MySQL Reference Manual

Data Manipulation: SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE

SELECT Syntax

SELECT [STRAIGHT_JOIN]
       [SQL_SMALL_RESULT] [SQL_BIG_RESULT] [SQL_BUFFER_RESULT]
       [SQL_CACHE | SQL_NO_CACHE] [SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS] [HIGH_PRIORITY]
       [DISTINCT | DISTINCTROW | ALL]
    select_expression,...
    [INTO {OUTFILE | DUMPFILE} 'file_name' export_options]
    [FROM table_references
      [WHERE where_definition]
      [GROUP BY {unsigned_integer | col_name | formula} [ASC | DESC], ...]
      [HAVING where_definition]
      [ORDER BY {unsigned_integer | col_name | formula} [ASC | DESC] ,...]
      [LIMIT [offset,] rows]
      [PROCEDURE procedure_name]
      [FOR UPDATE | LOCK IN SHARE MODE]]

SELECT is used to retrieve rows selected from one or more tables. select_expression indicates the columns you want to retrieve. SELECT may also be used to retrieve rows computed without reference to any table. For example:

mysql> SELECT 1 + 1;
         -> 2

All keywords used must be given in exactly the order shown in the preceding example. For instance, a HAVING clause must come after any GROUP BY clause and before any ORDER BY clause.

• A SELECT expression may be given an alias using AS. The alias is used as the expression’s column name and can be used with ORDER BY or HAVING clauses. For example:

  mysql> SELECT CONCAT(last_name,', ',first_name) AS full_name
      FROM mytable ORDER BY full_name;

• You cannot use a column alias in a WHERE clause because the column value may not yet be determined when the WHERE clause is executed. See Section A.5.4.

• The FROM table_references clause indicates the tables ...