# 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 several environments.

- Using the `queryString` parameter of a SOAP API query() call. See [query()](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api.meta/api/sforce_api_calls_query.htm) in the *SOAP API Developer Guide*.
- Using the `q` parameter of a REST API query request. See [Query](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_rest.meta/api_rest/resources_query.htm) in the *REST API Developer Guide*.
- Using Apex statements. See [SOQL and SOSL Queries](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.apexcode.meta/apexcode/langCon_apex_SOQL.htm) in the *Apex Developer Guide*.
- Using Visualforce controllers and getter methods. See [Controller Methods](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.pages.meta/pages/pages_controller_methods.htm) in the *Visualforce Developer Guide*.
- Using the Salesforce CLI. See [force\:data\:soql:query](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.sfdx_cli_reference.meta/sfdx_cli_reference/cli_reference_force_data.htm#cli_reference_force_data_soql_query) in the data Commands topic of the *Salesforce CLI Command Reference*.
- Using an extension for Visual Studio Code. See [Write SOQL Queries](https://developer.salesforce.com/tools/vscode/en/soql/writing) in *Salesforce Extensions for Visual Studio Code*.

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.

:::note
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.
:::

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

```soql
SELECT one or more fields
FROM an object
WHERE 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`:

```codesegment
SELECT Id, Name
FROM Account
WHERE Name = 'Sandy'
```

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

For a complete description of the syntax, see [SOQL SELECT Syntax](/docs/platform/salesforce-soql-sosl/guide/sforce-api-calls-soql-select.md).

## When to Use SOQL

Use SOSL when you don’t know which object or field the data resides in, and you want to:

- Retrieve data for a specific term that you know exists within a field. Because SOSL can tokenize multiple terms within a field and build a search index from this, SOSL searches are faster and can return more relevant results.
- Retrieve multiple objects and fields efficiently where the objects might or might not be related to one another.
- Retrieve data for a particular division in an organization using the divisions feature.
- Retrieve data that’s in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Thai. Morphological tokenization for CJKT terms helps ensure accurate results.

:::note
With archived data and big objects, you can use only some SOQL features. For more information, see [SOQL with Big Objects](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.bigobjects.meta/bigobjects/big_object_querying.htm).
:::

**See Also**

- [*Salesforce Developer Limits and Allocations Quick Reference*: SOQL and SOSL Limits for Search Queries](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.salesforce_app_limits_cheatsheet.meta/salesforce_app_limits_cheatsheet/salesforce_app_limits_platform_soslsoql.htm)