Sorting with ORDER BY
Handout
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Sorting the result
The rows come back in no particular order. Add ORDER BY to sort them by a column:
SELECT name, score FROM student ORDER BY score DESC;
ASCsorts ascending (smallest first) — this is the default.DESCsorts descending (largest first).
Sorting by more than one column
Sort text columns alphabetically:
SELECT name FROM student ORDER BY name;
You can sort by several columns: ORDER BY form ASC, score DESC sorts by form first, then by score within each form. ORDER BY always comes last in the query.
Common mistakes
- The default sort is ascending; add
DESCfor descending. ORDER BYcomes near the end of the query.
Explore
ORDER BY sorts the rows
ORDER BY puts the result rows in order, like a sort.
Show every student's name and score, highest score first.
Click Run to see the output here.
Show every student's name, sorted alphabetically (A to Z).
Click Run to see the output here.