SELECT

SELECT is how you read data. Every query you write starts here.

All columns

SELECT * FROM products;

* means "every column". It's handy for exploring a table, but in real code it's better to name the columns you need.

Choosing columns

List the columns you want, separated by commas, in the order you want them:

SELECT name, price
FROM products;

Calculated columns

A SELECT can compute new values from existing columns:

SELECT name, price, price * 1.18 AS price_with_tax
FROM products;

AS gives the new column a readable name, called an alias.

Rounding

SELECT name, ROUND(price * 1.18, 2) AS price_with_tax
FROM products;

Joining text

In SQLite, || joins text together:

SELECT first_name || ' ' || last_name AS full_name, title
FROM employees;

Literal values and expressions

A SELECT doesn't even need a table:

SELECT 2 + 3 AS answer, 'Hello, SQL' AS greeting, DATE('now') AS today;