using the NOT operator to exclude fields

Hi all,

I want to be able to select all fields from a table except certain fields.

I came across the NOT operator in the MySQL ref. manual, and I wanted to check about the syntax of that operator.

Would this syntax work:
SELECT NOT id1, id2, id3, id4 FROM table

Or would this work:
SELECT NOT id1, NOT id2, NOT id3, NOT id4 FROM table

If neither, what is the shortest way that would work? Thanks!

Neither will work. You have to specify the exact columns you want from your table. Some people use SELECT * to select all columns but that should only be used for testing purposes.

You can't use the NOT operator to specify which columns you do/do not want.

OK, thanks. I can still do it, it will just be a bit more code then. Thank you!