ORDER BY controls the sequence of results : ORDER BY « Select Query « MySQL Tutorial






  1. MySQL Tutorial
  2. Select Query
  3. ORDER BY

The following example lists all the data from the 'employee' table ordered alphabetically by city.

mysql>
mysql>
mysql> CREATE TABLE Employee(
    ->     id            int,
    ->     first_name    VARCHAR(15),
    ->     last_name     VARCHAR(15),
    ->     start_date    DATE,
    ->     end_date      DATE,
    ->     salary        FLOAT(8,2),
    ->     city          VARCHAR(10),
    ->     description   VARCHAR(15)
    -> );
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.03 sec)

mysql>
mysql>
mysql> insert into Employee(id,first_name, last_name, start_date, end_Date,   salary,  City,       Description)
    ->              values (1,'Jason',    'Martin',  '19960725',  '20060725', 1234.56, 'Toronto',  'Programmer');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.02 sec)

mysql>
mysql> insert into Employee(id,first_name, last_name, start_date, end_Date,   salary,  City,       Description)
    ->               values(2,'Alison',   'Mathews',  '19760321', '19860221', 6661.78, 'Vancouver','Tester');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)

mysql>
mysql> insert into Employee(id,first_name, last_name, start_date, end_Date,   salary,  City,       Description)
    ->               values(3,'James',    'Smith',    '19781212', '19900315', 6544.78, 'Vancouver','Tester');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)

mysql>
mysql> insert into Employee(id,first_name, last_name, start_date, end_Date,   salary,  City,       Description)
    ->               values(4,'Celia',    'Rice',     '19821024', '19990421', 2344.78, 'Vancouver','Manager');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)

mysql>
mysql> insert into Employee(id,first_name, last_name, start_date, end_Date,   salary,  City,       Description)
    ->               values(5,'Robert',   'Black',    '19840115', '19980808', 2334.78, 'Vancouver','Tester');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)

mysql>
mysql> insert into Employee(id,first_name, last_name, start_date, end_Date,   salary,  City,       Description)
    ->               values(6,'Linda',    'Green',    '19870730', '19960104', 4322.78,'New York',  'Tester');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)

mysql>
mysql> insert into Employee(id,first_name, last_name, start_date, end_Date,   salary,  City,       Description)
    ->               values(7,'David',    'Larry',    '19901231', '19980212', 7897.78,'New York',  'Manager');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)

mysql>
mysql> insert into Employee(id,first_name, last_name, start_date, end_Date,   salary,  City,       Description)
    ->               values(8,'James',    'Cat',     '19960917',  '20020415', 1232.78,'Vancouver', 'Tester');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.02 sec)

mysql>
mysql> select * from Employee;
+------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+---------+-----------+-------------+
| id   | first_name | last_name | start_date | end_date   | salary  | city      | description |
+------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+---------+-----------+-------------+
|    1 | Jason      | Martin    | 1996-07-25 | 2006-07-25 | 1234.56 | Toronto   | Programmer  |
|    2 | Alison     | Mathews   | 1976-03-21 | 1986-02-21 | 6661.78 | Vancouver | Tester      |
|    3 | James      | Smith     | 1978-12-12 | 1990-03-15 | 6544.78 | Vancouver | Tester      |
|    4 | Celia      | Rice      | 1982-10-24 | 1999-04-21 | 2344.78 | Vancouver | Manager     |
|    5 | Robert     | Black     | 1984-01-15 | 1998-08-08 | 2334.78 | Vancouver | Tester      |
|    6 | Linda      | Green     | 1987-07-30 | 1996-01-04 | 4322.78 | New York  | Tester      |
|    7 | David      | Larry     | 1990-12-31 | 1998-02-12 | 7897.78 | New York  | Manager     |
|    8 | James      | Cat       | 1996-09-17 | 2002-04-15 | 1232.78 | Vancouver | Tester      |
+------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+---------+-----------+-------------+
8 rows in set (0.00 sec)

mysql>
mysql>
mysql>
mysql>
mysql> SELECT * FROM employee ORDER BY city;
+------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+---------+-----------+-------------+
| id   | first_name | last_name | start_date | end_date   | salary  | city      | description |
+------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+---------+-----------+-------------+
|    6 | Linda      | Green     | 1987-07-30 | 1996-01-04 | 4322.78 | New York  | Tester      |
|    7 | David      | Larry     | 1990-12-31 | 1998-02-12 | 7897.78 | New York  | Manager     |
|    1 | Jason      | Martin    | 1996-07-25 | 2006-07-25 | 1234.56 | Toronto   | Programmer  |
|    2 | Alison     | Mathews   | 1976-03-21 | 1986-02-21 | 6661.78 | Vancouver | Tester      |
|    3 | James      | Smith     | 1978-12-12 | 1990-03-15 | 6544.78 | Vancouver | Tester      |
|    4 | Celia      | Rice      | 1982-10-24 | 1999-04-21 | 2344.78 | Vancouver | Manager     |
|    5 | Robert     | Black     | 1984-01-15 | 1998-08-08 | 2334.78 | Vancouver | Tester      |
|    8 | James      | Cat       | 1996-09-17 | 2002-04-15 | 1232.78 | Vancouver | Tester      |
+------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+---------+-----------+-------------+
8 rows in set (0.02 sec)

mysql>
mysql>
mysql>
mysql>
mysql> drop table Employee;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.02 sec)

mysql>








2.4.ORDER BY
2.4.1.ORDER BY controls the sequence of results
2.4.2.Sort the results in reverse by appending DESC to the condition
2.4.3.To sort in reverse (descending) order, add the DESC keyword to the name of the column
2.4.4.DESC keyword applies only to the column name immediately preceding it
2.4.5.We can use two or more ORDER BY conditions
2.4.6.Sort by date
2.4.7.Order by with 'limit' clause
2.4.8.Order first 4 rows
2.4.9.You can retrieve rows in random order
2.4.10.On character type columns, sorting is normally performed in a case-insensitive fashion
2.4.11.To use a case-sensitive sort for a column by using BINARY
2.4.12.Using both DESC and ASC in order clause