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Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2023-06-23
SELECT

SELECT

Returns field values from Workday data sources. Workday Query Language (WQL) requires this clause in all queries.
You can only access fields that:
  • Workday has authorized for use with the Workday Report Writer or default areas.
  • The current processing Workday account has permission to access.

Syntax

SELECT field1 AS myAlias, function(field2), field1{relatedBusinessObjectField1}, ...fieldN FROM dataSourceAlias

Arguments

Argument
Description
field1
,
field2
, ...
fieldN
The WQL alias for the field you want to access.
If 2 or more fields have the same alias, WQL returns the first field defined in Workday.
myAlias
(Optional) Rename the column header in the response.
Example:
SELECT max(yearsOfService) as Seniority
You can’t use a WQL keyword as a custom alias.
WQL doesn’t support escape character syntax.
WQL supports some special characters and spaces in single or double quotes. Examples:
  • ~
  • @
  • $
  • *
  • -
  • _
  • /
  • ?
  • :
  • ;
function
(Optional) You can use these aggregation functions with fields:
  • AVG(
    field
    )
  • COUNT()
  • COUNT(DISTINCT
    field
    )
  • MAX(
    field
    )
  • MIN(
    field
    )
  • SUM(
    field
    )
COUNT()
doesn't take any arguments.
relatedBusinessObjectfield1
The field of the related business object for which you want to filter results.

Aggregation Functions

Aggregation Function
Description
AVG(
field
)
Returns the average value of a numeric field.
COUNT()
Returns the number of instances matching the query criteria.
COUNT (DISTINCT
field
)
Returns the unique number of instances matching the query criteria. Use only on text and single instance fields.
MIN(
field
)
Returns the minimum value of a field.
MAX(
field
)
Returns the maximum value of a field.
SUM(
field
)
Returns the total sum of a numeric field.

Example

To return worker information from a data source:
SELECT worker, fullName, location FROM allWorkers

Limitations

WQL doesn't support
SELECT *
.