The select list can include * (all columns in create table order), a list of column names in any order, character strings, column headings, and expressions including arithmetic operators. You can also include aggregate functions, which are discussed in Chapter 3, “Using Aggregates, Grouping, and Sorting.” Here are some select lists to try with the tables in the pubs2 sample database:
select titles.* from titles
select Name = au_fname, Surname = au_lname from authors
select Sales = total_sales * price, ToAuthor = advance, ToPublisher = (total_sales * price) - advance from titles
select "Social security #", au_id from authors
select this_year = advance, next_year = advance + advance/10, third_year = advance/2, "for book title #", title_id from titles
select "Total income is", Revenue = price * total_sales, "for", Book# = title_id from titles