---
title: "executeScalarQuery"
description: "Executes a select query using the given connectionName (or the default connection it omitted) and returns the first scalar value from the resultset."
---

# executeScalarQuery

> Executes a select query using the given connectionName (or the default connection it omitted) and returns the first scalar value from the resultset.

**This function is used by Ignition's Expression language.**

## Description
:::note
This function is only available in [Transaction Group Expression Items](sql-bridge-transaction-groups/understanding-transaction-groups/expression-items/expression-items.md) and [Expression Tags](tags/creating-memory-expression-and-query-tags/creating-memory-expression-and-query-tags.md).
:::

## Syntax
`executeScalarQuery(query[, connectionName])`

- Parameters

    - string **query** - The query to execute.

    - string **connectionName** - Optional. The name of the database connection.

- Results
    - Value - The first value returned from the query.

## Examples
For the following examples, suppose there was a table 'weights' that contained these values.

| ProductCode | Quantity | Weight |
|----|---|----|
| BAN_002 |	380 |	3.243 |
| BAN_010 |	120	 | 9.928 |
| APL_000 |	125 |	1.287 |
| FWL_220 |	322 |	7.889 |

```python title="Code Snippet"
executeScalarQuery("SELECT MAX(Quantity) FROM weights", "MySQLConnection")  //would return 380
```
```python title="Code Snippet"
executeScalarQuery("SELECT * FROM weights", "MySQLConnection") //would return a string "BAN_002"
```