Result tables

The data that is retrieved by an SQL statement is always in the form of a table, which is called a result table. Like the tables from which you retrieve the data, a result table has rows and columns. A program fetches this data one row at a time.

Example result table: Assume that you issue the following SELECT statement, which retrieves the last name, first name, and phone number of employees in department D11 from the sample employee table:

SELECT LASTNAME, FIRSTNME, PHONENO
  FROM DSN8D10.EMP
  WHERE WORKDEPT = 'D11'
  ORDER BY LASTNAME;

The result table looks similar to the following output:

LASTNAME             FIRSTNME           PHONENO
================     ==============     ==========
ADAMSON              BRUCE              4510
BROWN                DAVID              4501
JOHN                 REBA               0672
JONES                WILLIAM            0942
LUTZ                 JENNIFER           0672
PIANKA               ELIZABETH          3782
SCOUTTEN             MARILYN            1682
STERN                IRVING             6432
WALKER               JAMES              2986
YAMAMOTO             KIYOSHI            2890
YOSHIMURA            MASATOSHI          2890