Databases for Beginners SQLite

Databases for Beginners:
SQLite
Christopher F. Wimble

Uses of SQLite
● Good for
o Personal use
o Websites
o Data analysis
o Archives
o Bioinformatics
o Programming
o Applications
o Training
o USB Storage
● Not good for
o Very large databases (>140 Terabytes)
o Client-Server applications
o High volume websites (>500,000 hits/day)

Summary & Terms
● We will
o Create
o Insert
o Access
o Delete
o Modify
o Export/Import
ID Last First Job Real
007 Bond James Spy No
227 Fleming Ian Writer Yes
Table (Relation)
Column (Field, Attribute)
Row
(Record,Tuple)

Database structure
People
● PeopleID
● First
● Last
Contacts
● ContactID
● Person
● Contact
Skills
● SkillID
● Person
● Skill
ID
Has Skill
People
Primary Key = PeopleID
Contacts
Primary Key = ContactID
Foreign Key = Person -> PeopleID
Foreign Key = Friend -> PeopleID
Skills
Primary Key = SkillID
Foreign Key = Person -> PeopleID

Sample Database: PeopleCards.db
PeopleID First Last
1Christopher Wimble
2Margaret Henderson
3Peter Uetz
SkillsID Person Skill
1 1"Bioinformatics"
2 1"Python"
3 1"Writing"
4 2"Networking"
5 2"Presentation"
6 2"Writing"
7 3"Networking"
8 3"Bioinformatics"
9 3"Grant_Writing"
ContactsID Person Contact
1 1 2
2 1 3
PeopleID

Databases
MIRA
● Modify/Change
● Insert
● Remove/Delete
● Ask/Access
Data Formats in SQLite
● Text
● Integer
● (Blob)
● (Real)
● (Numeric)

Guidelines
• SQL Commands are CAPITALIZED
• Names have the first letter Capitalized
• All SQL commands end in a semicolon ;
• Commands specific to SQLite are in the format
.nameofcommand, for example .schema

Create the Database
● Open SQLite:
o Click on sqlite3.exe
● Create the database: Type the following command in the
command window
.open PeopleBook.db

Import information from a file
● Read in the information from the file PeopleBook.sql:
o Type the following command in the command window
.read PeopleBook.sql
o This uses the .read SQLite command to read in the file
PeopleBook.sql

Insert info 1
● First, try adding yourself to the PeopleBook database
● To add your name to the People table type the following
command
INSERT INTO People(First, Last) VALUES(“YourFirstName”,”YourLastName”);

Insert info 2
● Add one or more of your skills using the following command
INSERT INTO Skills(Person, Skill) VALUES(5,“NameOfSkill”);

Access info 1
● First lets take a look at the list of people in the database that
are in the People table, type the following command
● This lists all the people in the People table
SELECT * FROM People;

Access info 2
● Next lets take a look at all of the people and their skills from
the database
● This lists all the people in the People table and the skill they
have by performing a Join on the Skills table
SELECT First, Last,Skill FROM People,Skills
WHERE People.PeopleID = Skills.Person;

Access info 3
● Try looking for people in the database with the same skill you
listed
● This lists all the people from the People table that have that
skill
SELECT First, Last FROM People,Skills
WHERE People.PeopleID = Skills.Person
AND Skill = “YourListedSkill”;

Create Table
● Lets look at how to create a table, but first delete one of the
tables so we can rebuild it, type the following command
● Next lets rebuild the table, type the following command
DROP TABLE Contacts;
CREATE TABLE Contacts(ContactID INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
Person INTEGER, Contact INTEGER);

Insert info 3
● Lets finish rebuilding the Contacts table by inserting the
information, Margaret and I know eachother, type the
following command
● I also know Peter, type the following command
INSERT INTO Contacts(ContactID, Person, Contact) VALUES(1,1,2);
INSERT INTO Contacts(Person, Contact) VALUES(1,3);

Delete info
● Since James Bond is not an actual person, lets delete him
from the database, type the following command
DELETE FROM People WHERE PeopleID = 4;

Modify info
● Change my name in the database from Christopher to Chris,
type the following command
UPDATE People SET First = “Chris” WHERE PeopleID = 1;

Links and Resources
● SQLiteWrittenExplination, a Word document explaining the concepts in more detail
● My contact info
o Christopher Wimble: WimbleCF@VCU.edu
● Books
o The Definitive Guide to SQLite:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1430232250//ref=cm_sw_su_dp?tag=nethta-20
Also aviable for free online access through VCU libraries, see the link in the notes margin
o The Manga Guide to Databases: http://www.amazon.com/Manga-Guide-Databases-Mana-
Takahashi/dp/1593271905
● Video Tutorials
o Derek Banas:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGLfVvz_LVvTsslWD1HBQEjBbmAaAF9Xy
● Websites
o SQLite main page: https://www.sqlite.org/index.html
o SQLite command line tutorial: https://www.sqlite.org/cli.html
o Tutorials Point: http://www.tutorialspoint.com/sqlite/sqlite_commands.htm
o How to diagram a database: https://www.edrawsoft.com/how-to-draw-database-model-diagram.php

Databases for Beginners SQLite

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