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 cmdlet:

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> 
    ]
  ] 
}

<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

1. Return all columns:
   

   SELECT * FROM [CData].[Human_Resources].Workers

2. Rename a column:
   

   SELECT [Legal_Name_Last_Name] AS MY_Legal_Name_Last_Name FROM [CData].[Human_Resources].Workers

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

   SELECT CAST(Contract_Pay_Rate AS VARCHAR) AS Str_Contract_Pay_Rate FROM [CData].[Human_Resources].Workers

4. Search data:
   

   SELECT * FROM [CData].[Human_Resources].Workers WHERE Legal_Name_Last_Name = 'Morgan'

5. Return the number of items matching the query criteria:
   

   SELECT COUNT(*) AS MyCount FROM [CData].[Human_Resources].Workers 

6. Return the number of unique items matching the query criteria:
   

   SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT Legal_Name_Last_Name) FROM [CData].[Human_Resources].Workers 

7. Return the unique items matching the query criteria:
   

   SELECT DISTINCT Legal_Name_Last_Name FROM [CData].[Human_Resources].Workers 

8. Sort a result set in ascending order:
   

   SELECT Worker_Reference_WID, Legal_Name_Last_Name FROM [CData].[Human_Resources].Workers  ORDER BY Legal_Name_Last_Name ASC

9. Restrict a result set to the specified number of rows:
   

   SELECT Worker_Reference_WID, Legal_Name_Last_Name FROM [CData].[Human_Resources].Workers LIMIT 10 

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 [CData].[Human_Resources].Workers WHERE Legal_Name_Last_Name = @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 Workday.

    SELECT * FROM [CData].[Human_Resources].Workers WHERE Pseudo = '@Pseudo'
    

Aggregate Functions

For SELECT examples using aggregate functions, see Aggregate Functions.

JOIN Queries

See JOIN Queries for SELECT query examples using JOINs.

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.