SELECT and FROM: getting data out

The founder wants to do a stock-take — to see all the products at once. The quickest way is to pull the whole table with a single query. That's where we'll begin the module on reading data.

SELECT and FROM — the two halves of a query

Almost every read query is SELECT (what to show) + FROM (where to take it from). Together:

SELECT *
FROM <table>;

For example

SELECT *
FROM users;

SELECT — "pick";
* — "all columns";
FROM products — "from the products table".

The order is always the same: SELECT first, then FROM.

* (all columns) is fine for a quick look. But in real queries it's better to list only the columns you need — so you don't drag along extra data (more on this in the next lesson).

Your turn

Write a query that outputs the whole products table.

Summary

SELECT * FROM <table> returns the whole table — the basic form of reading that everything starts from.
SELECT — what to show, FROM — where to take it from.
* means all columns.
Order: SELECT before FROM.