Retrieving Individual Columns

What is SQL?

Database

Why SQL Matters

SQL is essential for managing and querying databases efficiently. It is widely used due to its standardization, scalability, and ability to ensure data integrity. SQL's integration with other technologies makes it a versatile tool in various applications, supporting real-time data processing and decision-making.

Let's get started! In this course, we will work with a country database containing a country table. You can see it under the code editor on the right bottom corner.

SQL Syntax Explanation

To retrieve data from a database, SQL uses the SELECT statement. Here's the basic syntax:

• SELECT: specifies the columns to retrieve;

• FROM: specifies the table from which to retrieve the data.

For example, to get the sample column from the sample_table table, the syntax is:

sql
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SELECT sample FROM sample_table;

The following query will return all entries in the continent column from the country table:

In our previous query, we utilized the SELECT to retrieve a single continent column from the country table. It's important to note that you must specify the column name immediately after the SELECT keyword, and the FROM keyword specifies the name of the table from which we wish to retrieve data.