# getColumn

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://kotlin.github.io/dataframe/llms.txt).

Return column by column name or [column selector](columnselectors.html) as [DataColumn](datacolumn.html). Throws exception if requested column doesn't exist.

API reference: [getColumn](https://kotlin.github.io/dataframe/api-docs/core/org.jetbrains.kotlinx.dataframe.api/get-column.html)

Properties:

```KOTLIN
df.getColumn { age }
```

Strings:

```KOTLIN
df.getColumn("age")
```

## getColumnOrNull

Return top-level column by column name or [column selector](columnselectors.html) as [DataColumn](datacolumn.html) or null if requested column doesn't exist.

Properties:

```KOTLIN
df.getColumnOrNull { age }
```

Strings:

```KOTLIN
df.getColumnOrNull("age")
```

## getColumnGroup

Return top-level column by column name or [column selector](columnselectors.html) as [ColumnGroup](datacolumn.html#columngroup). Throws exception if requested column doesn't exist or is not a `ColumnGroup`.

Properties:

```KOTLIN
df.getColumnGroup { name }
```

Strings:

```KOTLIN
df.getColumnGroup("name")
```

## getColumns

Return list of selected columns.

Properties:

```KOTLIN
df.getColumns { age and name }
```

Strings:

```KOTLIN
df.getColumns("age", "name")
```