What is the Difference Between Order by and Group by in SQL

The main difference between Order by and Group by in SQL is that Order by helps to arrange the retrieved data in a sorted manner, while Group by helps to group the results based on one or multiple columns.

DBMS is a software that helps to store and manage data in databases. Moreover, a DBMS is designed according to the relational model is a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS). The programmer can use Structured Query Language (SQL) to perform operations on the data stored in databases of RDBMS. Moreover, there are tables inside a database, and these tables are connected to each other using various constraints. Additionally, there are many SQL commands available. For example, Order by and Group by are two SQL commands.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is Order by in SQL
      -Definition, Functionality
2. What is Group by in SQL
     -Definition, Functionality
3. Difference Between Order by and Group by in SQL
     -Comparison of key differences

Key Terms

Group by, Order by, RDBMS, SQL

What is Order by in SQL

A programmer can use Order by clause with SELECT statement to arrange and retrieve data in sorted order. Furthermore, it is capable of sorting the retrieved data in ascending order. Similarly, he can sort the data in descending order by using the “DESC” keyword.

For example, look at the following statements. Assume a table called student.

SELECT * FROM student ORDER BY age;

First, consider the above example that provides the data set of students in ascending order of the age.

Secondly, it is possible to write the same query using the “DESC” keyword is as follows.

SELECT * FROM student ORDER BY age DESC;

Above query returns the data of students in descending order of the age.

What is Group by in SQL

Group by clause helps to combine or group the results of a SELECT query based on one or more columns. Furthermore, the programmer can use SQL functions to group the results of multiple tables.

SELECT name, age FROM student GROUP BY grade;

Above query helps to get the details of name and age from the student table by grouping data based on the grade.

Also, it is possible to use GROUP BY with WHERE clause.

SELECT name, age FROM student WHERE age > 15

GROUP BY grade

The above SQL query helps to get the name and age of students who are above 15 years’ age, and it also groups the records according to grade.

Difference Between Order By and Group By in SQL

Definition

Order by is an SQL clause specified with a SELECT statement to return a result set with the rows being sorted according to a specific order, whereas Group by is an SQL clause specified with the SELECT statement to retrieve data, grouped according to one or more columns. Thus, this is the main difference between Order By and Group By in SQL.

Syntax

Syntax of order by is SELECT column-list|* FROM table-name ORDER BY ASC | DESC;, whereas the syntax of group by is SELECT column_name, function(column_name) FROM table_name WHERE condition GROUP BY column_name. The usage of Order by helps to organize the retrieved data in an ascending or descending order, while the Group by helps to combine the data based on one or more columns. Hence, this is another difference between Order By and Group By in SQL.

Conclusion

In brief, Order by and Group by are two SQL commands. Both these clauses come at the end of the SQL query. The main difference between Order by and Group by in SQL is that Order by helps to arrange the retrieved data in a sorted manner, while Group by helps to group the results based on one or multiple columns.