SQL Tutorial › Getting Started › The Sample Database

The SQL Sample Database

Q: Can I change the sample data?

Yes. Run INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE freely; to start over, drop the database and run the script again. The Try it editors in the lessons always start from a fresh copy.

BeginnerLesson 6 of 698 min read1 queries run on MySQL 8.4

Every lesson in this tutorial queries the same small company database, so you can focus on SQL instead of new data each time. It has six related tables: a company’s departments and employees, and its online shop’s customers, products, orders and order items. This page shows every row and gives you the script to create it on your own MySQL server.

In this lesson

What each table holds and how the tables are linked
Which rows make interesting edge cases (NULLs, unmatched rows, ties)
How to create the database on your own server

How the tables are linked

Table	Primary key	Links to	Rows
`departments`	`dept_id`		5
`employees`	`emp_id`	`dept_id` → departments, `manager_id` → employees	12
`customers`	`customer_id`		7
`products`	`product_id`		9
`orders`	`order_id`	`customer_id` → customers	10
`order_items`	`order_id` + `product_id`	`order_id` → orders, `product_id` → products	16

HR side: each employee belongs to a department and reports to a manager, who is also an employee (manager_id points back to employees). The chain goes four levels deep: CEO → manager → senior developer → developer.
Shop side: a customer places orders; each order has one or more order items; each item is a product with a quantity. Line amount = quantity × price.

departments

departments · 5 rows

dept_id	dept_name	location
1	Engineering	Bengaluru
2	Sales	Mumbai
3	Marketing	Pune
4	HR	Delhi
5	Finance	Mumbai

Finance (dept 5) has no employees: useful for LEFT JOIN examples.

employees

employees · 12 rows

emp_id	first_name	last_name	dept_id	manager_id	job_title	salary	commission	hire_date	city
100	Meera	Kapoor	NULL	NULL	CEO	250000	NULL	2015-01-05	Mumbai
101	Asha	Rao	1	100	Engineering Manager	125000	NULL	2018-04-12	Bengaluru
102	Rahul	Mehta	1	101	Senior Developer	98000	NULL	2019-07-01	Bengaluru
103	Priya	Nair	1	101	QA Engineer	72000	NULL	2021-01-18	Pune
104	Karan	Shah	1	102	Developer	72000	NULL	2022-08-29	Bengaluru
105	Vikram	Singh	2	100	Sales Manager	105000	12000	2017-11-20	Mumbai
106	Neha	Gupta	2	105	Sales Executive	54000	6000	2022-03-14	Mumbai
107	Arjun	Das	2	105	Sales Executive	48000	4500	2023-06-05	Kolkata
108	Kavya	Iyer	3	100	Marketing Lead	88000	NULL	2020-09-09	Pune
109	Rohan	Joshi	3	108	Content Writer	45000	NULL	2024-01-22	Pune
110	Sneha	Kulkarni	4	100	HR Manager	78000	NULL	2019-02-25	Delhi
111	Amit	Verma	1	101	Intern	25000	NULL	2025-06-02	Bengaluru

Rows worth noticing:

Meera Kapoor (100), the CEO, has no department and no manager (NULL).
Priya Nair and Karan Shah both earn 72,000: a tie, which matters for RANK and DENSE_RANK.
Only the three Sales staff have a commission; it is NULL for everyone else (NULL Values).

customers

customers · 7 rows

customer_id	customer_name	email	city	joined_on
1	Ananya Sharma	ananya@example.com	Mumbai	2024-01-15
2	Rohit Kumar	rohit.k@example.com	Delhi	2024-02-03
3	Fatima Khan	fatima@example.com	Hyderabad	2024-03-21
4	David Fernandes	NULL	Goa	2024-05-09
5	Ishita Bose	ishita@example.com	Kolkata	2024-07-30
6	Manoj Pillai	manoj.p@example.com	Chennai	2025-01-11
7	Sara Thomas	sara.t@example.com	Bengaluru	2025-03-02

