Basic MySQL Interview Questions and Answers
Q: What is MySQL?
A: MySQL is an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS) that uses
Structured Query Language (SQL) for managing and manipulating databases.
Q: What are the differences between MySQL and SQL?
A: SQL is a language used to query and manage databases. MySQL is a software (RDBMS) that
uses SQL to perform database operations.
Q: What are the different data types in MySQL?
A: Numeric: INT, FLOAT, DOUBLE, DECIMAL
String: VARCHAR, CHAR, TEXT
Date/Time: DATE, DATETIME, TIME, TIMESTAMP
Boolean: TINYINT(1)
Q: What is the default port number for MySQL?
A: The default port is 3306.
Q: How do you start and stop the MySQL service?
A: Start: sudo service mysql start
Stop: sudo service mysql stop
Q: How do you create a database in MySQL?
A: CREATE DATABASE database_name;
Q: How do you create a table?
A: CREATE TABLE users (
id INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
name VARCHAR(50),
email VARCHAR(100)
);
Q: How can you view all databases and tables in MySQL?
A: SHOW DATABASES;
USE database_name;
SHOW TABLES;
Q: How do you delete a database or a table?
A: DROP DATABASE database_name;
DROP TABLE table_name;
Q: What is the difference between DROP, DELETE, and TRUNCATE?
A: DROP removes the table or database completely.
DELETE removes specific rows from a table.
TRUNCATE removes all rows from a table quickly without logging individual row deletions.
Q: How do you insert data into a table?
A: INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES ('John Doe', 'john@example.com');
Q: How do you update data in a table?
A: UPDATE users SET email = 'john.doe@example.com' WHERE id = 1;
Q: How do you delete specific records?
A: DELETE FROM users WHERE id = 1;
Q: How do you fetch data using SELECT statements?
A: SELECT * FROM users;
SELECT name, email FROM users WHERE id = 1;
Q: What is the use of WHERE clause?
A: The WHERE clause filters records that meet specific conditions.
Example: SELECT * FROM users WHERE name = 'John';
Q: What is the difference between WHERE and HAVING?
A: WHERE is used before aggregation (e.g., GROUP BY)
HAVING is used after aggregation to filter grouped results.
Q: How do you sort results using ORDER BY?
A: SELECT * FROM users ORDER BY name ASC;
Q: What is LIMIT used for?
A: It limits the number of records returned: SELECT * FROM users LIMIT 5;
Q: What are wildcards in SQL and how do you use them?
A: Wildcards are used with LIKE for pattern matching.
% matches any number of characters.
_ matches a single character.
Example: SELECT * FROM users WHERE name LIKE 'J%';
Q: What is a JOIN? Name the types of joins.
A: A JOIN combines rows from two or more tables based on a related column.
Types: INNER JOIN, LEFT JOIN, RIGHT JOIN, FULL OUTER JOIN (emulated in MySQL)
Q: What is the difference between INNER JOIN and LEFT JOIN?
A: INNER JOIN returns records with matching values in both tables.
LEFT JOIN returns all records from the left table and matched records from the right table.
