Choose Columns Using the select Clause

The items in the select clause make up the select list. When the select list consists of a column name, a group of columns, or the wildcard character (*), the data is retrieved in the order in which it is stored in the table (create table order).

• Choose all Columns Using select *
  The asterisk (*) selects all the column names in all the tables specified by the from clause.
• Choose Specific Columns
  You can select specific columns in a table by separating column names with commas.
• Rearrange the Column Order
  The order in which you list column names in the select clause determines the order in which the columns appear in the query results.
• Rename Columns in Query Results
  The default heading for each column is the name given to the query results when it was created. You can rename a column heading for display purposes.
• Expressions
  The select statement can also include one or more expressions, which allow you to manipulate the data that is retrieved.
• Select Text, Unitext, and Image Values
  text, unitext, and image values can be quite large. When a select list includes the values for these datatypes, the limit on the length of the data returned depends on the setting of the @@textsize global variable.
• select List Summary
  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).