[smackeyacky]

I lean towards this idea but it might make non trivially joined queries harder to understand, since it shifts the select to the middle or the end of the query.

So you change:

  1. What I want
  2. Which tables
  3. Which filter
  4. What grouping

Putting what you want further down the list might be more confusing rather than less.

[wruza]

If that was the case, almost all programming languages had `where`, as in

  (a + b) where
    a = … * c,
    b = … * sqrt(2) + d
    c = …,
    d = … …;

But that is not less confusing, that is more.

[smackeyacky]

To a programmer, sure, but SQL was designed as a natural language[0] for non programmers and the syntax reflects that i.e

  I need eggs, flour, sugar and vanilla from the supermarket.

Vs Yoda

  From the supermarket eggs, flour, sugar and vanilla I need.

The original use case has long failed, but here we are with SQL stockholm syndrome. I don't hate it, but strictly speaking it is a bit odd.

Edit: there was a linguist in the group that developed SQL to help with the goal of making it easier for non programmers.

[0] https://www.mcjones.org/System_R/SQL_Reunion_95/sqlr95-Syste...