Simple and advanced modes

The playground has two input modes. You can do everything a beginner needs in simple mode, and reach for advanced mode when you want full SQL.

The same command in both modes — advanced mode also shows the SQL it runs for you.

Simple mode (the default)

Simple mode is a friendly, keyword-based command language designed for learning. Commands read close to English:

create table authors with pk author_id(serial)
show data authors

Simple mode accepts these learning commands plus the app-level commands (like save, undo, and help). If you type raw SQL here, the playground gently points you at advanced mode instead of failing silently.

Advanced mode (SQL)

Advanced mode accepts standard SQL — SELECT, INSERT, CREATE TABLE, and more — alongside the same app-level commands:

select title, published from books where published >= 2000 order by published;

Switch modes with the mode command:

mode advanced
mode simple

The mode you leave a project in is remembered and restored the next time you open it, so a project set up for SQL practice reopens in advanced mode.

The one-line escape

When you are in simple mode and want to run a single SQL statement without switching, prefix the line with a colon:

:select count(*) from books

That runs just this one line as SQL; you stay in simple mode afterwards.

Seeing the SQL behind a command

Run a simple-mode command while in advanced mode and the playground prints the equivalent SQL beneath it, tagged Executing SQL:. This is one of the most useful ways the playground teaches: you write the friendly, readable command, and immediately see the real SQL statement it stands for — the same statement you could have typed yourself.

It turns every command into a small SQL lesson. Add a column the easy way and watch the ALTER TABLE it maps to:

add column to books: title (text)

Executing SQL: ALTER TABLE books ADD COLUMN title text

The payoff grows with the command. A single create m:n relationship — the one-line way to link two tables many-to-many — expands to an entire junction table: two foreign-key columns, a compound primary key, and two cascading foreign keys, all spelled out in the echo.

Simple-mode commands run in advanced mode each echo the SQL they run — ending with the m:n command expanding to a full junction table.

Because the echo is exactly what runs, it doubles as a recipe: read it, copy it, tweak it, and run your own version in advanced mode.