Summary  
This chapter covers using the ORDER BY clause in SQL to sort query results by one or more columns in ascending or descending order.

General domain of usage  
Relational database querying

## Sorting Data with ORDER BY

In SQL, you use the **ORDER BY** clause to sort the results of a query. Sorting helps you organize data in a way that makes it easier to analyze and understand.

- Use **ORDER BY** to sort results by one or more columns;
- By default, **ORDER BY** sorts data in ascending order (`ASC`);
- You can specify descending order using `DESC`;
- You can sort by multiple columns to further organize your results.

### Basic Syntax

To sort by a single column in ascending order:

```sql
SELECT * FROM country
ORDER BY name ASC;
```

To sort by a single column in descending order:

```sql
SELECT * FROM country
ORDER BY population DESC;
```

To sort by multiple columns:

```sql
SELECT * FROM country
ORDER BY continent ASC, name ASC;
```

This query first sorts rows by the `continent` column. If two or more rows have the same continent, it sorts those rows by the `name` column.

Sorting your data with **ORDER BY** makes your queries more flexible and your results easier to interpret.

Which SQL clause is used to sort the result set?

How do you sort data in descending order in SQL?

What is the default sorting order when using ORDER BY in SQL?

This course is perfect for beginners ready to explore the world of SQL. Whether you're just starting out in database management or aiming to use SQL for your application development projects, this course covers the essentials. You'll quickly learn how to leverage the full potential of SQL, from querying and managing data to seamlessly integrating it into real-world applications. By the end of the course, you'll have the confidence and skills to solve practical problems with SQL and enhance your development process.

In this section, we will learn how to use the SQL SELECT statement to get a single table column, multiple table columns, and all table columns. We will also find out how to return unique values.

In this section, we’ll explore how to organize and prioritize the data returned by a query using the ORDER BY clause. Placed at the end of a SELECT statement, this clause lets you sort your results by one or multiple columns, either in ascending or descending order, enabling more meaningful and easily interpretable data output.

In this section, we will learn how to filter returned data using the SELECT statement's WHERE clause. We will learn how to test for equality, inequality, more and less significant than value ranges, and NULL values.

In this section, we’ll explore how to refine your search conditions by combining WHERE clauses with the AND and OR operators. We’ll also cover how the NOT operator can be used to exclude certain results.

In this section, we will learn what the SQL aggregate functions are and how to use them to summarize table data.

Sorting Data Summary

Sorting Data with ORDER BY

Basic Syntax

1. Which SQL clause is used to sort the result set?

2. How do you sort data in descending order in SQL?

3. Can you sort by multiple columns in SQL?

4. What is the default sorting order when using ORDER BY in SQL?