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SQL - The SQL SELECT Statement

Retrieving data using the SQL Select Statement

SQL is a comprehensive database language. SQL, pronounced Sequel or simply S-Q-L, is
a computer programming language used for querying relational databases following a
nonprocedural approach. When you extract information from a database using SQL, this
is termed querying the database.

A relational database is implemented through the use of a Relational Database

Management System (RDBMS). An RDBMS performs all the basic functions of the DBMS
software mentioned above along with a multitude of other functions that make the
relational model easier to understand and to implement. RDBMS users manipulate data
through the use of a special data manipulation language. Database structures are
defined through the use of a data definition language. The commands that system users
execute in order to store and retrieve data can be entered at a terminal with an RDBMS
interface by typing the commands, or entered through use of some type of graphical
interface. The DBMS then processes the commands.

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Capabilities of the SELECT Statement

Data retrieval from data base is done through appropriate and efficient use of SQL. Three
concepts from relational theory encompass the capability of the SELECT statement:
projection, selection, and joining.

Projection: A project operation selects only certain columns (fields) from a table.
The result table has a subset of the available columns and can include anything
from a single column to all available columns.

Selection: A select operation selects a subset of rows (records) in a table

(relation) that satisfy a selection condition. The ability to select rows from out of
complete result set is called Selection. It involves conditional filtering and data
staging. The subset can range from no rows, if none of the rows satisfy the
selection condition, to all rows in a table.

Joining: A join operation combines data from two or more tables based on one or
more common column values. A join operation enables an information system
user to process the relationships that exist between tables. The join operation is
very powerful because it allows system users to investigate relationships among
data elements that might not be anticipated at the time that a database is
designed.

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Consider the above table structures. Fetching first_name name, department_id and
salary for a single employee from EMPLOYEES table is Projection. Fetching employee
details whose salary is less than 5000, from EMPLOYEES table is Selection. Fetching
employee's first name, department name by joining EMPLOYEES and DEPARTMENTS is
Joining.

Basic SELECT statement

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The basic syntax for a SELECT statement is presented below.

SELECT [DISTINCT | ALL] {* | select_list}

FROM {table_name [alias] | view_name}
[{table_name [alias] | view_name}]...
[WHERE condition]
[GROUP BY condition_list]
[HAVING condition]
[ORDER BY {column_name | column_# [ ASC | DESC ] } ...

The SELECT clause is mandatory and carries out the relational project operation.

The FROM clause is also mandatory. It identifies one or more tables and/or views from
which to retrieve the column data displayed in a result table.

The WHERE clause is optional and carries out the relational select operation. It specifies
which rows are to be selected.

The GROUP BY clause is optional. It organizes data into groups by one or more column
names listed in the SELECT clause.

The optional HAVING clause sets conditions regarding which groups to include in a result
table. The groups are specified by the GROUP BY clause.

The ORDER BY clause is optional. It sorts query results by one or more columns in
ascending or descending order.

Arithmetic expressions and NULL values in the SELECT statement

An arithmetic expression can be created using the column names, operators and
constant values to embed an expression in a SELECT statement. The operator applicable
to a column depends on column's data type. For example, arithmetic operators will not
fit for character literal values. For example,

SELECT employee_id, sal * 12 ANNUAL_SAL

FROM employees;
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The above query contains the arithmetic expression (sal * 12) to calculate annual salary
of each employee.

Arithmetic operators
Operators act upon the columns (known as operands) to result into a different result. In
case of multiple operators in an expression, the order of evaulation is decided by the

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operator precedence. Here are the elementary rules of precedence -

Multiplication and division occur before Addition and Subtraction.

Operators on the same priority are evaluated from left to right.

Use paretheses to override the default behavior of the operators.

Below table shows the precedence of the operators, in such cases. Precedence Level
Operator Symbol Operation

Description Operator Precedence

Addition + Lowest
Subtraction - Lowest
Multiplication * Medium
Division / Medium
Brackets ( ) Highest

Examine the below queries (a), (b), and (c)

SQL> SELECT 2*35 FROM DUAL;

SQL> SELECT salary + 1500 FROM employees;

SQL> SELECT first_name, salary, salary + (commission_pct* salary) FROM

employees;

Query (a) multiplies two numbers, while (b) shows addition of $1500 to salaries of all
employees. Query (c) shows the addition of commission component to employee's salary.
As per the precedence, first commission would be calculated on the salary, and then
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added to the salary.

Column Alias
An alias is used to rename a column or an expression during display. The alias to a
column or an expression appears as the heading in the output of a query. It is useful in
providing a meaningful heading to long expressions in the SELECT query. By default, the
alias appears in uppercase in the query output without spaces. To override this behavior,

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alias must be enclosed within double quotes to preserve the case and spaces in the alias
name.

SELECT price * 2 as DOUBLE_PRICE, price * 10 "Double Price"

FROM products;

DOUBLE_PRICE Double Price

------------ ------------
39.9 39.9
60 60
51.98 51.98

Concatenation operators
Concatenation operator can be used to join two string values or expressions in a SELECT
query. The double vertical bar symbol is used as string concatenation operator. It is
applicable only for character and string column values resulting into a new character
expression. Example

SQL> SELECT 'ORACLE'||' CERTIFICATION' FROM dual;

The above query shows concatenation of two character literals values.

Literals
Any hard coded value, which is not stored in database, in the SELECT clause, is known s
Literal. It can be number, character, or date value. Character and date values must be
enclosed within quotes. Consider the below SQL [Link] of using literals of
different data types in SQL queries.

The query below uses two character literals to join them together.

SQL> SELECT 'ORACLE'||' CERTIFICATION' FROM DUAL

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The query below uses character literals to pretty print the employee's salary.

SQL> SELECT first_name ||'earns'|| salary||' as of '|||sysdate

FROM employees

Quote Operator

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The quote operator is used to specify the quotation mark delimiter of your own. You can
chose a convenient delimiter, depedning on the data.

SELECT department_name|| ' Department' ||q'['s Manager Id: ]'|| manager_id

FROM departments;

NULL
If a column doesn't has a definite value, it is considered as NULL. NULL value denotes
unknown or unavailable. It is not zero for numeric values, not blank space for character
values.

Columns with NULL value can be selected in a SELECT query and can be the part of an
arithmetic expression. Any arithmetic expression using NULL values results into NULL.
For this reason, columns with NULL value must be handled differently by specifying their
alternate values using Oracle supplied functions like NVL or NULLIF.

SQL> SELECT NULL + 1000 NUM

FROM DUAL;

NUM
--------

DISTINCT Keyword
If the data is expected to have duplicate results, use DISTINCT keyword to eliminate
duplicates and diplay only the unique results in the query output. Only the selected
columns are validated for duplication and the rows will be logically eliminated from the
query output. To be noted, the DISTINCT keyword must appear just after the SELECT
clause.

The simple query below demonstrates the use of DISTINCT to display unique department
ids from EMPLOYEES table.

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SQL> SELECT DISTINCT DEPARTMENT_ID
FROM employees;

DEPARTMENT_ID
---------------
10
20

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30
40

DESCRIBE command
The structural metadata of a table may be obtained by querying the database for the list
of columns that comprise it using the DESCRIBE command. It will list the used column
names, their null property and data type.

Syntax:

DESC[RIBE] [SCHEMA].object name

For example,

DESC EMPLOYEE

will display the EMPLOYEE table structure i.e. columns, their data types, precision and
nullable property.

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