SQL ORDER BY Tutorial | Step-by-Step with Examples

Deepen your understanding of SQL commands and their real-world applications in managing databases. Learn how the ORDER BY keyword can be utilized to sort data based on specific columns in either ascending or descending order.

Key Insights

The ORDER BY keyword in SQL is essential in sorting data contained in tables.
It allows the user to sort data based on specific columns, making it easier to analyze or present.
The command for using ORDER BY incorporates a selection from the table, followed by ORDER BY and the specific column, often ending with either DESC or ASC to denote the sorting order.
An example presented involves a basketball league with player records and statistics.
Using an SQL query with ORDER BY, one can easily find the top rebounders in the league.
After running the query, the result presents the data sorted according to the specified order, showcasing how efficient and effective the ORDER BY keyword is in SQL.

Learn to use the ORDER BY function in SQL to sort data with our tutorial and screenshots.

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ORDER BY

The ORDER BY keyword is used to sort data in our table.
ORDER BY sorts data based on a specific column(s) in either ascending or descending order.
Syntax: SELECT * FROM table ORDER BY column_1 DESC ;

Example

Let’s say we have a basketball league and we keep records of each player, which team they are on, and their basic statistics.

Stats Table

If we wanted to use a SQL query to find the top rebounders, we would write the following:

SQL ORDER BY

Once we hit enter and run, our result should be as follows:

SQL ORDER BY Result

ORDER BY

Example

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