| What do we use SQL commands
for? A common use is to select
data from the tables located in
a database. Immediately, we see
two keywords: we need to SELECT
information FROM a table. (Note
that a table is a container that
resides in the database where
the data is stored. For more information
about how to manipulate tables,
go to the Table Manipulation Section.
Hence we have the most basic SQL
structure:
SELECT "column_name"
FROM "table_name"
To illustrate the above
example, assume that we have the
following table:
Table Store_Information
| store_name |
Sales |
Date |
| Los Angeles |
$1500 |
Jan-05-1999 |
| San Diego |
$250 |
Jan-07-1999 |
| Los Angeles |
$300 |
Jan-08-1999 |
| Boston |
$700 |
Jan-08-1999 |
We shall use this table as an
example throughout the tutorial
(this table will appear in all
sections). To select all the
stores in this table, we key in,
SELECT store_name FROM Store_Information
Result:
|
store_name |
|
Los Angeles |
|
San Diego |
|
Los Angeles |
|
Boston |
Multiple column names can be
selected, as well as multiple
table names
| 
