Sams Teach Yourself MySQL in 21 Days, Second Edition

The Basics of SELECT Queries

The SELECT query can be run with a range of possible arguments. Its syntax, showing the majority of its options (but not all), looks like this:

SELECT
  [DISTINCT]
  select_expression,...
  [INTO {OUTFILE | DUMPFILE} '/path/to/filename' export_options]
  [FROM table_references
  [WHERE where_definition]
  [GROUP BY {column_name | column_alias}
    [ASC | DESC], ...]
  [HAVING where_definition]
  [ORDER BY {column_name | column_alias}
    [ASC | DESC], ...]
  [LIMIT [offset,] num_rows]

Some arguments have been omitted for clarity where they are less frequently used. See Appendix B, “SQL Reference,” for the full detail.

You will often use just a small part of its syntax; often just this:

SELECT
 select_expression,...
 [FROM table_name] [WHERE ...