What is the purpose of the SELECT clause in SQL?

The purpose of the SELECT clause in SQL is to indicate which attributes (or columns) to view in the query results. It allows users to specify exactly what data they want to retrieve from the database. For example, if you only want to view names and addresses from a customer table, the SELECT clause would be structured to include just those specific attributes, such as SELECT name, address FROM customers.

By using the SELECT clause, users can focus on particular pieces of data instead of retrieving entire rows or tables, making it a powerful tool for data retrieval in database management. This aligns perfectly with the intention of the SELECT statement, which is to define which specific data points the user is interested in viewing.