Sorting with ORDER BY

In this post, we aim to learn how to sort data using ORDER BY since data returned using filters is presented randomly.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss the importance of sorting data for analysis.
• Explain rules related to using ORDER BY.
• Use ORDER BY to sort data in ascending or descending order.

Why Sort Data?

• Data displayed appears in the order of underlying tables.
• Updated and deleted data can change this order.
• The sequence of reviewed data cannot be assumed if the order was not specified.
• Sorting data helps keep the order logical.
• ORDER BY can allow users to sort data by a particular column

Rules for ORDER BY.

• Takes the name of one or more columns.
• Add a comma after each additional column name.
• Can sort by a column not retrieved.
• Must always be the last clause in a SELECT statement.

Here is an example below:

SELECT product_name
FROM products
ORDER BY product_price

Sorting by Column Position.

You can sort by the name of the column or the position like below:

ORDER BY 2, 3

2 means 2nd column.

3 means 3rd column etc.

Sort Direction.

We can sort the direction of the data by using DESC or ASC. These stand for descending and ascending.

Here is an example:

SELECT * 
FROM customers
ORDER BY country DESC;

I would also love to connect on Twitter, LinkedIn or on my Website. I am not sure what value I could provide you with but if you reach out, I would be more than happy to have a conversation or talk about what I have written here.