This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
LAB 2.5: The ORDER BY Clause
Lab Objectives
After this lab, you will be able to:
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Custom Sort Query Results
Using the ORDER BY Clause
Recall from Chapter 1, "SQL and Data," that data is not stored in a table in any particular order. In all of the examples used thus far, the result sets display data in the order in which they happen to be returned from the database. However, you may want to view data in a certain order and the ORDER BY clause accomplishes this by ordering the data any way you wish.
For example, the following statement retrieves a list of course numbers and descriptions for courses without a prerequisite, in alphabetical order by their descriptions:
SELECT course_no, description FROM course WHERE prerequisite IS NULL ORDER BY description COURSE_NO DESCRIPTION --------- -------------------------- 10 DP Overview 20 Intro to Computers 146 Java for C/C++ Programmers 310 Operating Systems 4 rows selected.
By default, when the ORDER BY is used, the result set is sorted in ascending order; or you can be explicit by adding the abbreviation ASC after the column. If descending order is desired, the abbreviation DESC is used after the column in the ORDER BY clause:
SELECT course_no, description FROM course WHERE prerequisite IS NULL ORDER BY description DESC COURSE_NO DESCRIPTION --------- -------------------------- 310 Operating Systems 146 Java for C/C++ Programmers 20 Intro to Computers 10 DP Overview 4 rows selected.
Instead of listing the name of the column to be ordered, you can list the sequence number of the column in the SELECT list. The next SQL statement returns the same result as the prior SQL statement, but uses a different ORDER BY clause. The number 2 indicates the second column of the SELECT list.
SELECT course_no, description FROM course WHERE prerequisite IS NULL ORDER BY 2 DESC
A result set can be sorted by more than one column. The columns you wish to sort by need only be included in the ORDER BY clause, separated by commas. The ORDER BY clause is always the last clause in an SQL statement.
COLUMN ALIAS
A column alias can be used in the SELECT list to give a column or value an alias; it can also make the result much easier to read. In next example, different forms of a column alias are used to take the place of the column name in the result set. An alias may also contain one or more words or be spelled in exact case when enclosed in double quotes. The optional keyword AS can precede the alias name.
SELECT first_name first, first_name "First Name", first_name AS "First" FROM student WHERE zip = '10025' FIRST First Name First ------------------------- ------------------------- ------ Jerry Jerry Jerry Nicole Nicole Nicole Frank Frank Frank 3 rows selected.
To format the column with the SQL*Plus COLUMN format, you must specify the alias in quotes as well. For example:
COL "First" FORMAT A13
You can also use the column alias to order by a specific column.
SELECT first_name first, first_name "First Name", first_name AS "First" FROM student WHERE zip = '10025' ORDER BY "First Name" FIRST First Name First ------------------------- ------------------------- ------ Frank Frank Frank Jerry Jerry Jerry Nicole Nicole Nicole 3 rows selected.
Distinct and ORDER BY
The ORDER BY clause often contains columns listed in the SELECT clause, but it is also possible to ORDER BY columns that are not selected. One exception is columns qualified using the DISTINCT keyword—if the SELECT list contains DISTINCT, the column(s) the keyword pertains to must also be listed in the ORDER BY clause.
The next example shows that the STUDENT_ID column is not a column listed in the DISTINCT SELECT list and therefore results in an Oracle error message.
SQL> SELECT DISTINCT first_name, last_name 2 FROM student 3 WHERE zip = '10025' 4 ORDER BY student_id 5 / ORDER BY student_id * ERROR at line 4: ORA-01791: not a SELECTed expression
NULL VALUES AND ORDER BY
The following statement orders the COST column by the default sort order. Note that the row with a COST column value of NULL is the last row in the sort order.
SELECT DISTINCT cost FROM course ORDER BY cost COST ---------- 1095 1195 1595 4 rows selected.
You can change the default ordering of the nulls with the NULLS FIRST or NULLS LAST option in the ORDER BY clause as you see in the next statement. Here the requested order is to list the NULL value first followed by the other values in the default ascending sort order.
SELECT DISTINCT cost FROM course ORDER BY cost NULLS FIRST COST ---------- 1095 1195 1595 4 rows selected.
Understanding Oracle Error Messages
As you begin to learn SQL, you will inevitably make mistakes when writing statements. Oracle returns an error number and error message to inform you of your mistake. Some error messages are easy to understand; others are not. While we cannot anticipate every possible error you may encounter, you will see that throughout the book I point out common mistakes. Here are some general guidelines when dealing with Oracle errors.
