SELECT

SELECT is a SQL statement in the SELECT Queries category. Retrieves data from a table. The most fundamental SQL statement. The syntax is SELECT column1, column2, ... FROM table_name;. It returns result set of selected columns. A typical example: SELECT first_name, last_name FROM employees; -- Returns all rows with first_name and last_name columns A close relative is SELECT *, which selects all columns from a table. A close relative is SELECT DISTINCT, which returns only distinct (unique) values from the specified columns. A close relative is WHERE, which filters rows based on a specified condition. More about this category: Core SELECT query clauses — SELECT, FROM, WHERE, GROUP BY, HAVING, ORDER BY, LIMIT. Related SELECT Queries entries: SELECT *, SELECT DISTINCT, WHERE, AND / OR / NOT, IN, BETWEEN, LIKE, IS NULL / IS NOT NULL. This page is part of the free SQL Reference documentation covering 762+ statements, functions, and clauses, each with syntax, parameters, return values, and examples for MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, and SQLite.