{"id":10384,"date":"2021-07-25T18:33:22","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T01:33:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mysqltutorial.org\/basic-mysql-tutorial-aspx\/mysql-select\/"},"modified":"2023-12-29T00:09:42","modified_gmt":"2023-12-29T07:09:42","slug":"mysql-select","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mysqltutorial.org\/mysql-basics\/mysql-select\/","title":{"rendered":"MySQL SELECT"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Summary<\/strong>: in this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use the MySQL SELECT<\/code> statement without referencing any table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Typically, you use a SELECT<\/code> statement to select data from a table in the database:<\/p>\n\n\n

SELECT<\/span> select_list\nFROM<\/span> table_name;<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> SQL (Structured Query Language)<\/span> (<\/span>sql<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
In MySQL, the SELECT<\/code> statement doesn’t require the FROM<\/code> clause. It means that you can have a SELECT<\/code> statement without the FROM<\/code> clause like this:<\/p>\n\n\n
SELECT<\/span> select_list;<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> SQL (Structured Query Language)<\/span> (<\/span>sql<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
The following example uses the SELECT<\/code> statement to perform a simple calculation:<\/p>\n\n\n
SELECT<\/span> 1<\/span> + 1<\/span>;    <\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> SQL (Structured Query Language)<\/span> (<\/span>sql<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
+-------+\n| 1 + 1 |\n+-------+\n|     2 |\n+-------+\n1 row in set (0.00 sec)    <\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> plaintext<\/span> (<\/span>plaintext<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
MySQL has many built-in functions like string functions<\/a>, date functions<\/a>, and math functions<\/a>. You can use the SELECT<\/code> statement to execute one of these functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, the following statement uses the NOW() function in the SELECT statement to return the current date and time of the  server where MySQL server is running:<\/p>\n\n\n
SELECT<\/span> NOW<\/span>();<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> SQL (Structured Query Language)<\/span> (<\/span>sql<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
+---------------------+\n| NOW()               |\n+---------------------+\n| 2021-07-26 08:08:02 |\n+---------------------+\n1 row in set (0.00 sec)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> plaintext<\/span> (<\/span>plaintext<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
The NOW()<\/code> function doesn’t have any parameters. To call it, you place the parentheses () after the function name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SELECT<\/span> CONCAT<\/span>('John'<\/span>,' '<\/span>,'Doe'<\/span>);<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> SQL (Structured Query Language)<\/span> (<\/span>sql<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
+--------------------------+\n| CONCAT('John',' ','Doe') |\n+--------------------------+\n| John Doe                 |\n+--------------------------+\n1 row in set (0.00 sec)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> plaintext<\/span> (<\/span>plaintext<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
The CONCAT()<\/code> function accepts one or more strings and concatenates them into a single string.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Column alias<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
By default, MySQL uses the expression specified in the SELECT<\/code> clause as the column name of the result set. To change a column name of the result set, you can use a column alias:<\/p>\n\n\n
SELECT<\/span> expression AS<\/span> column_alias;<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> SQL (Structured Query Language)<\/span> (<\/span>sql<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
To assign an alias to a column, you place the AS<\/code> keyword after the expression followed by a column alias. The AS<\/code> keyword is optional, so you can skip it like this:<\/p>\n\n\n
SELECT<\/span> expression column_alias;<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> SQL (Structured Query Language)<\/span> (<\/span>sql<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
For example:<\/p>\n\n\n
SELECT<\/span> CONCAT<\/span>('John'<\/span>,' '<\/span>,'Doe'<\/span>) AS<\/span> name<\/span>;<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> SQL (Structured Query Language)<\/span> (<\/span>sql<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
+----------+\n| name     |\n+----------+\n| John Doe |\n+----------+\n1 row in set (0.00 sec)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> plaintext<\/span> (<\/span>plaintext<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
If the column alias contains spaces, you need to place it inside quotes like this:<\/p>\n\n\n
SELECT<\/span> CONCAT<\/span>('Jane'<\/span>,' '<\/span>,'Doe'<\/span>) AS<\/span> 'Full name'<\/span>;<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> SQL (Structured Query Language)<\/span> (<\/span>sql<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Output:<\/p>\n\n\n
+-----------+\n| Full name |\n+-----------+\n| John Doe  |\n+-----------+\n1 row in set (0.00 sec)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> plaintext<\/span> (<\/span>plaintext<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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  • MySQL SELECT<\/code> statement doesn’t require the FROM<\/code> clause.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Assign an alias to a column to make it more readable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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If a function has parameters, you need to pass arguments into it. For example, to concatenate multiple strings into a single string, you can use the CONCAT()<\/a><\/code> function:<\/p>\n\n\n