ORDER BY in MySQL

Updated May 10, 2023

Introduction to ORDER BY in MySQL

The following article provides an outline for ORDER BY in MySQL. In SQL, we use several kinds of language for different purposes, like defining the table at the time of creation, manipulating the table, fetching records from the table, etc.

These languages are segregated into the following:

• DDL (Data Definition Language)
• DML (Data Manipulation Language)
• DQL (Data Query Language)
• DCL (Data Control Language)
• TCL (Transaction Control Language)

DQL is used for data retrieval purposes by using the SELECT command. With SELECT, we use many clauses to filter out or get structural data. ORDER BY is one of the clauses used to sort data in ascending or descending order.

Syntax:

We are used to sorting numeric and string values in ascending or descending manner. But by default, it sorts in an ascending way. If we want to descend, we need to specify it after using the ORDER BY clause.

Code:

SELECT column1,column2,column3 FROM table_name
ORDER BY column1;

(This will sort column1 in ascending order)

Code:

SELECT column1,column2,column3 FROM table_name
ORDER BY column1 DESC;

(This will sort column1 in descending order)

How does ORDER BY Work in MySQL?

Given below shows how ORDER BY works in MySQL:

Example:

Let’s create one customer table having the following attributes:

Cust_id	First_name	Last_name	Contact	Email	City	Amount
1001	Rohit	Sharma	9876736587	[email protected]	Mumbai	10000
1002	Virat	Kohli	8752877855	[email protected]	Delhi	60000
1003	Sachin	Tendulkar	9867868678	[email protected]	Mumbai	15000
1004	Virendra	Shewag	9087788988	[email protected]	Delhi	20000
1005	Hardik	Pandya	5237658726	[email protected]	Cuttack	80000
1006	Krunal	Pandya	8765385386	[email protected]	Bangalore	50000
1007	Jasprit	Bumrah	3875636763	[email protected]	Chennai	78000
1008	Anil	Kumble	8735653786	[email protected]	Kolkata	12000
1009	Ajinkya	Rahane	8637578988	[email protected]	Bhubaneswar	87000
1010	Ravi	Sashtri	9796767676	[email protected]	Kolkata	56000
1011	Rahul	Dravid	3836768787	[email protected]	Mumbai	10000
1012	Bhubaneswar	Kumar	9736738787	[email protected]	Chandigarh	25000

As mentioned above, this order by clause can be applied to numeric and string values. In this example, id, contact, and amount contain numeric values. First_name, last_name, email, and city have string values. We are going to apply ORDER BY clauses to the amount and first_name. Though contact and id contain numeric, and the email contains string values, sorting values on top of those attributes won’t make sense.

In ascending and descending order, “ORDER BY” will sort numerically from 1 to infinity and string values from A to Z and vice versa.

Example #1

Code:

SELECT * FROM customer
ORDER BY amount DESC;

It will show the output by sorting the amount field in descending order

Output:

Cust_id	First_name	Last_name	Contact	Email	City	Amount
1009	Ajinkya	Rahane	8637578988	[email protected]	Bhubaneswar	87000
1005	Hardik	Pandya	5237658726	[email protected]	Cuttack	80000
1007	Jasprit	Bumrah	3875636763	[email protected]	Chennai	78000
1002	Virat	Kohli	8752877855	[email protected]	Delhi	60000
1010	Ravi	Sashtri	9796767676	[email protected]	Kolkata	56000
1006	Krunal	Pandya	8765385386	[email protected]	Bangalore	50000
1012	Bhubaneswar	Kumar	9736738787	[email protected]	Chandigarh	25000
1004	Virendra	Shewag	9087788988	[email protected]	Delhi	20000
1003	Sachin	Tendulkar	9867868678	[email protected]	Mumbai	15000
1008	Anil	Kumble	8735653786	[email protected]	Kolkata	12000
1001	Rohit	Sharma	9876736587	[email protected]	Mumbai	10000
1011	Rahul	Dravid	3836768787	[email protected]	Mumbai	10000

Example #2

Code:

SELECT * FROM customer
ORDER BY amount;

(If we don’t specify anything ascending or descending, then by default, it will sort by ascending). It will show the output by sorting the amount field in ascending order.

