Quick Start

Run Some SQL

Download vsql for macOS, Linux or Windows from the latest release and unzip it (or see Installing & Updating for other ways to get it). Then open a database, which creates the file if it doesn’t exist:

$ vsql cli shop.vsql
vsql> CREATE TABLE products (name VARCHAR(50), price NUMERIC(10, 2));
CREATE TABLE 1 (0 ms)

vsql> INSERT INTO products (name, price) VALUES ('Coffee', 4.50), ('Bagel', 2.25);
INSERT 2 (1 ms)

vsql> SELECT * FROM products ORDER BY name;
NAME   | PRICE
-------+------
Bagel  |  2.25
Coffee |  4.50
2 rows (1 ms)

vsql> exit

Use :memory: instead of a file name for a database that only lives in memory. See Command Line Interface (CLI) for the other commands, such as loading a file of SQL with vsql in.

A few things that might surprise you if you’re used to another database, since vsql follows the SQL standard:

• Names that aren’t quoted are upper case, so products is PRODUCTS.

• There’s no LIMIT. Use FETCH FIRST 10 ROWS ONLY.

• A SELECT needs a FROM. Use VALUES to try an expression, such as VALUES 1 + 2.

See the FAQ for more.

Connect With a PostgreSQL Client

Start the server:

$ vsql server shop.vsql
ready on 127.0.0.1:3210

Then connect with any of the PostgreSQL Clients, such as psql:

$ psql -h 127.0.0.1 -p 3210 -c 'SELECT * FROM products'
  NAME  | PRICE
--------+-------
 Coffee | 4.50
 Bagel  | 2.25
(2 rows)

The server ignores the user name, password and database name. See PostgreSQL Server.

Use It From V

Install the module:

v install elliotchance.vsql

Then open a database and run SQL:

import elliotchance.vsql.vsql

fn main() {
     mut db := vsql.open('shop.vsql')!

     db.query('CREATE TABLE products (name VARCHAR(50), price NUMERIC(10, 2))')!
     db.query("INSERT INTO products (name, price) VALUES ('Coffee', 4.50), ('Bagel', 2.25)")!

     mut stmt := db.prepare('SELECT name, price FROM products WHERE price < :max_price ORDER BY name')!
     for row in stmt.query({
             'max_price': vsql.new_numeric_value('3.00')
     })! {
             println('${row.get_string('NAME')!} costs ${row.get_string('PRICE')!}')
     }
}

This prints Bagel costs 2.25. See Language: V, which also shows how to use V’s built-in ORM.