The MySQL ORDER BY Keyword
The ORDER BY keyword is used to sort the result-set in ascending or descending order.
The ORDER BY keyword sorts the records in ascending order (ASC) by default.
Example
SELECT * FROM Products
ORDER BY Price;
ORDER BY Syntax
SELECT column1, column2, ...
FROM table_name
ORDER BY column1, column2, ... ASC|DESC;
Demo Database
Below is a selection from the "Products" table in the Northwind sample database:
| ProductID | ProductName | SupplierID | CategoryID | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chais | 1 | 1 | 10 boxes x 20 bags | 18.00 |
| 2 | Chang | 1 | 1 | 24 - 12 oz bottles | 19.00 |
| 3 | Aniseed Syrup | 1 | 2 | 12 - 550 ml bottles | 10.00 |
| 4 | Chef Anton's Cajun Seasoning | 2 | 2 | 48 - 6 oz jars | 22.00 |
| 5 | Chef Anton's Gumbo Mix | 2 | 2 | 36 boxes | 21.35 |
ORDER BY DESC
To sort the records in descending order, use the DESC keyword.
Example
SELECT * FROM Products
ORDER BY Price DESC;
Demo Database
Below is a selection from the "Customers" table in the Northwind sample database:
| CustomerID | CustomerName | ContactName | Address | City | PostalCode | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alfreds Futterkiste | Maria Anders | Obere Str. 57 | Berlin | 12209 | Germany |
| 2 | Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados | Ana Trujillo | Avda. de la Constitución 2222 | México D.F. | 05021 | Mexico |
| 3 | Antonio Moreno Taquería | Antonio Moreno | Mataderos 2312 | México D.F. | 05023 | Mexico |
| 4 | Around the Horn | Thomas Hardy | 120 Hanover Sq. | London | WA1 1DP | UK |
| 5 | Berglunds snabbköp | Christina Berglund | Berguvsvägen 8 | Luleå | S-958 22 | Sweden |
ORDER BY Example
The following SQL selects all customers from the "Customers" table, sorted by the "Country" column:
Example
SELECT * FROM Customers
ORDER BY Country;
ORDER BY DESC Example
The following SQL selects all customers from the "Customers" table, and sorts it descending by the "Country" column:
Example
SELECT * FROM Customers
ORDER BY Country DESC;
ORDER BY Several Columns
The following SQL selects all customers from the "Customers" table, sorted by the "Country" and the "CustomerName" column. This means that it sorts it first by Country, and if some records have the same Country, it sorts them by CustomerName:
Example
SELECT * FROM Customers
ORDER BY Country, CustomerName;
Combine ASC and DESC
The following SQL selects all customers from the "Customers" table, and sorts it ascending by the "Country" and descending by the "CustomerName" column:
Example
SELECT * FROM Customers
ORDER BY Country ASC, CustomerName DESC;
