SQL Order By Clause

Introduction

• The "Order By" clause in SQL is used to sort the result set.
• Sorting can be in ascending or descending order.
• If no order is specified, the default is ascending.

Syntax

SELECT column1, column2, ..., columnN
FROM table_name
ORDER BY column1, column2, ..., columnN [ASC|DESC];

• ASC is used for ascending order.
• DESC is used for descending order.

Example

Ascending Order

SELECT *
FROM employee
ORDER BY salary ASC;

• Sorts all columns from the employee table by salary in increasing order.

Descending Order

SELECT *
FROM employee
ORDER BY salary DESC;

• Sorts all columns from the employee table by salary in decreasing order.

Key Points

• When sorting by multiple columns, not specifying the order defaults to ascending order for both.
• Order By can be combined with other select operations.

Homework

• Use the given SQL query and predict the result set:

SELECT *
FROM employee
ORDER BY name, salary;

• Consider the default order for columns when not explicitly specified.

Conclusion

• The "Order By" clause is a powerful SQL feature for sorting query results.
• Understanding default behaviors and syntax is essential for effective data retrieval.

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