1
Retrieving Data Using
the SQL SELECT Statement
Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved.
Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to do
the following:
• List the capabilities of SQL SELECT statements
• Execute a basic SELECT statement
• Differentiate between SQL statements and
iSQL*Plus commands
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Capabilities of SQL SELECT Statements
Projection Selection
Table 1 Table 1
Join
Table 1 Table 2
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Basic SELECT Statement
SELECT *|{[DISTINCT] column|expression [alias],...}
FROM table;
• SELECT identifies the columns to be displayed
• FROM identifies the table containing those columns
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Selecting All Columns
SELECT *
FROM departments;
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Selecting Specific Columns
SELECT department_id, location_id
FROM departments;
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Writing SQL Statements
• SQL statements are not case-sensitive.
• SQL statements can be on one or more lines.
• Keywords cannot be abbreviated or split
across lines.
• Clauses are usually placed on separate lines.
• Indents are used to enhance readability.
• In iSQL*Plus, SQL statements can optionally be
terminated by a semicolon (;). Semicolons are
required if you execute multiple SQL statements.
• In SQL*plus, you are required to end each SQL
statement with a semicolon (;).
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Using Arithmetic Operators
SELECT last_name, salary, salary + 300
FROM employees;
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Operator Precedence
SELECT last_name, salary, 12*salary+100
FROM employees; 1
SELECT last_name, salary, 12*(salary+100)
FROM employees;
2
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Defining a Null Value
• A null is a value that is unavailable, unassigned,
unknown, or inapplicable.
• A null is not the same as a zero or a blank space.
SELECT last_name, job_id, salary, commission_pct
FROM employees;
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Using Column Aliases
SELECT last_name AS name, commission_pct comm
FROM employees;
SELECT last_name "Name" , salary*12 "Annual Salary"
FROM employees;
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Concatenation Operator
A concatenation operator:
• Links columns or character strings to other
columns
• Is represented by two vertical bars (||)
• Creates a resultant column that is a character
expression
SELECT last_name||job_id AS "Employees"
FROM employees;
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Using Literal Character Strings
SELECT last_name ||' is a '||job_id
AS "Employee Details"
FROM employees;
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Duplicate Rows
The default display of queries is all rows, including
duplicate rows.
SELECT department_id
FROM employees;
1
…
SELECT DISTINCT department_id
FROM employees;
2
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SQL Statements Versus
iSQL*Plus Commands
SQL iSQL*Plus
• A language • An environment
• ANSI standard • Oracle-proprietary
• Keyword cannot be • Keywords can be
abbreviated. abbreviated.
• Statements manipulate • Commands do not allow
data and table definitions manipulation of values in
in the database. the database.
• Runs on a browser
• Centrally loaded; does not
have to be implemented
on each machine
SQL iSQL*Plus
statements commands
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Logging In to iSQL*Plus
From your browser environment:
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iSQL*Plus Environment
8 9
1
6
2 3 4 5
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Displaying Table Structure
Use the iSQL*Plus DESCRIBE command to display the
structure of a table:
DESC[RIBE] tablename
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Displaying Table Structure
DESCRIBE employees
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iSQL*Plus History Page
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Summary
In this lesson, you should have learned how to:
• Write a SELECT statement that:
– Returns all rows and columns from a table
– Returns specified columns from a table
– Uses column aliases to display more descriptive
column headings
• Use the iSQL*Plus environment to write, save, and
execute SQL statements and iSQL*Plus
commands
SELECT *|{[DISTINCT] column|expression [alias],...}
FROM table;
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