MySQL Views Tutorial: Create, Update and Use Views

A view is a saved query that behaves like a virtual table. Instead of re-writing the same 40-line join every week, wrap it in a view once — then every report simply selects from it.

Key Points

• Create: CREATE VIEW monthly_revenue AS SELECT …;
• Query it like a table: SELECT * FROM monthly_revenue WHERE month='2026-06';
• Centralises business logic — fix the definition once, all reports update
• Restrict access: give users a view with only permitted columns
• Simple single-table views can be updatable; joins and aggregates aren't
• Views store no data — the underlying query runs each time