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SQL SELECT Statement

15 min Beginner

The SELECT statement is used to select data from a database.

The data returned is stored in a result table, called the result-set.

SELECT Syntax

SELECT column1, column2, ... FROM table_name;

Here, column1, column2, ... are the field names of the table you want to select data from. If you want to select all the fields available in the table, use the following syntax:

SELECT * FROM table_name;

Demo Database

Below is a selection from the "Customers" table in the Northwind sample database:

CustomerID CustomerName ContactName Address City PostalCode Country
1 Alfreds Futterkiste Maria Anders Obere Str. 57 Berlin 12209 Germany
2 Ana Trujillo Emparedados 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 Column Example

The following SQL statement selects the "CustomerName" and "City" columns from the "Customers" table:

Example

SELECT CustomerName, City FROM Customers;

SELECT * Example

The following SQL statement selects all the columns from the "Customers" table:

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers;
Tip: The SELECT * statement is used to select all columns from a table. However, it's generally better to specify the column names explicitly for better performance and clarity.

Try It Yourself

Use our SQL editor to practice the SELECT statement:

Test Yourself With Exercises

Exercise 1

Question: Insert the missing statement to get all columns from the Customers table.

* FROM Customers;
Exercise 2

Question: Write a query to select the CustomerName and Country columns.

SELECT FROM Customers;
What You Learned:
  • The SELECT statement retrieves data from a database
  • Use SELECT * to get all columns
  • Specify column names to get specific columns
  • Multiple columns are separated by commas