1. Read the Oracle error message carefully
Oracle will tell you on which line the error occurred.
SQL> SELECT salutation, first_name, las_name 2 FROM student 3 WHERE first_name = 'John' 4 /SELECT salutation, first_name, las_name * ERROR at line 1: ORA-00904: "LAS_NAME": invalid identifier
In this example the error is very easy to spot and the error message is self-explanatory. One of the column names is invalid, and Oracle points out the error by indicating the line number. The error is on line 1, and the asterisk indicates in what position within the line the error is found; it is the misspelled LAST_NAME column name.
2. Resolve one error at a time
Sometimes you may have multiple errors in a single SQL statement. The Oracle parser, which checks the syntax of all statements, starts checking from the end of the entire statement.
SQL> SELECT salutation, first_name, las_name 2 FROM studen 3 WHER first_name = 'John' 4 / WHER first_name = 'John' * ERROR at line 3: ORA-00933: SQL command not properly ended
This type of error message may leave you clueless as to what could be wrong with this query. In fact, the statement contains three errors, one in each line. Because the parser works its way backwards, it complains about the first error on line 3. The position of the asterisk suggests that there is something wrong with the spelling of the FIRST_NAME column. But in fact, it is spelled correctly; otherwise, you would see the ORA-00904 invalid identifier error listed as in one of the previous examples complaining about the incorrect column name. The WHERE key word is missing the letter E; therefore, Oracle cannot interpret what you are attempting to do.
After you correct this error, you will see line 2 reported, exemplifying how the parser works its way backward.
SQL> SELECT salutation, first_name, las_name 2 FROM studen 3 WHERE first_name = 'John' 4 /FROM studen * ERROR at line 2: ORA-00942: table or view does not exist
Here the table name is misspelled and Oracle indicates that such a table does not exist.
The last error in the statement is found on line 1 and is the misspelled LAST_NAME column name. The parser will report this error as the last error. If you are unsure about the spelling of a column or table name, you can always use the DESCRIBE SQL*Plus command to list the column names and their respective data types, or you can refer to Appendix D, "Student Database Schema," for a list of table and column names.
3. Double-check the syntax of your statement
Simple typos, such as a stray period or comma, a missing space, or single quote, can cause very strange and seemingly unrelated error message that may have nothing to do with the problem. Therefore, carefully reread the statement or simply retype it. After looking at a statement for a long time, the error may not be apparent. Perhaps put it aside, take a break, and look at it with a fresh mind later, or ask someone for help in spotting the error.
4. Look up the Oracle Error Number
You can look up the Oracle error number in the Oracle Database Error Messages Manual. If the error starts with an ORA message type, it is typically a database-related error, whereas an error with an SP2 prefix indicates a SQL*Plus or iSQL*Plus specific error. Once you found the error in the manual, you will see the reason for the error and a recommended action on how to correct it. The recommended action may be general or very specific, once again depending on what type of error occurred.
Initially, the challenge may be finding the correct manual to look up the error message. Following are some suggestions on how to find this information. Besides looking at the online documentation that comes with your Oracle software and which is either found on your CDs or installed on your machine, you can also find the online manual on the Oracle Technology Network (OTN) Web site. Oracle offers a free subscription to the site, which includes a number of features such as access to the online manuals and discussion groups. The URL for OTN is http:// otn.oracle.com; you must register first to become a member. Also refer to Appendix H, "Navigating through the Oracle Documentation" and Appendix G, "Resources." These appendixes offer you tips on how to find the needed information.
In some operating systems such as Unix, Linux, and VMS, you can also use the Oracle program called oerr to look up the error message from the operating system prompt. This does not work in the Windows environment. For example, to look up the ORA-00939 error you type at the Unix operating system prompt (indicated with the $ sign):
$ oerr ora 00939 00939, 00000, " too many arguments for function" // *Cause: The function was referenced with too many arguments. // *Action: Check the function syntax and specify only the // required number of arguments. $
Lab 2.5 Exercises
2.5.1 Custom Sort Query Results
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Write a SELECT statement to list each city and zip code in New York or Connecticut. Sort the result in ascending order by zip code.
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Write a SELECT statement to list course descriptions and their prerequisite course numbers, sorted in ascending order by description. Do not list courses without a prerequisite.
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Show the salutation, first, and last name of students with the last name Grant. Order the result by salutation in descending order and the first name in ascending order.
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Execute the following query. What do you observe about the last row returned by the query?
