Microsoft Dynamics365 Business Central

SELECT Statements

A SELECT statement can consist of the following basic clauses.

• SELECT

• INTO

• FROM

• JOIN

• WHERE

• GROUP BY

• HAVING

• UNION

• ORDER BY

• LIMIT

SELECT Syntax

The following syntax diagram outlines the syntax supported by the SQL engine of the provider:

SELECT { [ TOP <numeric_literal> | DISTINCT ] { * | { <expression> [ [ AS ] <column_reference> ] | { <table_name> | <correlation_name> } .* } [ , ... ] } [ INTO csv:// [ filename= ] <file_path> [ ;delimiter=tab ] ] { FROM <table_reference> [ [ AS ] <identifier> ] } [ , ... ] [ [ INNER | { { LEFT | RIGHT | FULL } [ OUTER ] } ] JOIN <table_reference> [ ON <search_condition> ] [ [ AS ] <identifier> ] ] [ ... ] [ WHERE <search_condition> ] [ GROUP BY <column_reference> [ , ... ] [ HAVING <search_condition> ] [ UNION [ ALL ] <select_statement> ] [ ORDER BY <column_reference> [ ASC | DESC ] [ NULLS FIRST | NULLS LAST ] ] [ LIMIT <expression> [ { OFFSET | , } <expression> ] ] } | SCOPE_IDENTITY() <expression> ::= | <column_reference> | @ <parameter> | ? | COUNT( * | { [ DISTINCT ] <expression> } ) | { AVG | MAX | MIN | SUM | COUNT } ( <expression> ) | NULLIF ( <expression> , <expression> ) | COALESCE ( <expression> , ... ) | CASE <expression> WHEN { <expression> | <search_condition> } THEN { <expression> | NULL } [ ... ] [ ELSE { <expression> | NULL } ] END | <literal> | <sql_function> <search_condition> ::= { <expression> { = | > | < | >= | <= | <> | != | LIKE | NOT LIKE | IN | NOT IN | IS NULL | IS NOT NULL | AND | OR | CONTAINS | BETWEEN } [ <expression> ] } [ { AND | OR } ... ]

Examples

1. Return all columns:

   SELECT * FROM Accounts

2. Rename a column:

   SELECT [Name] AS MY_Name FROM Accounts

3. Cast a column's data as a different data type:

   SELECT CAST(AnnualRevenue AS VARCHAR) AS Str_AnnualRevenue FROM Accounts

4. Search data:

   SELECT * FROM Accounts WHERE Name <> 'MyAccount'

5. Return the number of items matching the query criteria:

   SELECT COUNT(*) AS MyCount FROM Accounts

6. Return the number of unique items matching the query criteria:

   SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT Name) FROM Accounts

7. Return the unique items matching the query criteria:

   SELECT DISTINCT Name FROM Accounts

8. Summarize data:

   SELECT Name, MAX(AnnualRevenue) FROM Accounts GROUP BY Name

   See Aggregate Functions below for details.

9. Retrieve data from multiple tables.

   SELECT Accounts.Name, Contracts.ContractNumber FROM Accounts, Contracts WHERE Accounts.AccountId=Contracts._AccountId_Value

   See JOIN Queries below for details.

10. Sort a result set in ascending order:

    SELECT accountid, Name FROM Accounts ORDER BY Name ASC

11. Restrict a result set to the specified number of rows:

    SELECT accountid, Name FROM Accounts LIMIT 10

12. Parameterize a query to pass in inputs at execution time. This enables you to create prepared statements and mitigate SQL injection attacks.

    SELECT * FROM Accounts WHERE Name = @param

Aggregate Functions

COUNT

Returns the number of rows matching the query criteria.

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM Accounts WHERE Name = 'MyAccount'

COUNT(DISTINCT)

Returns the number of distinct, non-null field values matching the query criteria.

SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT accountid) AS DistinctValues FROM Accounts WHERE Name <> 'MyAccount'

AVG

Returns the average of the column values.

SELECT Name, AVG(AnnualRevenue) FROM Accounts WHERE Name <> 'MyAccount' GROUP BY Name

MIN

Returns the minimum column value.

SELECT MIN(AnnualRevenue), Name FROM Accounts WHERE Name <> 'MyAccount' GROUP BY Name

MAX

Returns the maximum column value.

SELECT Name, MAX(AnnualRevenue) FROM Accounts WHERE Name <> 'MyAccount' GROUP BY Name

SUM

Returns the total sum of the column values.

SELECT SUM(AnnualRevenue) FROM Accounts WHERE Name = 'MyAccount'

JOIN Queries

The Provider for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central supports standard SQL joins like the following examples.

Inner Join

An inner join selects only rows from both tables that match the join condition:

SELECT Accounts.Name, Contracts.ContractNumber FROM Accounts, Contracts WHERE Accounts.AccountId=Contracts._AccountId_Value

Left Join

A left join selects all rows in the FROM table and only matching rows in the JOIN table:

SELECT Accounts.Name, Contracts.ContractNumber FROM Accounts LEFT OUTER JOIN Contracts ON Accounts.AccountId=Contracts._AccountId_Value

Date Literal Functions

The following date literal functions can be used to filter date fields using relative intervals. Note that while the <, >, and = operators are supported for these functions, <= and >= are not.

L_TODAY()

The current day.

SELECT * FROM MyTable WHERE MyDateField = L_TODAY()

L_YESTERDAY()

The previous day.

SELECT * FROM MyTable WHERE MyDateField = L_YESTERDAY()

L_TOMORROW()

The following day.

SELECT * FROM MyTable WHERE MyDateField = L_TOMORROW()

L_LAST_WEEK()

Every day in the preceding week.

SELECT * FROM MyTable WHERE MyDateField = L_LAST_WEEK()

L_THIS_WEEK()

Every day in the current week.

SELECT * FROM MyTable WHERE MyDateField = L_THIS_WEEK()

L_NEXT_WEEK()

Every day in the following week.

SELECT * FROM MyTable WHERE MyDateField = L_NEXT_WEEK()

Also available:

• L_LAST/L_THIS/L_NEXT MONTH

• L_LAST/L_THIS/L_NEXT QUARTER

• L_LAST/L_THIS/L_NEXT YEAR

L_LAST_N_DAYS(n)

The previous n days, excluding the current day.

SELECT * FROM MyTable WHERE MyDateField = L_LAST_N_DAYS(3)

L_NEXT_N_DAYS(n)

The following n days, including the current day.

SELECT * FROM MyTable WHERE MyDateField = L_NEXT_N_DAYS(3)

Also available:

• L_LAST/L_NEXT_90_DAYS

L_LAST_N_WEEKS(n)

Every day in every week, starting n weeks before current week, and ending in the previous week.

SELECT * FROM MyTable WHERE MyDateField = L_LAST_N_WEEKS(3)

L_NEXT_N_WEEKS(n)

Every day in every week, starting the following week, and ending n weeks in the future.

SELECT * FROM MyTable WHERE MyDateField = L_NEXT_N_WEEKS(3)

Also available:

• L_LAST/L_NEXT_N_MONTHS(n)

• L_LAST/L_NEXT_N_QUARTERS(n)

• L_LAST/L_NEXT_N_YEARS(n)