Getting information from a single table

After inserting information into a table, you can use the SELECT statement to display some or all the information in the table.

The SELECT statement is the most complex of all SQL statements. This statement is composed of the following main clauses:
  1. The SELECT clause, which specifies those columns that contain the data.
  2. The FROM clause, which specifies the table or tables that contain the columns with the data.
  3. The WHERE clause, which supplies conditions that determine which rows of data are retrieved.

In addition to these main clauses, several other clauses that affect the final form of returned data are described in the SQL programming and DB2® for i SQL reference topic collections.

  1. To see the values that you inserted into the INVENTORY_LIST table, type SELECT and press F4 (Prompt). The following display is shown.
                               Specify SELECT Statement
     
    Type SELECT statement information.  Press F4 for a list.
     
      FROM tables  . . . . . . . .   SAMPLECOLL.INVENTORY_LIST____________________
      SELECT columns . . . . . . .   *____________________________________________
      WHERE conditions . . . . . .   _____________________________________________
      GROUP BY columns . . . . . .   _____________________________________________
      HAVING conditions  . . . . .   _____________________________________________
      ORDER BY columns . . . . . .   _____________________________________________
      FOR UPDATE OF columns  . . .   _____________________________________________
     
                                                                            Bottom
    Type choices, press Enter.
     
      DISTINCT rows in result table  . . . . . . . . .   N    Y=Yes, N=No
      UNION with another SELECT  . . . . . . . . . . .   N    Y=Yes, N=No
      Specify additional options . . . . . . . . . . .   N    Y=Yes, N=No
     
     
     
    F3=Exit         F4=Prompt   F5=Refresh   F6=Insert line   F9=Specify subquery
    F10=Copy line   F12=Cancel   F14=Delete line   F15=Split line   F24=More keys
  2. Type the table name in the FROM tables field on the display. To select all columns from the table, type * for the SELECT columns field on the display.
  3. Press Enter and the statement runs to select all of the data for all of the columns in the table. The following output is shown.
                                     Display Data
                                                  Data width . . . . . . :      71
    Position to line  . . . . .              Shift to column  . . . . . .
    ....+....1....+....2....+....3....+....4....+....5....+....6....+....7.
    ITEM    ITEM                        UNIT   QUANTITY  LAST      NUMBER
    NUMBER  NAME                        COST   ON        ORDER     ORDERED
                                               HAND      DATE
    153047  Pencils, red               10.00        25   -              20
    229740  Lined tablets               1.50       120   -              20
    544931  ***UNKNOWN***               5.00          -  -              20
    303476  Paper clips                 2.00       100   -              20
    559343  Envelopes, legal            3.00       500   -              20
    291124  Envelopes, standard          .00          -  -              20
    775298  Chairs, secretary         225.00         6   -              20
    073956  Pens, black                20.00        25   -              20
    ********  End of data  ********
     
    F3=Exit      F12=Cancel      F19=Left      F20=Right      F21=Split

    The column headings that were defined with the LABEL ON statement are shown. The ITEM_NAME column for the third entry contains the default value that was specified in the CREATE TABLE statement. The QUANTITY_ON_HAND column contains a null value for the rows where no value was inserted. The LAST_ORDER_DATE column contains all null values because that column is not in any of the INSERT statements and the column was not defined to have a default value. Similarly, the ORDER_QUANTITY column contains the default value for all rows.

    This statement can be entered on the Enter SQL Statements display as:

    SELECT *
    		FROM SAMPLECOLL.INVENTORY_LIST
  4. To limit the number of columns returned by the SELECT statement, the columns you want to see must be specified. To restrict the number of output rows returned, the WHERE clause is used. To see only the items that cost more than 10 dollars, and only have the values for the columns ITEM_NUMBER, UNIT_COST, and ITEM_NAME returned, type SELECT and press F4 (Prompt). The Specify SELECT Statement display is shown.
                               Specify SELECT Statement
     
    Type SELECT statement information.  Press F4 for a list.
     
      FROM tables  . . . . . . . .   SAMPLECOLL.INVENTORY_LIST____________________
      SELECT columns . . . . . . .   ITEM_NUMBER, UNIT_COST, ITEM_NAME____________
      WHERE conditions . . . . . .   UNIT_COST > 10.00____________________________
      GROUP BY columns . . . . . .   _____________________________________________
      HAVING conditions  . . . . .   _____________________________________________
      ORDER BY columns . . . . . .   _____________________________________________
      FOR UPDATE OF columns  . . .   _____________________________________________
     
                                                                            Bottom
    Type choices, press Enter.
     
      DISTINCT rows in result table  . . . . . . . . .   N    Y=Yes, N=No
      UNION with another SELECT  . . . . . . . . . . .   N    Y=Yes, N=No
      Specify additional options . . . . . . . . . . .   N    Y=Yes, N=No
     
     
     
    F3=Exit         F4=Prompt   F5=Refresh   F6=Insert line   F9=Specify subquery
    F10=Copy line   F12=Cancel   F14=Delete line   F15=Split line   F24=More keys

    Although only one line is initially shown for each prompt on the Specify SELECT Statement display, you can add more lines to any of the input areas on the top part of the display by pressing F6 (Insert line). F6 can be used if more columns need to be entered in the SELECT columns list or if a longer, more complex WHERE condition is needed.

  5. Complete the information on the display, as shown.
  6. Press Enter to run the SELECT statement. The following output is shown.
                                     Display Data
                                                 Data width . . . . . . :      41
    Position to line  . . . . .              Shift to column  . . . . . .
    ....+....1....+....2....+....3....+....4.
    ITEM          UNIT   ITEM
    NUMBER        COST   NAME
    775298      225.00   Chairs, secretary
    073956       20.00   Pens, black
    ********  End of data  ********
     
    F3=Exit      F12=Cancel      F19=Left      F20=Right      F21=Split
The only rows returned are those whose data values satisfy the condition specified in the WHERE clause. Furthermore, the only data values returned are from the columns you explicitly specified in the SELECT clause. Data values of columns other than those explicitly identified are not returned.
This statement can be entered on the Enter SQL Statements display as:
SELECT ITEM_NUMBER,UNIT_COST,ITEM_NAME
	FROM SAMPLECOLL.INVENTORY_LIST
	WHERE UNIT_COST > 10.00