Introduction to SELECT

Every SQL expert started exactly where you are now.

SQL lets you talk to databases. Think of a database as a giant Excel spreadsheet with millions of rows - SQL is how you ask it questions.

The most fundamental command is SELECT. It means "show me data."

Basic structure:

SELECT what_you_want
FROM where_it_lives;

Use an asterisk (*) to mean "everything":

SELECT * FROM employees;

This shows all columns and all rows from the employees table.