SQL Tutorial

LIMIT/TOP CLAUSE

🔻 LIMIT / TOP Clause in SQL

The LIMIT (in MySQL, PostgreSQL) or TOP (in SQL Server) clause is used to restrict the number of rows returned by a query. It's useful when you want only the first few results (like top 5 students, top 10 products, etc.).

🧠 MySQL Syntax:


      SELECT column1, column2 FROM table_name

      ORDER BY column_name DESC

      LIMIT number;

🧠 SQL Server Syntax:


      SELECT TOP number column1, column2

      FROM table_name

      ORDER BY column_name DESC;

🎓 Example: Top 3 Students by Marks (MySQL)

SELECT name, marks
FROM Students
ORDER BY marks DESC
LIMIT 3;

This returns only the top 3 students with the highest marks.

🛒 Products Table

ID	Name	Category	Price
1	Tablet	Electronics	25000
2	Laptop	Electronics	55000
3	Phone	Electronics	30000
4	Mouse	Accessories	800
5	Keyboard	Accessories	1200

🧩 Try It Yourself!

Write a query to display the top 2 most expensive products using MySQL syntax.

⚖️ MySQL vs SQL Server

Feature	MySQL	SQL Server
Keyword	LIMIT	TOP
Placement	End of query	After SELECT
Example	LIMIT 5	SELECT TOP 5 ...

🧠 Summary

Use LIMIT to restrict rows in MySQL.
Use TOP to restrict rows in SQL Server.
Always combine with ORDER BY to control which rows appear.

Next ➡️: Learn about GROUP BY to group similar data!

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