In MySQL you can refer to a column using any of the following form

col_name tbl_name.col_name db_name.tbl_name.col_name

Using the full TABLE.COLUMN reference

mysql> SELECT * FROM employee WHERE (employee.city = 'Vancouver');

Restricting Columns: Ask for only certain columns to be returned

mysql> SELECT employee.city, employee.start_date, employee.first_name, employee.last_name -> FROM employee -> WHERE (employee.id = 1);

Column filter and Order by clause

mysql> -> -> -> SELECT Name, InStock, OnOrder FROM Topic WHERE InStock>20 ORDER BY Name DESC;