Order by clause
An ORDER BY clause specifies the ordering of query results according to one or more expressions, fields, or sort directions.
DuckDB in Action
order is a DuckDB relational API operation that sorts relation records by specified columns.
- How it is used
- Sorts analytical query results and relational API outputs for readable inspection, top-result selection, and downstream workflows.
- How deep it goes
- Defines result sorting, clause placement, descending order, and window-order semantics without detailing sorting internals.
- Examples
- Demonstrates yearly price aggregates, highest power readings, joined rows, and regional population aggregates.
- What you can do after
- Apply it in DuckDB SQL or DuckDBPyRelation pipelines to sort records, rank visible results, and restrict ordered output.
Learn SQL in a Month of Lunches
ORDER BY is the SQL keyword sequence that introduces a clause specifying the order of query results.
- How it is used
- Organizes completed query results for readable lists, ranked samples, and predictable LIMIT queries.
- How deep it goes
- Explains single and multiple columns, directions, aliases, positions, clause placement, LIMIT interaction, and performance cautions.
- Examples
- Demonstrates title-name sorting, advance-and-royalty tie-breaking, mixed directions, aliases, positions, and three newest publications.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via SQL to sort one or more columns, choose directions, rank limited results, and avoid fragile positional notation.
Read how Learn SQL in a Month of Lunches explains order by clause →
Grokking Relational Database Design
An ORDER BY clause specifies the ordering applied to rows returned by an SQL query.
- How it is used
- Uses ORDER BY to present movies in a useful ranking, especially highest-rated movies first.
- How deep it goes
- Explains sorting, descending order, clause execution, LIMIT interaction, and index-related performance concerns.
- Examples
- Demonstrates a movie query ordering ratings descending and limiting the result to 30 rows.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via SQL to sort query results and combine ordering with LIMIT for ranked lists.
Read how Grokking Relational Database Design explains order by clause →
Related concepts
- sorting algorithmconfigures · A sorting algorithm is a procedure that rearranges elements of a collection into an order determined by an ordering criterion.
- where clausecontrasts with · A WHERE clause is a query-language clause that restricts returned or affected records to those satisfying a specified predicate.
- replace methodused by · A replace operation substitutes selected matching content or values with specified alternatives in a string, collection, or other object, either returning a result or modifying the object.
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