Retrieving data using the SQL Select StatementSQL is a comprehensive database lan

guage. SQL, pronounced Sequel or simply S-Q-L, is a computer programming languag

e used for querying relational databases following a nonprocedural approach. Whe
n 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 D
atabase 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 ma
nipulate data through the use of a special data manipulation language. Database
structures are defined through the use of a data definition language. The comman
ds 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.C
apabilities of the SELECT StatementData retrieval from data base is done through
appropriate and efficient use of SQL. Three concepts from relational theory enc
ompass the capability of the SELECT statement: projection, selection, and joinin
g.Projection: A project operation selects only certain columns (fields) from a t
able. The result table has a subset of the available columns and can include any
thing from a single column to all available columns.Selection: A select operatio
n selects a subset of rows (records) in a table (relation) that satisfy a select
ion condition. The ability to select rows from out of complete result set is cal
led Selection. It involves conditional filtering and data staging. The subset ca
n range from no rows, if none of the rows satisfy the selection condition, to al
l rows in a table.Joining: A join operation combines data from two or more table
s based on one or more common column values. A join operation enables an informa
tion system user to process the relationships that exist between tables. The joi
n operation is very powerful because it allows system users to investigate relat
ionships among data elements that might not be anticipated at the time that a da
tabase is designed.Consider the above table structures. Fetching first_name name
, department_id and salary for a single employee from EMPLOYEES table is Project
ion. Fetching employee details whose salary is less than 5000, from EMPLOYEES ta
ble is Selection. Fetching employee's first name, department name by joining EMP
LOYEES and DEPARTMENTS is Joining.Basic SELECT statementThe basic syntax for a S
ELECT 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 manda
tory and carries out the relational project operation.The FROM clause is also ma
ndatory. It identifies one or more tables and/or views from which to retrieve th
e column data displayed in a result table.The WHERE clause is optional and carri
es out the relational select operation. It specifies which rows are to be select
ed.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 condit
ions regarding which groups to include in a result table. The groups are specifi
ed by the GROUP BY clause.The ORDER BY clause is optional. It sorts query result
s by one or more columns in ascending or descending order.Arithmetic expressions
and NULL values in the SELECT statementAn arithmetic expression can be creaeted
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 dat
a type. For example, arithmetic operators will not fit for character literal val
ues. For example,SELECT employee_id, sal * 12 ANNUAL_SAL
FROM employees;The above query contains the arithmetic expression (sal * 12) to
calculate annual salary of each employee.

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Arithmetic operatorsOperators act upon the columns (known as operands) to result
into a different result. In case of multiple operators in an expression, the or
der of evaulation is decided by the operator precedence. Here are the elementary
rules of precedence -Multiplication and division occur before multiplication an
d division.Operators on the same priority are evaluated from left to right.Use p
aretheses to override the default behavior of the operators.Below table shows th
e precedence of the operators, in such cases. Precedence Level Operator Symbol O
perationDescription 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) multip
lies 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
added to the salary.Column AliasAn alias is used to rename a column or an expre
ssion during display. The alias to a column or an expression appears as the head
ing 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, alias must be en
closed within double quotes to preserve the case and spaces in the alias name.SE
LECT price * 2 as DOUBLE_PRICE, price * 10 "Double Price"
FROM products;
DOUBLE_PRICE
Double Price
----------------------39.9
39.9
60
60
51.98 51.98Concatenation operatorsConcatenation operator can be used to join t
wo string values or expressions in a SELECT query. The double vertical bar symbo
l is used as string concatenation operator. It is applicable only for character
and string column values resulting into a new character expression. ExampleSQL>
SELECT 'ORACLE'||' CERTIFICATION' FROM dual;The above query shows concatenation
of two character literals values.LiteralsAny hard coded value, which is not stor
ed in database, in the SELECT clause, is known s Literal. It can be number, char
acter, or date value. Character and date values must be enclosed within quotes.
Consider the below SQL queries.examples of using literals of different data type
s in SQL queries.The query below uses two character literals to join them togeth
er.SQL> SELECT 'ORACLE'||' CERTIFICATION' FROM DUALThe query below uses characte
r literals to pretty print the employee's salary.SQL> SELECT first_name ||'earns
'|| salary||' as of '|||sysdate
FROM employeesQuote OperatorThe quote operator is used to specify the quotation
mark delimiter of your own. You can chose a convenient delimiter, depedning on t
he data.SELECT department_name|| ' Department' ||q'['s Manager Id: ]'|| manager_
id
FROM departments;NULLIf 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 v
alues, not blank space for character values.Columns with NULL value can be selec
ted in a SELECT query and can be the part of an arithmetic expression. Any arith
metic expression using NULL values results into NULL. For this reason, columns w
ith 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

