SQL
Sorting Data with ORDER BY
Learn how to sort query results in ascending or descending order.
By TechCoder TeamLast updated: 2026-06-02
In a Nutshell
Learn how to sort query results in ascending or descending order. This hands-on tutorial focuses on practical implementation of sorting data with order by concepts.
Sorting Results
By default, SQL does not guarantee the order of returned rows. To sort the result set, use the ORDER BY clause.
Syntax
SELECT column1, column2
FROM table_name
ORDER BY column1 [ASC | DESC], column2 [ASC | DESC];
ASC: Ascending order (default). A-Z, 0-9.DESC: Descending order. Z-A, 9-0.
Example: Sort by Name
Sort customers alphabetically by their name.
Example: Sort Descending
Sort products by price from highest to lowest.
Sorting by Multiple Columns
You can sort by more than one column. This is useful when the first column has duplicate values.
In this example, customers are sorted by Country first. If two customers are from the same country, they are then sorted by their Name.