Salesforce Object Query Language (SOQL)

Use the Salesforce Object Query Language (SOQL) to search your organization’s Salesforce data for specific information. SOQL is similar to the SELECT statement in the widely used Structured Query Language (SQL) but is designed specifically for Salesforce data.

With SOQL, you can construct simple but powerful query strings in the following environments:

In the queryString parameter in the query() call
In Apex statements
In Visualforce controllers and getter methods
In the Schema Explorer of the Force.com IDE

Similar to the SELECT command in Structured Query Language (SQL), SOQL allows you to specify the source object (such as Account), a list of fields to retrieve, and conditions for selecting rows in the source object.

SOQL doesn’t support all advanced features of the SQL SELECT command. For example, you can’t use SOQL to perform arbitrary join operations, use wildcards in field lists, or use calculation expressions.

Note

SOQL uses the SELECT statement combined with filtering statements to return sets of data, which can optionally be ordered:

1SELECT one or more fields 
2FROM an object 
3WHERE filter statements and, optionally, results are ordered

For example, the following SOQL query returns the value of the Id and Name field for all Account records if the value of Name is Sandy:

1SELECT Id, Name
2FROM Account
3WHERE Name = 'Sandy'

Apex requires that you surround SOQL and SOSL statements with square brackets to use them on the fly. You can use Apex script variables and expressions when preceded by a colon (:).

Note

For a complete description of the syntax, see SOQL SELECT Syntax.

With archived data and BigObjects, you can use only some SOQL features. For more information, see SOQL with Archived Data.

Note

Force.com SOQL and SOSL Reference

Salesforce Object Query Language (SOQL)