SELECT Statements

A SELECT statement can consist of the following basic clauses.

SELECT
INTO
FROM
JOIN
WHERE
GROUP BY
HAVING
UNION
ORDER BY
LIMIT

SELECT Syntax

The following syntax diagram outlines the syntax supported by the SQL engine of the driver:

SELECT {
  [ TOP <numeric_literal> | DISTINCT ]
  { 
    * 
    | { 
        <expression> [ [ AS ] <column_reference> ] 
        | { <table_name> | <correlation_name> } .* 
      } [ , ... ] 
  }
  { 
    FROM <table_reference> [ [ AS ] <identifier> ] 
  } [ , ... ]
  [ [  
      INNER | { { LEFT | RIGHT | FULL } [ OUTER ] } 
    ] JOIN <table_reference> [ ON <search_condition> ] [ [ AS ] <identifier> ] 
  ] [ ... ] 
  [ WHERE <search_condition> ]
  [ GROUP BY <column_reference> [ , ... ]
  [ HAVING <search_condition> ]
  [ UNION [ ALL ] <select_statement> ]
  [ 
    ORDER BY 
    <column_reference> [ ASC | DESC ] [ NULLS FIRST | NULLS LAST ]
  ]
  [ 
    LIMIT <expression>
    [ 
      { OFFSET | , }
      <expression> 
    ]
  ] 
} | SCOPE_IDENTITY() 

<expression> ::=
  | <column_reference>
  | @ <parameter> 
  | ?
  | COUNT( * | { [ DISTINCT ] <expression> } )
  | { AVG | MAX | MIN | SUM | COUNT } ( <expression> ) 
  | NULLIF ( <expression> , <expression> ) 
  | COALESCE ( <expression> , ... ) 
  | CASE <expression>
      WHEN { <expression> | <search_condition> } THEN { <expression> | NULL } [ ... ]
    [ ELSE { <expression> | NULL } ]
    END 
  | {RANK() | DENSE_RANK()} OVER ([PARTITION BY <column_reference>] {ORDER BY <column_reference>})
  | <literal>
  | <sql_function> 

<search_condition> ::= 
  {
    <expression> { = | > | < | >= | <= | <> | != | LIKE | NOT LIKE | IN | NOT IN | IS NULL | IS NOT NULL | AND | OR | CONTAINS | BETWEEN } [ <expression> ]
  } [ { AND | OR } ... ]

Examples

Return all columns:
```
SELECT * FROM MyCustomReport
```

Rename a column:

SELECT [Column1] AS MY_Column1 FROM MyCustomReport

Cast a column's data as a different data type:

SELECT CAST(AnnualRevenue AS VARCHAR) AS Str_AnnualRevenue FROM MyCustomReport

Search data:

SELECT * FROM MyCustomReport WHERE Column2 = 'Bob'

The SAP BusinessObjects BI APIs support the following operators in the WHERE clause: AND, OR, NOT, =, !=, <=, <, >=, >, IS, IS NOT, LIKE, NOT IN, IN.
```
SELECT * FROM MyCustomReport WHERE Column2 = 'Bob';
```
Return the number of items matching the query criteria:
```
SELECT COUNT(*) AS MyCount FROM MyCustomReport 
```
Return the number of unique items matching the query criteria:
```
SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT Column1) FROM MyCustomReport 
```
Return the unique items matching the query criteria:
```
SELECT DISTINCT Column1 FROM MyCustomReport 
```

Sort a result set in ascending order:

SELECT StoreName, Column1 FROM MyCustomReport  ORDER BY Column1 ASC

Restrict a result set to the specified number of rows:

SELECT StoreName, Column1 FROM MyCustomReport LIMIT 10

Parameterize a query to pass in inputs at execution time. This enables you to create prepared statements and mitigate SQL injection attacks.
```
SELECT * FROM MyCustomReport WHERE Column2 = @param
```

See Explicitly Caching Data for information on using the SELECT statement in offline mode.

Pseudo Columns

Some input-only fields are available in SELECT statements. These fields, called pseudo columns, do not appear as regular columns in the results, yet may be specified as part of the WHERE clause. You can use pseudo columns to access additional features from SAP BusinessObjects BI.

    SELECT * FROM MyCustomReport WHERE Query = 'Column3 > 100'

Date Literal Functions

Date Literal Functions contains SELECT examples with date literal functions.

Window Functions

See Window Functions for SELECT examples containing window functions.

Table-Valued Functions

See Table-Valued Functions for SELECT examples with table-valued functions.