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Databases Reporting with SQL Aggregate and Numeric Functions Counting Results

Taylor Han
Taylor Han
2,406 Points

Counting with SQL

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM books WHERE genre = "Science Fiction" AS scifi_book_count;

Trying to return the number of books in a database that are in the "Science Fiction" genre, and alias it. Tried a few different variations but not sure what I'm doing wrong.

Thanks!

1 Answer

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,184 Points

In SQL syntax an alias must immediately follow the item it applies to (in this case the "COUNT" function).

SELECT COUNT(*) AS scifi_book_count FROM books WHERE genre = "Science Fiction";
Taylor Han
Taylor Han
2,406 Points

Ah ok thank you! That has been a confusing thing with alias'.

Is there anywhere we can find a good explanation of what order each operation needs to go in. I find that very confusing and frustrating. Is there maybe a rule of thumb or something?

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,184 Points

I think what you want is often called a "cheat sheet". Here's a couple I found with a quick search:

However, despite the term "basics", these both include several things that probably have not been covered yet.