This document provides examples of SQL queries to retrieve data from databases. It covers basic SELECT statements to retrieve all or some columns from tables, sorting and filtering results, using functions like COUNT and AVG, joining data from multiple tables, and using wildcard characters in queries. The examples demonstrate how to select, filter, sort, aggregate, and join data using SQL.

1. SQL Simple Queries – Ch 5
SQL Queries - Basics
Worksheet - 1
1 USE Statement:
This statement is used to open an existing database.
Syntax
USE { database }
Arguments
database
Is the name of the database to which the user context is switched. Database names must
conform to the rules for identifiers.
2 Write SQL statement to open a database called pubs
3 Write SQL statement to open a database called Northwind
4 Write SQL statement to open an existing database called student
5 SELECT clause
Retrieves rows from the database and allows the selection of one or many rows or columns
from one or many tables.
SELECT select_list
[ INTO new_table ]
FROM table_source
[ WHERE search_condition ]
[ GROUP BY group_by_expression ]
[ HAVING search_condition ]
[ ORDER BY order_expression [ ASC | DESC ] ]
E.g., Consider the database called pubs.
6 To select all records from this table, we give the query:
USE pubs
SELECT * FROM authors
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2. SQL Simple Queries – Ch 5
7 Syntax Diagram of SELECT statement:
8 Write a query to select all records from a table called authors, and order the results in
ascending order of lastname of author (au_lname), and ascending order of first name
(au_fname).
USE pubs
SELECT *
FROM authors
ORDER BY au_lname ASC, au_fname ASC
9 Write a query to return all rows, and only a subset of the columns (au_lname,
au_fname, phone, city, state) from the authors table in the pubs database. Sort in
ascending order of lastname and then by ascending order of first name. Column
heading should be added to Telephone field.
USE pubs
SELECT au_fname, au_lname, phone AS Telephone, city, state
FROM authors
ORDER BY au_lname ASC, au_fname ASC
10 Write a query to return all rows, and only a subset of the columns (au_lname,
au_fname, phone, city, state) from the authors table in the pubs database. Sort in
ascending order of lastname and then by ascending order of first name. Column
headings should be added to lastname and first name fields.
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3. SQL Simple Queries – Ch 5
11 Write a query to return all rows, and only a subset of the columns (au_lname,
au_fname, phone, state) from the authors table in the pubs database, and only for
authors staying in California. Phone column should have an appropriate heading.
USE pubs
SELECT au_fname, au_lname, phone AS Telephone, state
FROM authors
WHERE state = 'CA'
ORDER BY au_lname ASC, au_fname ASC
12 Write a query to return all rows, and only a subset of the columns (au_lname,
au_fname, phone, state) from the authors table in the pubs database, and only for
authors not staying in California. Phone column should have an appropriate heading.
13 List the sales offices with their targets and actual sales.
SELECT CITY, TARGET, SALES
FROM OFFICES
14 List the Eastern region sales offices with their targets and sales.
SELECT CITY, TARGET, SALES
FROM OFFICES
WHERE REGION = 'Eastern'
15 List Eastern region sales offices whose sales exceed their targets, sorted in
alphabetical order by city.
SELECT CITY, TARGET, SALES
FROM OFFICES
WHERE REGION = 'Eastern'
AND SALES > TARGET
ORDER BY CITY
16 What are the average target and sales for Eastern region offices?
SELECT AVG(TARGET), AVG(SALES)
FROM OFFICES WHERE REGION = 'Eastern'
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4. SQL Simple Queries – Ch 5
17 Show me a current list of our employees and their phone numbers."
SELECT EmpLastName, EmpFirstName, EmpPhoneNumber
FROM Employees
18 "What are the names and prices of the products we carry, and under what category is
each item listed?"
SELECT ProductName, RetailPrice, Category
FROM Products
18 Show a list of subjects (SUBNAME), the category (CATID) each belongs to, and the
code (SUBCODE) used in the catalog. Show the name first, followed by the category
and then the code.
SELECT SubjectName, CategoryID, SubjectCode
FROM Subjects
19 Consider a table called BOWLERS. Give a query to list of unique cities from this
table.
SELECT DISTINCT City
FROM Bowlers
20 Show a list of classes offered by the university, in alphabetical order.
SELECT Category
FROM Classes
ORDER BY Category
21 Select vendor name and ZIP Code from the vendors table and order by ZIP Code
SELECT VendName, VendZipCode
FROM Vendors
ORDER BY VendZipCode
22 Select vendor name and ZIP Code from the vendors table and order by ZIP Code in
descending order.
SELECT VendName, VendZipCode
FROM Vendors
ORDER BY VendZipCode DESC
23 Select last name, first name, phone number, and employee ID from the employees
table and order by last name and first name
Select last name, first name, phone number, and employee ID from the employees table
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5. SQL Simple Queries – Ch 5
and order by last name and first name.
SELECT EmpLastName, EmpFirstName, EmpPhoneNumber, EmployeeID
FROM Employees
ORDER BY EmpLastName, EmpFirstName
24 Modify the above example to use the descending sort for last name and ascending sort
for first name.
SELECT EmpLastName, EmpFirstName, EmpPhoneNumber, EmployeeID
FROM Employees
ORDER BY EmpLastName DESC, EmpFirstName ASC
25 Write SQL query to find out the five most expensive products in the Sales Orders
database.
