SELECT Statements

A SELECT statement can consist of the following basic clauses. You can access this statement by using the Odbc.Query function in the M formula language.

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 connector:

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 Employee
```

Rename a column:

SELECT [LastName] AS MY_LastName FROM Employee

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

SELECT CAST(AnnualRevenue AS VARCHAR) AS Str_AnnualRevenue FROM Employee

Search data:

SELECT * FROM Employee WHERE EmployeeId = '1234'

Return the number of items matching the query criteria:
```
SELECT COUNT(*) AS MyCount FROM Employee 
```
Return the number of unique items matching the query criteria:
```
SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT LastName) FROM Employee 
```
Return the unique items matching the query criteria:
```
SELECT DISTINCT LastName FROM Employee 
```

Sort a result set in ascending order:

SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Employee  ORDER BY LastName ASC

Restrict a result set to the specified number of rows:
```
SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Employee 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 Employee WHERE EmployeeId = @param
```

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 Paylocity.

    SELECT * FROM Employee WHERE Query = 'Column > 100'

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.

Power BI Connector for Paylocity