Understanding query structure
A BigQuery query is an SQL statement that is used to select, filter, and transform data stored in BigQuery tables. To effectively query data in BigQuery, it is essential to understand the structure of a query and the purpose of each element. A BigQuery query follows a specific syntax and consists of various clauses that work together to retrieve the desired information from your datasets. Let’s break down the sections of a SQL query in BigQuery in detail.
Action command – the SELECT clause
The commands that are used in the SELECT area of your query tell the analysis engine what needs to be done. SELECT extracts data from a table.
The SELECT clause chooses the columns you want to retrieve in the result. It determines what data you want from a table and defines calculations or transformations. You can specify columns to be returned by name or use the wildcard operator (*) to select all columns (note that it is not advised to use this...
