Is it possible to select all the fields in a database except a few?

Here there is an answer in English that deals with the same subject. Apparently it can not be done in an elegant way, but rather following a series of "tricks" that for what I saw generate wear and tear on the performance and readability of the query.

My advice: take the time to write the almost 20 columns, both sql and whoever sees the code later will thank you.

Really if you can do it. Imagine you have this table created:

CREATE TABLE Persons(
  id int PRIMARY KEY,
  gorro varchar(255),
  pierna_derecha varchar(255),
  pierna_izquierda varchar(255),
  brazo_derecho varchar(255)
);

INSERT INTO Persons VALUES(1,'gorro', 'pierna derecha', 'pierna izq', 'brazo dcho');

And you want to omit the columns pierna_derecha and pierna_izquierda of the table Persons when doing the select. You would do the following:

SET @sql = CONCAT('SELECT ', (SELECT REPLACE(GROUP_CONCAT(COLUMN_NAME), 'pierna_derecha,pierna_izquierda', '') FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS WHERE TABLE_NAME = 'Persons' AND TABLE_SCHEMA = 'tuBaseDeDatos'), ' FROM Persons');

PREPARE stmt1 FROM @sql;
EXECUTE stmt1;

Keep in mind that you would have to change tuBaseDeDatos for your actual database.

If that select you want php does not have to think, but simply arrives from the database correctly, one option you have is to use the views. You create a view SELECT * FROM tuTabla once created, mySql will have changed the * for each of the fields, remove the fields you do not want to show.