The SQL SELECT Statement
The SELECT statement is used to select data from a database.
Example
Return data from the Customers table :
SELECT CustomerName, City FROM Customers;
Syntax
SELECT column1, column2, ... FROM table_name;
Here, column1, column2, … are the field names of the table you want to select data from.
The table_name represents the name of the table you want to select data from.
Demo Database
Below is a selection from the Customers table used in the examples:
| CustomerID | CustomerName | ContactName | Address | City | PostalCode | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alfreds Futterkiste | Maria Anders | Obere Str. 57 | Berlin | 12209 | Germany |
| 2 | Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados | Ana Trujillo | Avda. de la Constitución 2222 | México D.F. | 05021 | Mexico |
| 3 | Antonio Moreno Taquería | Antonio Moreno | Mataderos 2312 | México D.F. | 05023 | Mexico |
| 4 | Around the Horn | Thomas Hardy | 120 Hanover Sq. | London | WA1 1DP | UK |
| 5 | Berglunds snabbköp | Christina Berglund | Berguvsvägen 8 | Luleå | S-958 22 | Sweden |
Select ALL columns
If you want to return all columns, without specifying every column name, you can use the SELECT * syntax:
Example
Return all the columns from the Customers table:
SELECT * FROM Customers;