SQL MIN() and MAX() Functions

 The SQL MIN() and MAX() Functions

The MIN() function returns the smallest value of the selected column.

The MAX() function returns the largest value of the selected column.

MIN() Syntax

SELECT MIN(column_name)
FROM table_name
WHERE condition;

MAX() Syntax

SELECT MAX(column_name)
FROM table_name
WHERE condition;

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Demo Database

Below is a selection from the "Products" table in the Northwind sample database:

ProductID	ProductName	SupplierID	CategoryID	Unit	Price
1	Chais	1	1	10 boxes x 20 bags	18
2	Chang	1	1	24 - 12 oz bottles	19
3	Aniseed Syrup	1	2	12 - 550 ml bottles	10
4	Chef Anton's Cajun Seasoning	2	2	48 - 6 oz jars	22
5	Chef Anton's Gumbo Mix	2	2	36 boxes	21.35

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MIN() Example

The following SQL statement finds the price of the cheapest product:

Example

SELECT MIN(Price) AS SmallestPrice
FROM Products;

Try it Yourself »

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MAX() Example

The following SQL statement finds the price of the most expensive product:

Example

SELECT MAX(Price) AS LargestPrice
FROM Products;

Try it Yourself »

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SQL TOP, LIMIT 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 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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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

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SQL TOP, LIMIT and ROWNUM Examples

The following SQL statement selects the first three records from the "Customers" table (for SQL Server/MS Access):

Example

SELECT TOP 3 * FROM Customers;

Try it Yourself »

The following SQL statement shows the equivalent example using the LIMIT clause (for MySQL):

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
LIMIT 3;

Try it Yourself »

The following SQL statement shows the equivalent example using ROWNUM (for Oracle):

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE ROWNUM <= 3;

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SQL TOP PERCENT Example

The following SQL statement selects the first 50% of the records from the "Customers" table (for SQL Server/MS Access):

Example

SELECT TOP 50 PERCENT * FROM Customers;

Try it Yourself »

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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):

Example

SELECT TOP 3 * FROM Customers
WHERE Country='Germany';

Try it Yourself »

The following SQL statement shows the equivalent example using the LIMIT clause (for MySQL):

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE Country='Germany'
LIMIT 3;

Try it Yourself »

The following SQL statement shows the equivalent example using ROWNUM (for Oracle):

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE Country='Germany' AND ROWNUM <= 3;

Read More

SQL TOP, LIMIT 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 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;

---

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

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SQL TOP, LIMIT and ROWNUM Examples

The following SQL statement selects the first three records from the "Customers" table (for SQL Server/MS Access):

Example

SELECT TOP 3 * FROM Customers;

Try it Yourself »

The following SQL statement shows the equivalent example using the LIMIT clause (for MySQL):

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
LIMIT 3;

Try it Yourself »

The following SQL statement shows the equivalent example using ROWNUM (for Oracle):

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE ROWNUM <= 3;

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SQL TOP PERCENT Example

The following SQL statement selects the first 50% of the records from the "Customers" table (for SQL Server/MS Access):

Example

SELECT TOP 50 PERCENT * FROM Customers;

Try it Yourself »

---

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):

Example

SELECT TOP 3 * FROM Customers
WHERE Country='Germany';

Try it Yourself »

The following SQL statement shows the equivalent example using the LIMIT clause (for MySQL):

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE Country='Germany'
LIMIT 3;

Try it Yourself »

The following SQL statement shows the equivalent example using ROWNUM (for Oracle):

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE Country='Germany' AND ROWNUM <= 3;

Read More

The SQL DELETE Statement

The SQL DELETE Statement

The DELETE statement is used to delete existing records in a table.

DELETE Syntax

DELETE FROM table_name WHERE condition;

Note: Be careful when deleting records in a table! Notice the WHERE clause in the DELETE statement. The WHERE clause specifies which record(s) should be deleted. If you omit the WHERE clause, all records in the table will be deleted!

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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

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SQL DELETE Example

The following SQL statement deletes the customer "Alfreds Futterkiste" from the "Customers" table:

Example

DELETE FROM Customers WHERE CustomerName='Alfreds Futterkiste';

Try it Yourself »

The "Customers" table will now look like this:

CustomerID	CustomerName	ContactName	Address	City	PostalCode	Country
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

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Delete All Records

It is possible to delete all rows in a table without deleting the table. This means that the table structure, attributes, and indexes will be intact:

DELETE FROM table_name;

The following SQL statement deletes all rows in the "Customers" table, without deleting the table:

Example

DELETE FROM Customers;

Try it Yourself »

Read More

The SQL DELETE Statement

The SQL DELETE Statement

The DELETE statement is used to delete existing records in a table.

DELETE Syntax

DELETE FROM table_name WHERE condition;

Note: Be careful when deleting records in a table! Notice the WHERE clause in the DELETE statement. The WHERE clause specifies which record(s) should be deleted. If you omit the WHERE clause, all records in the table will be deleted!

---

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

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SQL DELETE Example

The following SQL statement deletes the customer "Alfreds Futterkiste" from the "Customers" table:

Example

DELETE FROM Customers WHERE CustomerName='Alfreds Futterkiste';

Try it Yourself »

The "Customers" table will now look like this:

CustomerID	CustomerName	ContactName	Address	City	PostalCode	Country
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

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Delete All Records

It is possible to delete all rows in a table without deleting the table. This means that the table structure, attributes, and indexes will be intact:

DELETE FROM table_name;

The following SQL statement deletes all rows in the "Customers" table, without deleting the table:

Example

DELETE FROM Customers;

Try it Yourself »

Read More