SQL | SELECT TOP Clause

SELECT TOP clause is used to fetch limited number of rows from a database. This clause is very useful while dealing with large databases.

• Basic Syntax:

  SELECT TOP value column1,column2 FROM table_name;
  value: number of rows to return from top
  column1 , column2: fields in the table
  table_name: name of table
  

• Syntax using Percent

  SELECT TOP value PERCENT column1,column2 FROM table_name;
  value: percentage of number of rows to return from top
  column1 , column2: fields in the table
  table_name: name of table
  

Queries

• To fetch first two data set from Student table.

  SELECT TOP 2 * FROM Student; 
  

  Output:

  ROLL_NO	NAME	ADDRESS	PHONE	Age
  1	Ram	Delhi	XXXXXXXXXX	18
  2	RAMESH	GURGAON	XXXXXXXXXX	18

 

• To fetch 50 percent of the total records from Student table.

  SELECT TOP 50 PERCENT * FROM Student; 
  

  Output:

  ROLL_NO	NAME	ADDRESS	PHONE	Age
  1	Ram	Delhi	XXXXXXXXXX	18
  2	RAMESH	GURGAON	XXXXXXXXXX	18
  3	SUJIT	ROHTAK	XXXXXXXXXX	20

NOTE: To get the same functionality on MySQL and Oracle databases there is a bit of difference in the basic syntax;

Equivalent Syntaxes are as follows:
• For MySQL databases:

  SELECT column1,column2 FROM table_name LIMIT value;
  column1 , column2: fields int the table
  table_name: name of table
  value: number of rows to return from top
  

• For Oracle databases:

  SELECT column1,column2 FROM table_name WHERE ROWNUM <= value;
  column1 , column2: fields int the table
  table_name: name of table
  value: number of rows to return from top
  

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