Master the ORDER BY Clause in Oracle

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Questions and Answers

Which clause is used to query rows in ascending or descending order by one or more columns in Oracle?

ORDER BY clause (correct)
GROUP BY clause
HAVING clause
WHERE clause

What is the default sort order of the ORDER BY clause in Oracle?

Descending order
Random order
None of the above
Ascending order (correct)

Which keyword is used to sort rows in descending order in Oracle?

ASC
SORTDESC
DESC (correct)
ORDERDESC

Can the ORDER BY clause be used to sort data by multiple columns in Oracle?

Yes, with different sort orders for each column. (B) Signup and view all the answers

Which clause is used to specify where NULL values should appear in the sorted result set in Oracle?

ORDER BY clause (D) Signup and view all the answers

Can column positions be used instead of column names in the ORDER BY clause in Oracle?

Yes, column positions can be used. (A) Signup and view all the answers

Which clause must always be the last clause in a SELECT statement in Oracle?

ORDER BY clause (D) Signup and view all the answers

What does the ORDER BY clause do in Oracle?

It queries rows in ascending or descending order by one or more columns (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is the default sort order of the ORDER BY clause?

ASC (C) Signup and view all the answers

Can the ORDER BY clause be used to sort data by multiple columns?

Yes, with different sort orders for each column (A) Signup and view all the answers

Where do NULL values appear in the sorted result set by default?

NULL values appear as if they were the lowest possible value (C) Signup and view all the answers

Can column positions be used instead of column names in the ORDER BY clause?

Yes, for any column in the ORDER BY clause (C) Signup and view all the answers

Can the ORDER BY clause be used to sort data by the result of a function or expression applied to a column?

Yes, the ORDER BY clause can sort by any function or expression applied to a column (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is the syntax for specifying the sort order in the ORDER BY clause?

ASC/DESC (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of the ORDER BY clause in SQL?

To apply a function on a column and sort the data by the result of the function (D) Signup and view all the answers

Which function can be used in the ORDER BY clause to sort data case-insensitively?

UPPER() (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of the DESC keyword in the ORDER BY clause?

To sort data in descending order (D) Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

A Guide to Using the Oracle ORDER BY Clause for Sorting Data

Oracle tables store rows in unspecified order, but the ORDER BY clause can be used to query rows in ascending or descending order by one or more columns.
The ORDER BY clause is added to the SELECT statement and specifies which columns to sort and the sort order (ASC or DESC).
By default, the ORDER BY clause sorts rows in ascending order, but DESC can be used to sort in descending order.
NULLS FIRST or NULLS LAST can be used to specify where NULL values should appear in the sorted result set.
The ORDER BY clause can be used to sort data by multiple columns, with different sort orders for each column.
The ORDER BY clause must always be the last clause in a SELECT statement.
Examples using the customers and contacts tables demonstrate sorting rows by a single column, with or without specifying ASC or DESC.
Sorting rows by multiple columns is demonstrated using the contacts table.
Column positions can be used instead of column names in the ORDER BY clause.
Sorting rows with NULL values is demonstrated using the locations table, with examples of using NULLS FIRST and NULLS LAST.
The ORDER BY clause can be used to sort data by the result of a function or expression applied to a column.
An example using the orders table shows how the ORDER BY clause can be used to sort by date.

A Guide to Using the Oracle ORDER BY Clause for Sorting Data

Oracle tables store rows in unspecified order, but the ORDER BY clause can be used to query rows in ascending or descending order by one or more columns.
The ORDER BY clause is added to the SELECT statement and specifies which columns to sort and the sort order (ASC or DESC).
By default, the ORDER BY clause sorts rows in ascending order, but DESC can be used to sort in descending order.
NULLS FIRST or NULLS LAST can be used to specify where NULL values should appear in the sorted result set.
The ORDER BY clause can be used to sort data by multiple columns, with different sort orders for each column.
The ORDER BY clause must always be the last clause in a SELECT statement.
Examples using the customers and contacts tables demonstrate sorting rows by a single column, with or without specifying ASC or DESC.
Sorting rows by multiple columns is demonstrated using the contacts table.
Column positions can be used instead of column names in the ORDER BY clause.
Sorting rows with NULL values is demonstrated using the locations table, with examples of using NULLS FIRST and NULLS LAST.
The ORDER BY clause can be used to sort data by the result of a function or expression applied to a column.
An example using the orders table shows how the ORDER BY clause can be used to sort by date.

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Description

Test your knowledge of Oracle's ORDER BY clause with this informative quiz! Learn how to sort data in ascending or descending order, handle NULL values, and sort by multiple columns. Challenge yourself with examples and scenarios using tables such as customers, contacts, locations, and orders. Become an expert in sorting data with Oracle and take this quiz today!