11)      | NO   |     | NULL    |                |
| department  | varchar(50)  | NO   |     | NULL    |                |
+-------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+----------------+

This output shows us the field name, data type, whether the field allows null values, any keys, the default value (if any), and any extra information.

Explanation

In the example above, we used the DESCRIBE statement to retrieve information about the employees table. The output shows us each of the columns in the table, along with their data types, nullability, and any other relevant information.

Use

The DESCRIBE and SHOW COLUMNS statements can be useful when you need to quickly retrieve information about a table or view. This information can be used to help you write SQL queries or to better understand the schema of the database.

Important Points

• The DESCRIBE and SHOW COLUMNS statements can be used interchangeably to retrieve information about a table or view.
• The output of these statements provides information about the column names, data types, and any constraints that have been defined.
• The output can be used to help you write SQL queries or to better understand the schema of the database.

Summary

In this tutorial, we discussed how to use the DESCRIBE and SHOW COLUMNS statements in MySQL to retrieve information about a table or view. We covered the syntax, example, explanation, use, and important points of these statements. With this knowledge, you can now use these statements to better understand the schema of your MySQL database.