How to Limit Results in SQL
The most common way to limit results in SQL is to use the LIMIT clause. This clause takes two arguments: the number of results you want to return, and an optional offset. For example, if you wanted to return the first 10 results from a query, you would use the following query:
SELECT * FROM table_name LIMIT 10;
If you wanted to return the next 10 results after the first 10, you would use the following query:
SELECT * FROM table_name LIMIT 10 OFFSET 10;
Examples
Let's look at a few examples of how this function can be used. Suppose you have a table called users with the following data:
name | age |
---|---|
John | 25 |
Jane | 30 |
John | 25 |
Bob | 20 |
If you wanted to return the first two results from this table, you would use the following query:
SELECT * FROM users LIMIT 2;
This query would return the following results:
name | age |
---|---|
John | 25 |
Jane | 30 |
Additional Info
The LIMIT clause is supported by most major databases, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server. However, the syntax may vary slightly depending on the database you are using. For more information, check out the documentation for your particular database. 🤓