SELECT student_id, last_name FROM student ORDER BY last_name
Lab 2.5 Exercise Answers
2.5.1 Answers
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Write a SELECT statement to list each city and zip code in New York or Connecticut. Sort the result in ascending order by zip code.
Answer: The SELECT statement selects two columns, uses the equal operator and OR logical operator to combine expressions in the WHERE clause, and uses ORDER BY with a single column to sort the results in ascending order.
SELECT city, zip FROM zipcode WHERE state = 'NY' OR state = 'CT' ORDER BY zip CITY ZIP ------------------------- ----- Ansonia 06401 Middlefield 06455 ... Hicksville 11802 Endicott 13760 142 rows selected.
Alternatively, the WHERE clause can be written as:
WHERE state IN ('NY', 'CT')
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Write a SELECT statement to list course descriptions and their prerequisite course numbers, sorted in ascending order by description. Do not list courses without a prerequisite.
Answer: The following query shows the use of the IS NOT NULL comparison operator in the WHERE clause. The result is sorted by the DESCRIPTION column in ascending order.
SELECT description, prerequisite FROM course WHERE prerequisite IS NOT NULL ORDER BY descriptionDESCRIPTION PREREQUISITE --------------------------------- ------------ Advanced Java Programming 122 Advanced Unix Admin 132 ... Structured Programming Techniques 204 Unix Tips and Techniques 134 26 rows selected.
Alternatively, the ORDER BY clause can be written as:
ORDER BY 1
You can even use the column alias.
SELECT description "Descr", prerequisite FROM course WHERE prerequisite IS NOT NULL ORDER BY "Descr"
In most of the previous examples, you see the SELECT list is taking up one line only. By spreading it over several lines, it sometimes makes it easier to read and this is perfectly acceptable formatting. By putting elements in the SELECT list on separate lines, you control exactly when the next line begins and indent it for easy readability below the line above it. The following SELECT statement has multiple columns in the SELECT list.
SELECT description, prerequisite, cost, modified_date FROM course WHERE prerequisite IS NOT NULL ORDER BY descriptionDESCRIPTION PREREQUISITE COST MODIFIED_ ------------------------- ------------ ---- --------- Advanced Java Programming 122 1195 05-APR-03 ... Unix Tips and Techniques 134 1095 05-APR-03 26 rows selected.
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Show the salutation, first, and last name of students with the last name Grant. Order the result by salutation in descending order and the first name in ascending order.
Answer: The ORDER BY clause contains two columns, the salutation and the first_name. The salutation is sorted first in descending order. Within each salutation, the first name is sorted in ascending order.
SELECT salutation, first_name, last_name FROM student WHERE last_name = 'Grant' ORDER BY salutation DESC, first_name ASC SALUT FIRST_NAME LAST_NAME ----- ----------------- --------- Ms. Eilene Grant Ms. Verona Grant Mr. Omaira Grant Mr. Scott Grant 4 rows selected.
Again, you can write the query also with this ORDER BY clause:
ORDER BY 1 DESC, 2 ASC
Or to use the default order for the second column, which is ASC and can be omitted:
ORDER BY 1 DESC, 2
If you give your column a column alias, you can also use the column alias in the ORDER BY clause.
SELECT salutation "Sal", first_name "First Name", last_name "Last Name" FROM student WHERE last_name = 'Grant' ORDER BY "Sal" DESC, "First Name" ASC Sal First Name Last Name ----- ----------------- --------- Ms. Eilene Grant Ms. Verona Grant Mr. Omaira Grant Mr. Scott Grant 4 rows selected.
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Execute the following query. What do you observe about the last row returned by the query?
SELECT student_id, last_name FROM student ORDER BY last_name
Answer: The student with the student_id of 206 has the last name entered in lowercase. When ordering the result set, the lowercase letters are listed after the uppercase letters.
STUDENT_ID LAST_NAME ---------- ---------- 119 Abdou 399 Abdou ... 184 Zuckerberg 206 annunziato 268 rows selected.
Lab 2.5 Self-Review Questions
In order to test your progress, you should be able to answer the following questions.
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The following is the correct order of all clauses in this SELECT statement:
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True
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False
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You must explicitly indicate whether an ORDER BY is ascending.
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True
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False
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The following statement is correct:
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True
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False
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The following statement is incorrect:
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True
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False
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You can order by a column you have not selected.
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True
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False
SELECT ... FROM ... ORDER BY ... WHERE ...
SELECT * FROM instructor ORDER BY phone
SELECT description "Description", prerequisite AS prereqs, course_no "Course#" FROM course ORDER BY 3, 2
Answers appear in Appendix A, Section 2.5.