David Fernandes has no email, and Manoj Pillai and Sara Thomas have never ordered.

products

products · 9 rows

product_id	product_name	category	price	stock
1	Wireless Mouse	Electronics	799	120
2	Mechanical Keyboard	Electronics	3499	45
3	USB-C Hub	Electronics	1999	0
4	Office Chair	Furniture	8999	12
5	Standing Desk	Furniture	18999	5
6	Notebook Pack	Stationery	249	300
7	Gel Pens	Stationery	199	250
8	Desk Lamp	Furniture	1499	30
9	Monitor Arm	Furniture	2799	18

The USB-C Hub is out of stock (stock = 0), and the Monitor Arm has never been ordered.

orders

orders · 10 rows

order_id	customer_id	order_date	status
1001	1	2025-01-05	Delivered
1002	2	2025-01-17	Delivered
1003	1	2025-02-02	Delivered
1004	3	2025-02-14	Cancelled
1005	4	2025-03-08	Delivered
1006	5	2025-03-22	Shipped
1007	2	2025-04-10	Delivered
1008	1	2025-04-28	Pending
1009	3	2025-05-15	Delivered
1010	5	2025-06-01	Delivered

order_items

order_items · 16 rows

order_id	product_id	quantity
1001	2	1
1001	6	5
1002	4	1
1003	1	1
1003	2	1
1004	5	1
1005	6	10
1005	7	4
1006	3	2
1006	8	1
1007	1	1
1008	4	2
1008	8	2
1009	2	1
1010	6	3
1010	7	2

A first look across the tables

How much did each order cost? This joins three tables. You will learn every part of it in the coming lessons:

SQL

SELECT o.order_id,       c.customer_name,       o.status,       SUM(oi.quantity * p.price) AS order_totalFROM orders oJOIN customers   c  ON c.customer_id = o.customer_idJOIN order_items oi ON oi.order_id   = o.order_idJOIN products    p  ON p.product_id  = oi.product_idGROUP BY o.order_id, c.customer_name, o.statusORDER BY o.order_id;

ResultMySQL 8.4

order_id	customer_name	status	order_total
1001	Ananya Sharma	Delivered	4744
1002	Rohit Kumar	Delivered	8999
1003	Ananya Sharma	Delivered	4298
1004	Fatima Khan	Cancelled	18999
1005	David Fernandes	Delivered	3286
1006	Ishita Bose	Shipped	5497
1007	Rohit Kumar	Delivered	799
1008	Ananya Sharma	Pending	20996
1009	Fatima Khan	Delivered	3499
1010	Ishita Bose	Delivered	1145

10 rows in set

How this query works, step by step

FROM orders o starts from the 10 orders (o is a short alias).
The three JOINs attach the customer, the order’s items and each item’s product.
quantity * price is the amount of one line; SUM(...) adds the lines of each order.
GROUP BY makes one result row per order, and ORDER BY sorts by order number.

Create it on your own server

Create the database, select it, then run the script below (copy it into the mysql client, MySQL Workbench or any SQL tool):

MySQL

CREATE DATABASE company;USE company;

