Examples

1. Return all columns:
   

   SELECT * FROM Accounts

2. Rename a column:
   

   SELECT [AccountNumber] AS MY_AccountNumber FROM Accounts

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

   SELECT CAST(AnnualRevenue AS VARCHAR) AS Str_AnnualRevenue FROM Accounts

4. Search data:
   

   SELECT * FROM Accounts WHERE Industry = 'Data/Telecom OEM';

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

   SELECT COUNT(*) AS MyCount FROM Accounts

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

   SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT AccountNumber) FROM Accounts

7. Return the unique items matching the query criteria:
   

   SELECT DISTINCT AccountNumber FROM Accounts

8. Summarize data:
   

   SELECT AccountNumber, MAX(AnnualRevenue) FROM Accounts GROUP BY AccountNumber

   See Aggregate Functions for details.
9. Retrieve data from multiple tables.
   

   SELECT Accounts.AccountName, Contacts.FirstName, Contacts.LastName FROM Accounts, Contacts WHERE Accounts.AccountId=Contacts.AccountId

   See JOIN Queries for details.
10. Sort a result set in ascending order:
    

    SELECT AccountName, AccountNumber FROM Accounts  ORDER BY AccountNumber ASC

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

    SELECT AccountName, AccountNumber FROM Accounts LIMIT 10

12. Parameterize a query to pass in inputs at execution time. This enables you to create prepared statements and mitigate SQL injection attacks.
    

    SELECT * FROM Accounts WHERE Industry = @param