SQL ORDER BY Keyword
The SQL ORDER BY
The ORDER BY keyword is used to sort the result-set in ascending or
descending order.
Syntax
SELECT column1, column2, ...
FROM table_name
ORDER BY column1, column2, ... ASC|DESC;
Demo Database
Below is a selection from the Products table used in the examples:
| ProductID | ProductName | SupplierID | CategoryID | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chais | 1 | 1 | 10 boxes x 20 bags | 18 |
| 2 | Chang | 1 | 1 | 24 - 12 oz bottles | 19 |
| 3 | Aniseed Syrup | 1 | 2 | 12 - 550 ml bottles | 10 |
| 4 | Chef Anton's Cajun Seasoning | 2 | 2 | 48 - 6 oz jars | 22 |
| 5 | Chef Anton's Gumbo Mix | 2 | 2 | 36 boxes | 21.35 |
DESC
The ORDER BY keyword sorts the records in ascending order by default. To sort the records in descending order, use the
DESC keyword.
Example
Sort the products from highest to lowest price:
SELECT * FROM Products
ORDER BY Price DESC;
Try it Yourself »
Order Alphabetically
For string values the ORDER BY keyword will order alphabetically:
Example
Sort the products alphatbetically by ProductName:
SELECT * FROM Products
ORDER BY ProductName;
Try it Yourself »
Alphabetically DESC
To sort the table reverse alphabetically, use the DESC keyword:
Example
Sort the products by ProductName in reverse order:
SELECT * FROM Products
ORDER BY ProductName DESC;
Try it Yourself »
ORDER BY Several Columns
The following SQL statement selects all customers from the "Customers" table, sorted by the "Country" and the "CustomerName" column. This means that it orders by Country, but if some rows have the same Country, it orders them by CustomerName:
Using Both ASC and DESC
The following SQL statement selects all customers from the "Customers" table, sorted ascending by the "Country" and descending by the "CustomerName" column: