Beginner

193. Column Aliases

Learn how aliases provide temporary readable names for columns and expressions.

📘 Lesson 193 of 728 ⏱ 8 min 🎯 Beginner

A column alias is a temporary name assigned to a column or calculated expression in a query result. The AS keyword is commonly used to define an alias.

Clear column names make SQL results easier for analysts, managers, dashboards, and reporting users to understand.

Rename Salary to Monthly Salary in the query output.

SQL 
SELECT
    EmployeeName,
    Salary AS MonthlySalary
FROM Employees;

Aliases are commonly used in reports, dashboards, calculations, aggregations, and business-friendly outputs.

  • AS creates a column alias.
  • Aliases change the result heading.
  • Aliases do not rename the source column.
  • Aliases improve readability.
  • Aliases are useful for calculated expressions.
What is a column alias?

A column alias is a temporary name assigned to a column or expression in the query result.

Does an alias permanently rename a column?

No. A SELECT alias normally changes only the name displayed in the query result.

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