company.sql

-- sqatools.in SQL tutorial: the "company" sample database (runs unchanged on MySQL 8.4 and SQLite)CREATE TABLE departments (  dept_id   INT PRIMARY KEY,  dept_name VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,  location  VARCHAR(50));INSERT INTO departments VALUES(1, 'Engineering', 'Bengaluru'),(2, 'Sales', 'Mumbai'),(3, 'Marketing', 'Pune'),(4, 'HR', 'Delhi'),(5, 'Finance', 'Mumbai'); CREATE TABLE employees (  emp_id     INT PRIMARY KEY,  first_name VARCHAR(30) NOT NULL,  last_name  VARCHAR(30) NOT NULL,  dept_id    INT,  manager_id INT,  job_title  VARCHAR(40),  salary     INT,  commission INT,  hire_date  DATE,  city       VARCHAR(30),  FOREIGN KEY (dept_id) REFERENCES departments (dept_id));INSERT INTO employees VALUES(100, 'Meera', 'Kapoor', NULL, NULL, 'CEO', 250000, NULL, '2015-01-05', 'Mumbai'),(101, 'Asha', 'Rao', 1, 100, 'Engineering Manager', 125000, NULL, '2018-04-12', 'Bengaluru'),(102, 'Rahul', 'Mehta', 1, 101, 'Senior Developer', 98000, NULL, '2019-07-01', 'Bengaluru'),(103, 'Priya', 'Nair', 1, 101, 'QA Engineer', 72000, NULL, '2021-01-18', 'Pune'),(104, 'Karan', 'Shah', 1, 102, 'Developer', 72000, NULL, '2022-08-29', 'Bengaluru'),(105, 'Vikram', 'Singh', 2, 100, 'Sales Manager', 105000, 12000, '2017-11-20', 'Mumbai'),(106, 'Neha', 'Gupta', 2, 105, 'Sales Executive', 54000, 6000, '2022-03-14', 'Mumbai'),(107, 'Arjun', 'Das', 2, 105, 'Sales Executive', 48000, 4500, '2023-06-05', 'Kolkata'),(108, 'Kavya', 'Iyer', 3, 100, 'Marketing Lead', 88000, NULL, '2020-09-09', 'Pune'),(109, 'Rohan', 'Joshi', 3, 108, 'Content Writer', 45000, NULL, '2024-01-22', 'Pune'),(110, 'Sneha', 'Kulkarni', 4, 100, 'HR Manager', 78000, NULL, '2019-02-25', 'Delhi'),(111, 'Amit', 'Verma', 1, 101, 'Intern', 25000, NULL, '2025-06-02', 'Bengaluru'); CREATE TABLE customers (  customer_id   INT PRIMARY KEY,  customer_name VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,  email         VARCHAR(60),  city          VARCHAR(30),  joined_on     DATE);INSERT INTO customers VALUES(1, 'Ananya Sharma', 'ananya@example.com', 'Mumbai', '2024-01-15'),(2, 'Rohit Kumar', 'rohit.k@example.com', 'Delhi', '2024-02-03'),(3, 'Fatima Khan', 'fatima@example.com', 'Hyderabad', '2024-03-21'),(4, 'David Fernandes', NULL, 'Goa', '2024-05-09'),(5, 'Ishita Bose', 'ishita@example.com', 'Kolkata', '2024-07-30'),(6, 'Manoj Pillai', 'manoj.p@example.com', 'Chennai', '2025-01-11'),(7, 'Sara Thomas', 'sara.t@example.com', 'Bengaluru', '2025-03-02'); CREATE TABLE products (  product_id   INT PRIMARY KEY,  product_name VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,  category     VARCHAR(30),  price        INT,  stock        INT);INSERT INTO products VALUES(1, 'Wireless Mouse', 'Electronics', 799, 120),(2, 'Mechanical Keyboard', 'Electronics', 3499, 45),(3, 'USB-C Hub', 'Electronics', 1999, 0),(4, 'Office Chair', 'Furniture', 8999, 12),(5, 'Standing Desk', 'Furniture', 18999, 5),(6, 'Notebook Pack', 'Stationery', 249, 300),(7, 'Gel Pens', 'Stationery', 199, 250),(8, 'Desk Lamp', 'Furniture', 1499, 30),(9, 'Monitor Arm', 'Furniture', 2799, 18); CREATE TABLE orders (  order_id    INT PRIMARY KEY,  customer_id INT NOT NULL,  order_date  DATE NOT NULL,  status      VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL,  FOREIGN KEY (customer_id) REFERENCES customers (customer_id));INSERT INTO orders VALUES(1001, 1, '2025-01-05', 'Delivered'),(1002, 2, '2025-01-17', 'Delivered'),(1003, 1, '2025-02-02', 'Delivered'),(1004, 3, '2025-02-14', 'Cancelled'),(1005, 4, '2025-03-08', 'Delivered'),(1006, 5, '2025-03-22', 'Shipped'),(1007, 2, '2025-04-10', 'Delivered'),(1008, 1, '2025-04-28', 'Pending'),(1009, 3, '2025-05-15', 'Delivered'),(1010, 5, '2025-06-01', 'Delivered'); CREATE TABLE order_items (  order_id   INT,  product_id INT,  quantity   INT NOT NULL,  PRIMARY KEY (order_id, product_id),  FOREIGN KEY (order_id) REFERENCES orders (order_id),  FOREIGN KEY (product_id) REFERENCES products (product_id));INSERT INTO order_items VALUES(1001, 2, 1), (1001, 6, 5),(1002, 4, 1),(1003, 2, 1), (1003, 1, 1),(1004, 5, 1),(1005, 6, 10), (1005, 7, 4),(1006, 3, 2), (1006, 8, 1),(1007, 1, 1),(1008, 4, 2), (1008, 8, 2),(1009, 2, 1),(1010, 6, 3), (1010, 7, 2);

