SQL Views & Security

"Views offer a versatile approach to data management, simplifying complex queries, enhancing security, and improving data accessibility. By presenting a customized view of underlying tables, they streamline data interactions and foster efficient database utilization."- Gemini 2024

What is a View?

A view is a virtual table based on the result of a SQL (e.g. SELECT) statement.

Why Use Views?

Simplify complex queries
Restrict data access
Improve data security
Present data in a specific format

Creating a View

The syntax for creating a view is:

CREATE VIEW view_name AS SELECT column1, column2, ... FROM table_name WHERE condition;

Updating and Deleting Views

There are conditions around modifying operations that can be performed on views. For example, as outlined in the MySQL docs.

Dropping a View

The syntax for dropping a view is:

DROP VIEW view_name;

Advantages of Views

Improved data security
Simplified query development
Enhanced performance (in some cases)
Data independence

Disadvantages of Views

Performance overhead for complex views
Dependency on underlying tables

MySQL Views Example

-- Create view with customer name and order total

CREATE VIEW Sales AS
SELECT customers.customer_name, orders.order_total
FROM customers
INNER JOIN orders ON customers.customer_id = orders.customer_id;

-- Drop the view

DROP VIEW Sales;

Learn More

Database Security

Feature	Description
User Management	Create, modify, and delete users with specific privileges.
Password Encryption	Store user passwords securely using strong hashing algorithms.
Access Control	Grant and revoke privileges to control user actions.
SSL/TLS Encryption	Protect data transmission with secure protocols.
Audit Logging	Track database activities for security and troubleshooting.
Firewall Configuration	Restrict network access to the MySQL server.

MySQL User Privileges Example

-- Create a role
CREATE ROLE data_analyst;

-- Grant privilege to role
GRANT SELECT ON customers TO data_analyst;

-- Create a user and assign a role to it
CREATE USER 'analyst1'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password123';
GRANT data_analyst TO 'analyst1'@'localhost';

-- Revoke a privilege from a role
REVOKE SELECT ON customers FROM data_analyst;

-- Drop a role
DROP ROLE data_analyst;