The SQL SELECT TOP 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 on 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 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 Syntax:

SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
WHERE ROWNUM <= number;

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