The ORDER BY clause specifies the order of the rows of
a results table for an SQL statement.
Before you begin
When more than one sort specification is identified, the
rows are ordered by the values of the first indicated sort specification,
then by the values of the second identified sort specification, and
so on.
You cannot use an ORDER BY clause on a SELECT statement
within the FULLSELECT statement. The ORDER BY clause applies to the
final result set from the FULLSELECT statement. You can sort on either
a single column or multiple columns.
To sort on columns in a
FULLSELECT statement that have the same ordinal value but are in different
subordinate SELECT statements, the columns must have the same name.
If the columns have different names in their corresponding subordinate
SELECT statements, you must assign the same alias to each of the columns.
Before
creating ORDER BY clauses, ensure the following requirements are met:
- The FULLSELECT statement must be open in the SQL Query Builder.
- The tables must be specified for the FULLSELECT statement.
Procedure
To create a ORDER BY clause for a multiple-column sort
in a FULLSELECT statement in the SQL Query Builder:
- If the columns on which to sort have different names in
different SELECT statements, specify an alias for the columns. Use
the same alias for each of the columns.
- In the Outline view, click a subordinate SELECT statement
that contains a column on which to sort.
- In the Tables pane of the SQL Query Builder, select
the check boxes of the columns that you want to use in the statement.
- On the Columns page in the Design pane of the SQL Query
Builder, select the column on which to sort, and then double-click
its Alias cell.
- Type an alias for the column, and then press Enter.
- In the Outline view, select the root-node SELECT statement
or a UNION node that represents a subordinate FULLSELECT statement.
- On the Columns page in the Design pane of the SQL Query
Builder, double-click the first cell under the Column heading
to open the list of available columns.
- Select the first column on which to sort. This
is the first column to which you added the alias.
- Double-click the Sort Type cell,
select either Ascending, Descending,
or Default, and then press Enter. The
Default option indicates that sorting is required, but no SQL source
should be shown for the sort type. The default sort type for your
database product is used.
- Double-click the cell under the Sort Order heading.
- Select the number that corresponds to the order in which
to sort the results, and then press Enter.
- Repeat these steps with other columns.