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 Notes
```

Rename a column:

SELECT [Filename] AS MY_Filename FROM Notes

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

SELECT CAST(FileSize AS VARCHAR) AS Str_FileSize FROM Notes

Search data:

SELECT * FROM Notes WHERE FilePath = '/documents/doc.txt'

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

Sort a result set in ascending order:

SELECT Filesize, Filename FROM Notes  ORDER BY Filename ASC

Restrict a result set to the specified number of rows:
```
SELECT Filesize, Filename FROM Notes 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 Notes WHERE FilePath = @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 SFTP.

    SELECT * FROM Notes 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.

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