SQL: Visual QuickStart Guide

Creating Derived Columns

You can use operators and functions to create derived columns. A derived column is the result of a calculation and is created with a SELECT-clause expression that is something other than a simple reference to a column. Derived columns don’t become permanent columns in a table; they’re for display purposes only.

The values in a derived column often are computed from values in existing columns, but you also can create a derived column by using a constant expression (such as a string, number, or date) or system value (such as the system time). Listing 5.1 shows a SELECT statement that yields a trivial arithmetic calculation; it needs no FROM clause because it doesn’t retrieve data from a table. Figure 5.1 shows the result. ...