— sqatools.in SQL tutorial: the "company" sample database (runs unchanged on MySQL 8.4 and SQLite)
CREATE TABLE departments (
  dept_id   INT PRIMARY KEY,
  dept_name VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
  location  VARCHAR(50)
);
INSERT INTO departments VALUES
(1, 'Engineering', 'Bengaluru'),
(2, 'Sales', 'Mumbai'),
(3, 'Marketing', 'Pune'),
(4, 'HR', 'Delhi'),
(5, 'Finance', 'Mumbai');

CREATE TABLE employees (
  emp_id     INT PRIMARY KEY,
  first_name VARCHAR(30) NOT NULL,
  last_name  VARCHAR(30) NOT NULL,
  dept_id    INT,
  manager_id INT,
  job_title  VARCHAR(40),
  salary     INT,
  commission INT,
  hire_date  DATE,
  city       VARCHAR(30),
  FOREIGN KEY (dept_id) REFERENCES departments (dept_id)
);
INSERT INTO employees VALUES
(100, 'Meera', 'Kapoor', NULL, NULL, 'CEO', 250000, NULL, '2015-01-05', 'Mumbai'),
(101, 'Asha', 'Rao', 1, 100, 'Engineering Manager', 125000, NULL, '2018-04-12', 'Bengaluru'),
(102, 'Rahul', 'Mehta', 1, 101, 'Senior Developer', 98000, NULL, '2019-07-01', 'Bengaluru'),
(103, 'Priya', 'Nair', 1, 101, 'QA Engineer', 72000, NULL, '2021-01-18', 'Pune'),
(104, 'Karan', 'Shah', 1, 102, 'Developer', 72000, NULL, '2022-08-29', 'Bengaluru'),
(105, 'Vikram', 'Singh', 2, 100, 'Sales Manager', 105000, 12000, '2017-11-20', 'Mumbai'),
(106, 'Neha', 'Gupta', 2, 105, 'Sales Executive', 54000, 6000, '2022-03-14', 'Mumbai'),
(107, 'Arjun', 'Das', 2, 105, 'Sales Executive', 48000, 4500, '2023-06-05', 'Kolkata'),
(108, 'Kavya', 'Iyer', 3, 100, 'Marketing Lead', 88000, NULL, '2020-09-09', 'Pune'),
(109, 'Rohan', 'Joshi', 3, 108, 'Content Writer', 45000, NULL, '2024-01-22', 'Pune'),
(110, 'Sneha', 'Kulkarni', 4, 100, 'HR Manager', 78000, NULL, '2019-02-25', 'Delhi'),
(111, 'Amit', 'Verma', 1, 101, 'Intern', 25000, NULL, '2025-06-02', 'Bengaluru');

