🔍 SELECT – How to View and Filter Data in SQL<

🔧 Quick Syntax:

SELECT column1, column2 FROM table_name;
-- or --
SELECT * FROM table_name;

This is like saying:
“Hey SQL, show me the data from this table — here’s what I want to see.”

🧾 Let’s say you have this table called friends

id	name	age	phone
1	Olivia	27	5559831220
2	Mason	23	5556712345
3	Zoe	30	5559083344
4	Ethan	21	5554421199
5	Harper	25	5557882910

✅ Show all data

SELECT * FROM friends;

💡 Output:

id	name	age	phone
1	Olivia	27	5559831220
2	Mason	23	5556712345
3	Zoe	30	5559083344
4	Ethan	21	5554421199
5	Harper	25	5557882910

✅ Show only names and phone numbers

SELECT name, phone FROM friends;

💡 Output:

name	phone
Olivia	5559831220
Mason	5556712345
Zoe	5559083344
Ethan	5554421199
Harper	5557882910

✅ Filter: Show friends older than 25

SELECT * FROM friends
WHERE age > 25;

💡 Output:

id	name	age	phone
1	Olivia	27	5559831220
3	Zoe	30	5559083344

✅ Filter: Show friend named “Ethan”

SELECT * FROM friends
WHERE name = 'Ethan';

💡 Output:

id	name	age	phone
4	Ethan	21	5554421199

✅ Sort: Show everyone, youngest first

SELECT * FROM friends
ORDER BY age ASC;

💡 Output:

id	name	age	phone
4	Ethan	21	5554421199
2	Mason	23	5556712345
5	Harper	25	5557882910
1	Olivia	27	5559831220
3	Zoe	30	5559083344

🧃 Recap

• SELECT * shows all data
• SELECT column1, column2 shows specific columns
• WHERE filters the data (e.g. age > 25)
• ORDER BY sorts the results (e.g. youngest to oldest)