AS gives a column a friendlier name
AS renames a column in the result you see. The table itself doesn't change — it's a label on the output, like a name tag. It's most useful when a column name is cryptic, so the heading above the numbers actually reads like words.
A tiny example
In plain English: Show me every student's birth year, with the column labeled born.
SELECT birth_year AS born
FROM students;What comes back
| born |
|---|
| 2006 |
| 2007 |
| 2008 |
The values are the same birth years — AS only changed the heading above them.
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