ORDER BY clause - SQL

In SQL, the ORDER BY clause is used to sort the result set returned by a query based on one or more columns. This clause allows users to specify the order in which rows should appear in the query result, enabling them to control the presentation of data according to their requirements.

The syntax for using the ORDER BY clause in SQL is as follows:

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

Where

• column1, column2, ...: Represents the columns used for sorting the result set.
• table_name: Specifies the name of the table from which data is retrieved.
• ASC or DESC: Specifies the sort order as ascending (default) or descending, respectively.

Example

Consider a scenario where you have a table named "employees" containing employee information, and you want to retrieve the employee data sorted by their last name in ascending order and then by their first name in ascending order. You can use the ORDER BY clause as follows:

SELECT *
FROM employees
ORDER BY last_name ASC, first_name ASC;

In this example, the query retrieves all columns from the "employees" table and sorts the result set first by the "last_name" column in ascending order and then by the "first_name" column in ascending order.

Conclusion

The SQL ORDER BY clause is a fundamental feature for controlling the presentation of data in query results by specifying the sorting order based on one or more columns. By understanding its syntax, usage, and considerations, SQL developers can effectively organize and present data in a desired sequence to meet their reporting and analysis needs.