A query is a user's request for information to be retrieved from a database. A query consists of the following parts:

1. Specification of records source for analyzing rules conformity; 
2. Set of rules, according to which the records/queries will be checked for consistency;
3. Specification of how the request results should be displayed.

As an example, let us examine, using databases, what queries contain information about books. Assume that we have the following information about every book: Title, Author, Number of pages, Publication date, and Year of purchase. In this case, a query would be a formal description of such expressions as follows:

Example 1. I want to get from the database a list of books written in 1995, sorted by name. Where:

• "from the database" is a source;
• "written in 1995" is a rule;
• "a list of books, sorted by name" is a specification of how the results should be displayed.

Example 2. I want to get from the My Favorite Books folder a list of the books published in the year of creation, the number of pages of which is greater than 200, grouped by author, where:

• "from the "My Favorite Books" folder" is a source;
• "published in the year of creation, the number of pages of which is greater than 200" is a ruleset;
• "grouped by author" is a specification of how the results should be displayed. 

Example of displaying query results:

Queries can also be used to change records and create Recordset variables.