SELECT TOP 5 ProductName, RetailPrice
FROM Products
ORDER BY RetailPrice DESC
26 To find out the top 10% of products by price.
SELECT TOP 10 PERCENT ProductName, RetailPrice
FROM Products
ORDER BY RetailPrice DESC
27 Write a query to answer the following : “Which states do our customers come from?"
SELECT DISTINCT CustState
FROM Customers
28 Give me a list of the buildings on campus and the number of floors for each building.
Sort the list by building in ascending order."
SELECT BuildingName, NumberOfFloors
FROM Buildings
ORDER BY BuildingName ASC
29 Give me a list of all tournament dates and locations. I need the dates in descending
order and the locations in alphabetical order."
SELECT TourneyDate, TourneyLocation
FROM Tournaments
ORDER BY TourneyDate DESC, TourneyLocation ASC
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6. SQL Simple Queries – Ch 5
30 List the names, offices, and hire dates of all salespeople.
SELECT NAME, REP_OFFICE, HIRE_DATE
FROM SALESREPS
31 What are the name, quota, and sales of employee number 107?
SELECT NAME, QUOTA, SALES
FROM SALESREPS
WHERE EMPL_NUM = 107
32 What are the average sales of our salespeople?
SELECT AVG(SALES)
FROM SALESREPS
33 List the salespeople, their quotas, and their managers.
SELECT NAME, QUOTA, MANAGER
FROM SALESREPS
34 List the city, region, and amount over/under target for each office. This involves a
calculated value.
SELECT CITY, REGION, (SALES - TARGET)
FROM OFFICES
35 Show the value of the inventory for each product. Inventory is qty * price
SELECT MFR_ID, PRODUCT_ID, DESCRIPTION, (QTY_ON_HAND * PRICE)
FROM PRODUCTS
36 Show me the result if I raised each salesperson's quota by 3 percent of their year-to-
date sales.
SELECT NAME, QUOTA, (QUOTA + (.03*SALES))
FROM SALESREPS
37 List the name and month and year of hire for each salesperson.
SELECT NAME, MONTH(HIRE_DATE), YEAR(HIRE_DATE)
FROM SALESREPS
38 SQL constants can be used by themselves as items in a select list. This can be useful
for producing query results that are easier to read and interpret.
SELECT CITY, 'has sales of', SALES
FROM OFFICES
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7. SQL Simple Queries – Ch 5
39 List the offices whose sales fall below 80 percent of target.
SELECT CITY, SALES, TARGET
FROM OFFICES
WHERE SALES < (.8 * TARGET)
40 Find salespeople hired before 1988.
SELECT NAME
FROM SALESREPS
WHERE HIRE_DATE < '01-JAN-88'
41 Find orders placed in the last quarter of 1989.
SELECT ORDER_NUM, ORDER_DATE, MFR, PRODUCT, AMOUNT
FROM ORDERS
WHERE ORDER_DATE BETWEEN '01-OCT-89' AND '31-DEC-89'
42 Find the orders that fall into various amount ranges.
SELECT ORDER_NUM, AMOUNT
FROM ORDERS
WHERE AMOUNT BETWEEN 20000.00 AND 29999.99
43 List the salespeople who work in New York, Atlanta, or Denver.
SELECT NAME, QUOTA, SALES
FROM SALESREPS
WHERE REP_OFFICE IN (11, 13, 22)
44 Find all orders placed with four specific salespeople.
SELECT ORDER_NUM, REP, AMOUNT
FROM ORDERS
WHERE REP IN (107, 109, 101, 103)
Note : The search condition
X IN (A, B, C)
is completely equivalent to:
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8. SQL Simple Queries – Ch 5
(X = A) OR (X = B) OR (X = C)
45 Wildcard Characters
The percent sign (%) wildcard character matches any sequence of zero or more characters.
This query uses the percent sign for pattern matching:
SELECT COMPANY, CREDIT_LIMIT
FROM CUSTOMERS
WHERE COMPANY LIKE 'Smith% Corp.'
46 The underscore (_) wildcard character matches any single character. If you are sure
that the company's name is either "Smithson" or "Smithsen," for example, you can
use this query:
SELECT COMPANY, CREDIT_LIMIT
FROM CUSTOMERS
WHERE COMPANY LIKE 'Smiths_n Corp.'
In this case, any of these names will match the pattern:
Smithson Corp. Smithsen Corp. Smithsun Corp.
47 Wildcard characters can appear anywhere in the pattern string, and several wildcard
characters can be within a single string. This query allows either the "Smithson" or
"Smithsen" spelling and will also accept "Corp.," "Inc.," or any other ending on the
company name:
SELECT COMPANY, CREDIT_LIMIT
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9. SQL Simple Queries – Ch 5
FROM CUSTOMERS
WHERE COMPANY LIKE 'Smiths_n %'
48 Find products whose product IDs start with the four letters "A%BC".
SELECT ORDER_NUM, PRODUCT
FROM ORDERS
WHERE PRODUCT LIKE 'A$%BC%' ESCAPE '$'
Here we are using the $ character as the “Escape” character. The escape character is
specified as a one-character constant string in the ESCAPE clause of the search condition.
The first percent sign in the pattern, which follows an escape character, is treated as a
literal percent sign; the second functions as a wildcard.
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