SELECT TOP / LIMIT

SELECT TOP / LIMIT

Sometimes you only want the first few rows of a result. Different databases use different keywords for this.

MySQL / PostgreSQL / SQLite: LIMIT

SELECT * FROM Customers
LIMIT 3;

Returns only the first 3 rows.

SQL Server / MS Access: SELECT TOP

SELECT TOP 3 * FROM Customers;

Same idea: only 3 rows.

Oracle: ROWNUM

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE ROWNUM <= 3;

Combine with ORDER BY

To get the "top 3" by value, always sort first:

SELECT * FROM Products
ORDER BY Price DESC
LIMIT 3;

This returns the 3 most expensive products.

Why order matters

SELECT * FROM Products
LIMIT 3
ORDER BY Price DESC;

The rows above are picked before sorting, so the result is wrong. Always put ORDER BY before LIMIT.

TL;DR

• MySQL/PostgreSQL/SQLite: LIMIT n.
• SQL Server: SELECT TOP n.
• Oracle: ROWNUM <= n.
• Sort with ORDER BY first, then limit.