CREATE TABLE customers (
  customer_id   INT PRIMARY KEY,
  customer_name VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
  email         VARCHAR(60),
  city          VARCHAR(30),
  joined_on     DATE
);
INSERT INTO customers VALUES
(1, 'Ananya Sharma', 'ananya@example.com', 'Mumbai', '2024-01-15'),
(2, 'Rohit Kumar', 'rohit.k@example.com', 'Delhi', '2024-02-03'),
(3, 'Fatima Khan', 'fatima@example.com', 'Hyderabad', '2024-03-21'),
(4, 'David Fernandes', NULL, 'Goa', '2024-05-09'),
(5, 'Ishita Bose', 'ishita@example.com', 'Kolkata', '2024-07-30'),
(6, 'Manoj Pillai', 'manoj.p@example.com', 'Chennai', '2025-01-11'),
(7, 'Sara Thomas', 'sara.t@example.com', 'Bengaluru', '2025-03-02');

CREATE TABLE products (
  product_id   INT PRIMARY KEY,
  product_name VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
  category     VARCHAR(30),
  price        INT,
  stock        INT
);
INSERT INTO products VALUES
(1, 'Wireless Mouse', 'Electronics', 799, 120),
(2, 'Mechanical Keyboard', 'Electronics', 3499, 45),
(3, 'USB-C Hub', 'Electronics', 1999, 0),
(4, 'Office Chair', 'Furniture', 8999, 12),
(5, 'Standing Desk', 'Furniture', 18999, 5),
(6, 'Notebook Pack', 'Stationery', 249, 300),
(7, 'Gel Pens', 'Stationery', 199, 250),
(8, 'Desk Lamp', 'Furniture', 1499, 30),
(9, 'Monitor Arm', 'Furniture', 2799, 18);

CREATE TABLE orders (
  order_id    INT PRIMARY KEY,
  customer_id INT NOT NULL,
  order_date  DATE NOT NULL,
  status      VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL,
  FOREIGN KEY (customer_id) REFERENCES customers (customer_id)
);
INSERT INTO orders VALUES
(1001, 1, '2025-01-05', 'Delivered'),
(1002, 2, '2025-01-17', 'Delivered'),
(1003, 1, '2025-02-02', 'Delivered'),
(1004, 3, '2025-02-14', 'Cancelled'),
(1005, 4, '2025-03-08', 'Delivered'),
(1006, 5, '2025-03-22', 'Shipped'),
(1007, 2, '2025-04-10', 'Delivered'),
(1008, 1, '2025-04-28', 'Pending'),
(1009, 3, '2025-05-15', 'Delivered'),
(1010, 5, '2025-06-01', 'Delivered');

CREATE TABLE order_items (
  order_id   INT,
  product_id INT,
  quantity   INT NOT NULL,
  PRIMARY KEY (order_id, product_id),
  FOREIGN KEY (order_id) REFERENCES orders (order_id),
  FOREIGN KEY (product_id) REFERENCES products (product_id)
);
INSERT INTO order_items VALUES
(1001, 2, 1), (1001, 6, 5),
(1002, 4, 1),
(1003, 2, 1), (1003, 1, 1),
(1004, 5, 1),
(1005, 6, 10), (1005, 7, 4),
(1006, 3, 2), (1006, 8, 1),
(1007, 1, 1),
(1008, 4, 2), (1008, 8, 2),
(1009, 2, 1),
(1010, 6, 3), (1010, 7, 2);

Tip

The script uses only standard types (INT, VARCHAR, DATE), so it also runs unchanged on SQLite and needs only small changes for PostgreSQL or SQL Server.

Sample database FAQ

Where can I get a sample database to practise SQL?

Copy the script on this page into MySQL to get the six-table company database used in every lesson of this tutorial. It is small enough to check every result by hand.

Why does the sample data contain NULLs and unmatched rows?

Real data is messy. An employee without a department, customers without orders and a product never sold are exactly the cases that make joins, NULL handling and aggregates behave differently, so every lesson can show them.

Can I change the sample data?

Yes. Run INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE freely; to start over, drop the database and run the script again. The Try it editors in the lessons always start from a fresh copy.