> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://villagesql.com/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # MySQL SELECT > How the MySQL SELECT statement reads data from a table: naming columns, selecting every column, and computing a value, with runnable Sakila examples. All examples on this page work on VillageSQL. Install Now → `SELECT` reads rows out of a table. This lesson covers its smallest useful form: name a table, name some columns, get rows back. Every example queries the Sakila database. If you have not loaded it yet, [load Sakila first](/docs/tutorial/load-sakila), then open the client with `mysql -u root -p sakila` so that `sakila` is the current database. ## How SELECT works ```sql theme={null} SELECT COLUMN_LIST FROM TABLE_NAME; ``` `COLUMN_LIST` is what you want in each row, usually column names separated by commas. `TABLE_NAME` is the table the rows come from. A statement ends at the semicolon. The client keeps reading until it finds one, so a line without a semicolon leaves you on a continuation prompt: ```text theme={null} mysql> SELECT name FROM language -> ; +----------+ | name | +----------+ | English | | Italian | | Japanese | | Mandarin | | French | | German | +----------+ 6 rows in set (0.00 sec) ``` ## Examples ### 1) Select one column Ask the `film` table for the title of each film and nothing else. ```sql theme={null} SELECT title FROM film; ``` ```text theme={null} +-----------------------------+ | title | +-----------------------------+ | ACADEMY DINOSAUR | | ACE GOLDFINGER | | ADAPTATION HOLES | | AFFAIR PREJUDICE | | AFRICAN EGG | ... +-----------------------------+ 1000 rows in set (0.01 sec) ``` One row comes back for every row in the table, 1,000 of them here. `SELECT` filters nothing on its own. Choosing which rows you get is the job of [WHERE](/docs/tutorial/where). ### 2) Select several columns Separate the column names with commas. They come back in the order you asked for, which need not be the order they sit in the table. ```sql theme={null} SELECT title, release_year, rental_rate FROM film; ``` ```text theme={null} +-----------------------------+--------------+-------------+ | title | release_year | rental_rate | +-----------------------------+--------------+-------------+ | ACADEMY DINOSAUR | 2006 | 0.99 | | ACE GOLDFINGER | 2006 | 4.99 | | ADAPTATION HOLES | 2006 | 2.99 | | AFFAIR PREJUDICE | 2006 | 2.99 | | AFRICAN EGG | 2006 | 2.99 | ... +-----------------------------+--------------+-------------+ 1000 rows in set (0.00 sec) ``` ### 3) Select every column An asterisk stands for every column in the table. The `language` table holds 6 rows, so this one prints a complete result. ```sql theme={null} SELECT * FROM language; ``` ```text theme={null} +-------------+----------+---------------------+ | language_id | name | last_update | +-------------+----------+---------------------+ | 1 | English | 2006-02-15 05:02:19 | | 2 | Italian | 2006-02-15 05:02:19 | | 3 | Japanese | 2006-02-15 05:02:19 | | 4 | Mandarin | 2006-02-15 05:02:19 | | 5 | French | 2006-02-15 05:02:19 | | 6 | German | 2006-02-15 05:02:19 | +-------------+----------+---------------------+ 6 rows in set (0.00 sec) ``` `SELECT *` earns its place while you are exploring a table you do not know. Inside application code, name your columns. An asterisk sends every column over the wire whether the code reads it or not, and it changes shape underneath the code on the day somebody adds a column. ### 4) Compute a value The select list does not have to name a column. Put an expression there and the result becomes a column of its own. ```sql theme={null} SELECT title, rental_rate, rental_rate * 1.1 FROM film; ``` ```text theme={null} +-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------+ | title | rental_rate | rental_rate * 1.1 | +-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------+ | ACADEMY DINOSAUR | 0.99 | 1.089 | | ACE GOLDFINGER | 4.99 | 5.489 | | ADAPTATION HOLES | 2.99 | 3.289 | | AFFAIR PREJUDICE | 2.99 | 3.289 | | AFRICAN EGG | 2.99 | 3.289 | ... +-----------------------------+-------------+-------------------+ 1000 rows in set (0.00 sec) ``` The heading of that third column is the expression you typed, which is accurate and ugly. A [column alias](/docs/tutorial/column-aliases) gives it a name of your own. ## 2 things that catch people out **Keywords ignore case.** `SELECT`, `select` and `SeLeCt` all run. ```sql theme={null} select title from film; ``` ```text theme={null} +-----------------------------+ | title | +-----------------------------+ | ACADEMY DINOSAUR | | ACE GOLDFINGER | | ADAPTATION HOLES | ... +-----------------------------+ 1000 rows in set (0.00 sec) ``` This tutorial writes keywords in upper case and everything else in lower case, as a convention. It exists so the shape of a long query reads at a glance. **A misspelled column raises an error.** MySQL does not guess what you meant, and it does not hand back an empty result. ```sql theme={null} SELECT titel FROM film; ``` ```text theme={null} ERROR 1054 (42S22): Unknown column 'titel' in 'field list' ``` `field list` is the server's name for the select list, so that message locates the mistake as well as naming it. The same error ends differently when the bad name sits elsewhere in the statement, so read the tail of it before you go looking. ## Summary * Use `SELECT` with a list of columns and `FROM` with a table to read rows. * List columns in whatever order you want them returned. * Reach for `SELECT *` while exploring, and name your columns in application code. * Put an expression in the select list to compute a value per row. * Expect `ERROR 1054` when a column name is wrong. ## See also * [Column aliases](/docs/tutorial/column-aliases) — give a computed column a readable name * [Choosing MySQL data types](/docs/guides/choosing-data-types) — what the column types in these results mean