--------

DEBARUN.12341 23 hour(s) ago

DISTINCT KeywordIf 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 wil
l be logically eliminated from the query output. To be noted, the DISTINCT keywo
rd must appear just after the SELECT clause.The simple query below demonstrates
the use of DISTINCT to display unique department ids from EMPLOYEES table.SQL> S
ELECT DISTINCT DEPARTMENT_ID
FROM employees;
DEPARTMENT_ID
--------------10
20
30
40DESCRIBE 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 nameFor example,DESC EMPLOYEEwill display the
EMPLOYEE table structure
i.e. columns, their data types, precision and nullable property.

DEBARUN.12341 22 hour(s) ago

Restricting and Sorting Data
The essential capabilities of SELECT statement are Selection, Projection and Joi
ning. Displaying specific columns from a table
is known as a project operation. We will now focus on displaying specific rows
of output. This is known as a select operation.
Specific rows can be selected by adding a WHERE clause to a SELECT query. As a m
atter of fact, the WHERE clause appears just after
the FROM clause in SELECT query hierarchy. The sequence has to be maintained in
all scenarios. If violated, Oracle raises an exception.
Syntax:SELECT *|{[DISTINCT] column| expression [alias],..}
FROM table
[WHERE condition(s)]In the syntax,WHERE clause is the keyword[condition] contain
s column names, expressions, constants, literals and a
comparison operator.Suppose that your manager is working on the quarterly budge
t for your organization. As part of this activity, it is
necessary to produce a listing of each employee's essential details, but only f
or employees that are paid at least $25,000 annually.
The SQL query below accomplishes this task. Note the use of the WHERE clause sh
own in bold text.SELECT Employee_ID, Last_Name, First_Name, Salary
FROM employees
WHERE Salary >= 25000;

EMPLOYEE_ID LAST_NAME FIRST_NAME SALARY

---------- --------------- --------------- ----------88303 Jones Quincey $30,550.00
88404 Barlow William $27,500.00
88505 Smith Susan $32,500.00
3 rows selected Points to be noted -A SELECT clause can contain only one WHERE c
lause.
However, multiple filter conditions can be appended to WHERE clause using AND o
r OR
operator.The columns, literals or expressions in a predicate clause must be of s
imilar
or interconvertible data types.Column alias cannot be used in the WHERE clause.
Character literals must be enclosed within single quotation marks and are case s
ensitive.
Date literals must be enclosed within single quotation marks and are format sens
itive.
Default format is DD-MON-RR.Comparison OperatorsComparison operators are used in
predicates
to compare one term or operand with another term. SQL offers comprehensive set
of equality,
inequality and miscellaneous operators. They can be used depending on the data
and filter
condition logic in the SELECT query. When you use comparison operators in a WHE
RE clause,
the arguments (objects or values you are comparing) on both sides of the operat
or must be either
a column name, or a specific value. If a specific value is used, then the value
must be either
a numeric value or a literal string. If the value is a character string or date
, you must enter
the value within single quotation marks (' ').Oracle has nine comparison operat
ors to be used in
equality or inequality conditions.Operator Meaning
= equal to
< less than
> greater than
>= greater than or equal to
<= less than or equal to
!= not equal to
<> not equal to
!> not greater than
!< not less than
Other Oracle operators are BETWEEN..AND, IN, LIKE, and IS NULL.

DEBARUN.12341 22 hour(s) ago

The BETWEEN Operator
The BETWEEN operator can be used to compare a column value within a definite ran
ge.
The specified range must have a lower and upper limit where both are inclusive d
uring comparison.
Its use is similar to composite inequality operator (<= and >=). It can be used

with numeric, character and date type values.

For example, the WHERE condition SALARY BETWEEN 1500 AND 2500 in a SELECT query
will list those employees whose salary is between 1500 and 2500.