MYSQL: ALIASES
This MySQL tutorial explains how to use MySQL ALIASES (temporary
names for columns or tables) with syntax and examples.
DESCRIPTION
MySQL ALIASES can be used to create a temporary name for
columns or tables.
COLUMN ALIASES are used to make column headings in your
result set easier to read.
TABLE ALIASES are used to shorten your SQL to make it
easier to read or when you are performing a self join (ie:
listing the same table more than once in the FROM clause).
SYNTAX
The syntax to ALIAS A COLUMN in MySQL is:
column_name [ AS ] alias_name
OR
The syntax to ALIAS A TABLE in MySQL is:
table_name [ AS ] alias_name
Parameters or Arguments
column_name
The original name of the column that you wish to alias.
table_name
The original name of the table that you wish to alias.
AS
Optional. Most programmers will specify the AS keyword when
aliasing a column name, but not when aliasing a table name.
Whether you specify the AS keyword or not has no impact on
the alias in MySQL. It is a personal choice in MySQL, unlike
other databases. (Our examples will use AS when aliasing a
column name but omit AS when aliasing a table name.)
alias_name
The temporary name to assign to the column or table.
Note:
If the alias_name contains spaces, you must enclose
the alias_name in quotes.
It is acceptable to use spaces when you are aliasing a column
name. However, it is not generally good practice to use spaces
when you are aliasing a table name.
The alias_name is only valid within the scope of the SQL
statement.
EXAMPLE - ALIAS A COLUMN
Generally, aliases are used to make the column headings in your
result set easier to read. For example, when using the MAX function,
you might alias the result of the MAX function in MySQL.
For example:
SELECT department, MAX(salary) AS highest
FROM employees
GROUP BY department;
In this example, we've aliased the MAX(salary) field as highest. As a
result, highest will display as the heading for the second column
when the result set is returned. Because our alias_name did not
include any spaces, we are not required to enclose
the alias_name in quotes.
However, it would have been perfectly acceptable to write this
example using quotes as follows:
SELECT department, MAX(salary) AS "highest"
FROM employees
GROUP BY department;
Next, let's look at an example where we are required to enclose
the alias_name in quotes.
For example:
SELECT department, MAX(salary) AS "highest salary"
FROM employees
GROUP BY department;
In this example, we've aliased the MAX(salary) field as "highest
salary". Since there are spaces in this alias_name, "highest salary"
must be enclosed in quotes.
EXAMPLE - ALIAS A TABLE
When you create an alias on a table, it is either because you plan to
list the same table name more than once in the FROM clause (ie:
self join), or you want to shorten the table name to make the SQL
statement shorter and easier to read.
Let's look at an example of how to alias a table name in MySQL.
For example:
SELECT p.product_id, p.product_name, suppliers.supplier_name
FROM products p
INNER JOIN suppliers
ON p.supplier_id = suppliers.supplier_id
ORDER BY p.product_name ASC, suppliers.supplier_name DESC;
In this example, we've created an alias for the products table
called p. Now within this SQL statement, we can refer to
the products table as p.
When creating table aliases, it is not necessary to create aliases for
all of the tables listed in the FROM clause. You can choose to create
aliases on any or all of the tables.
For example, we could modify our example above and create an
alias for the suppliers table as well.
SELECT p.product_id, p.product_name, s.supplier_name
FROM products p
INNER JOIN suppliers s
ON p.supplier_id = s.supplier_id
ORDER BY p.product_name ASC, s.supplier_name DESC;
Now we have an alias for suppliers table called s as well as the alias
for the products table called p.
