T-SQL reference › Aliases

Table and column aliases in SQL Server

A column alias is the header in the grid. A table alias is the short name in a join. Miss the column alias on ISNULL and you get “(No column name)”.

Readable join

SELECT o.order_id,
       c.first_name + ' ' + c.last_name AS customer,
       ISNULL(c.phone, 'No phone') AS phone
FROM Orders o
JOIN Customers c ON c.customer_id = o.customer_id;

AS is optional. Use it. customer = at the front (equals alias) is an old style. Stick to AS.

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