SQL TOP, LIMIT, FETCH FIRST or ROWNUM Clause
The SQL SELECT TOP Clause
The SELECT TOP clause is used to specify the number of records to return.
The SELECT TOP clause is useful on large tables with thousands of records. Returning a large number of records can impact performance.
Note: Not all database systems support the SELECT TOP clause. MySQL supports the LIMIT clause to select a limited number of records, while Oracle uses FETCH FIRST n ROWS ONLY and ROWNUM.
SQL Server / MS Access Syntax:
SELECT TOP number|percent column_name(s)
FROM table_name
WHERE condition;
MySQL Syntax:
SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
WHERE condition
LIMIT number;
Oracle 12 Syntax:
SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
ORDER BY column_name(s)
FETCH FIRST number ROWS ONLY;
Older Oracle Syntax:
SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
WHERE ROWNUM <= number;
Older Oracle Syntax (with ORDER BY):
SELECT *
FROM (SELECT column_name(s) FROM table_nameORDER BY column_name(s))
WHERE ROWNUM <= number;
Demo Database
Below is a selection from the "Customers" table in the Northwind sample database:
| CustomerID | CustomerName | ContactName | Address | City | PostalCode | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Alfreds Futterkiste | Maria Anders | Obere Str. 57 | Berlin | 12209 | Germany |
| 2 | Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados | Ana Trujillo | Avda. de la Constitución 2222 | México D.F. | 05021 | Mexico |
| 3 | Antonio Moreno Taquería | Antonio Moreno | Mataderos 2312 | México D.F. | 05023 | Mexico |
| 4 |
Around the Horn | Thomas Hardy | 120 Hanover Sq. | London | WA1 1DP | UK |
| 5 | Berglunds snabbköp | Christina Berglund | Berguvsvägen 8 | Luleå | S-958 22 | Sweden |
SQL TOP, LIMIT and FETCH FIRST Examples
The following SQL statement selects the first three records from the "Customers" table (for SQL Server/MS Access):
The following SQL statement shows the equivalent example for MySQL:
The following SQL statement shows the equivalent example for Oracle:
Example
SELECT * FROM Customers
FETCH FIRST 3 ROWS ONLY;
SQL TOP PERCENT Example
The following SQL statement selects the first 50% of the records from the "Customers" table (for SQL Server/MS Access):
The following SQL statement shows the equivalent example for Oracle:
Example
SELECT * FROM Customers
FETCH FIRST 50 PERCENT ROWS ONLY;
ADD a WHERE CLAUSE
The following SQL statement selects the first three records from the "Customers" table, where the country is "Germany" (for SQL Server/MS Access):
The following SQL statement shows the equivalent example for MySQL:
The following SQL statement shows the equivalent example for Oracle:
Example
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE Country='Germany'
FETCH FIRST 3 ROWS ONLY;
