Simply SQL

Chapter 5 The GROUP BY Clause

In Chapter 3, we learned that the FROM clause creates the intermediate tabular result containing the data for a query. In Chapter 4, we learned that the WHERE clause acts as a filter on the rows produced by the FROM clause. In this chapter, we'll learn what happens when we use the GROUP BY clause, and the effect it has on the data produced by the FROM clause and filtered by the WHERE clause.

The Latin expression E pluribus unum is well known to Americans (it’s stamped on every American coin), and can be interpreted as representing the “melting pot” concept of creating one nation out of many diverse peoples. Literally, it means: out of many, one. In SQL, the GROUP BY clause has a similar role: it groups together ...