Output:

Cust_id	First_name	Last_name	Contact	Email	City	Amount
1011	Rahul	Dravid	3836768787	[email protected]	Mumbai	10000
1001	Rohit	Sharma	9876736587	[email protected]	Mumbai	10000
1008	Anil	Kumble	8735653786	[email protected]	Kolkata	12000
1003	Sachin	Tendulkar	9867868678	[email protected]	Mumbai	15000
1004	Virendra	Shewag	9087788988	[email protected]	Delhi	20000
1012	Bhubaneswar	Kumar	9736738787	[email protected]	Chandigarh	25000
1006	Krunal	Pandya	8765385386	[email protected]	Bangalore	50000
1010	Ravi	Sashtri	9796767676	[email protected]	Kolkata	56000
1002	Virat	Kohli	8752877855	[email protected]	Delhi	60000
1007	Jasprit	Bumrah	3875636763	[email protected]	Chennai	78000
1005	Hardik	Pandya	5237658726	[email protected]	Cuttack	80000
1009	Ajinkya	Rahane	8637578988	[email protected]	Bhubaneswar	87000

Example #3

Code:

SELECT * FROM customer
ORDER BY first_name;

(If we don’t specify anything ascending or descending, then by default, it will sort by ascending).

It will show the output by sorting the first_name field in ascending order.

Output:

Cust_id	First_name	Last_name	Contact	Email	City	Amount
1009	Ajinkya	Rahane	8637578988	[email protected]	Bhubaneswar	87000
1008	Anil	Kumble	8735653786	[email protected]	Kolkata	12000
1012	Bhubaneswar	Kumar	9736738787	[email protected]	Chandigarh	25000
1005	Hardik	Pandya	5237658726	[email protected]	Cuttack	80000
1007	Jasprit	Bumrah	3875636763	[email protected]	Chennai	78000
1006	Krunal	Pandya	8765385386	[email protected]	Bangalore	50000
1011	Rahul	Dravid	3836768787	[email protected]	Mumbai	10000
1010	Ravi	Sashtri	9796767676	[email protected]	Kolkata	56000
1001	Rohit	Sharma	9876736587	[email protected]	Mumbai	10000
1003	Sachin	Tendulkar	9867868678	[email protected]	Mumbai	15000
1002	Virat	Kohli	8752877855	[email protected]	Delhi	60000
1004	Virendra	Shewag	9087788988	[email protected]	Delhi	20000

(In the above query, Ajinkya and Anil start from A, but Ajinkya comes first, then Anil, because when the 1^st letter is the same, the ORDER BY clause will sort it considering 2^nd, 3^rd,…. If other letters are the same. Here J comes before N in Ajinkya and Anil, respectively. That’s why it gives the output like this.)

Example #4

Code:

SELECT * FROM customer
ORDER BY first_name DESC;

It will show the output by sorting the first_name field in descending order.

Output:

Cust_id	First_name	Last_name	Contact	Email	City	Amount
1004	Virendra	Shewag	9087788988	[email protected]	Delhi	20000
1002	Virat	Kohli	8752877855	[email protected]	Delhi	60000
1003	Sachin	Tendulkar	9867868678	[email protected]	Mumbai	15000
1001	Rohit	Sharma	9876736587	[email protected]	Mumbai	10000
1010	Ravi	Sashtri	9796767676	[email protected]	Kolkata	56000
1011	Rahul	Dravid	3836768787	[email protected]	Mumbai	10000
1006	Krunal	Pandya	8765385386	[email protected]	Bangalore	50000
1007	Jasprit	Bumrah	3875636763	[email protected]	Chennai	78000
1005	Hardik	Pandya	5237658726	[email protected]	Cuttack	80000
1012	Bhubaneswar	Kumar	9736738787	[email protected]	Chandigarh	25000
1008	Anil	Kumble	8735653786	[email protected]	Kolkata	12000
1009	Ajinkya	Rahane	8637578988	[email protected]	Bhubaneswar	87000

(Here, also the same thing happened. As in Anil and Ajinkya, N comes before J, so Anil came first, then Ajinkya.)

There is another clause we use with ORDER BY, which is LIMIT.

Example #5

Code:

SELECT * FROM customer
ORDER BY first_name
LIMIT 5;

Output:

Cust_id	First_name	Last_name	Contact	Email	City	Amount
1011	Rahul	Dravid	3836768787	[email protected]	Mumbai	10000
1001	Rohit	Sharma	9876736587	[email protected]	Mumbai	10000
1008	Anil	Kumble	8735653786	[email protected]	Kolkata	12000
1003	Sachin	Tendulkar	9867868678	[email protected]	Mumbai	15000
1004	Virendra	Shewag	9087788988	[email protected]	Delhi	20000

(It will only fetch the top 5 records as we have specified LIMIT = 5. )

Conclusion – ORDER BY in MySQL

Order by clause can be used among LIMIT, WHERE, GROUP BY, etc., and window functions. While working on real-time examples like top customers in the database or the highest scorer in school, this ORDER BY clause helps a lot in sorting records per our requirements.

Recommended Articles

We hope that this EDUCBA information on “ORDER BY in MySQL” was beneficial to you. You can view EDUCBA’s recommended articles for more information.

1. ORDER BY Clause in SQL
2. Joins in MySQL
3. MySQL Relational Database
4. Introduction to MySQL