Can we use DESC with GROUP BY?
Ava Richardson
Updated on February 24, 2026
Can we use DESC with GROUP BY?
Parser does not accept ASC or DESC keyword after column specification for a GROUP BY clause. So a syntax error is thrown if a GROUP BY column is followed by ASC or DESC keyword.
How do I ORDER BY date DESC?
If you’d like to see the latest date first and the earliest date last, you need to sort in descending order. Use the DESC keyword in this case. ORDER BY ExamDate DESC ; Note that in T-SQL, NULL s are displayed first when sorting in ascending order and last when sorting in descending order.
How do you use DESC?
When sorting your result set in descending order, you use the DESC attribute in your ORDER BY clause. For example: SELECT last_name FROM employees WHERE first_name = ‘Sarah’ ORDER BY last_name DESC; This SQL Server ORDER BY example would return all records sorted by the last_name field in descending order.
What does GROUP BY do in SQL?
The GROUP BY statement groups rows that have the same values into summary rows, like “find the number of customers in each country”. The GROUP BY statement is often used with aggregate functions ( COUNT() , MAX() , MIN() , SUM() , AVG() ) to group the result-set by one or more columns.
Can I use GROUP BY and ORDER BY together?
Both GROUP BY and ORDER BY are clauses (or statements) that serve similar functions; that is to sort query results. However, each of these serve very different purposes; so different in fact, that they can be employed separately or together.
Can we use GROUP BY without aggregate function?
You can use the GROUP BY clause without applying an aggregate function. In this case, the GROUP BY works like the DISTINCT clause that removes duplicate rows from the result set.
Can we ORDER BY date in SQL?
ORDER BY is a clause in SQL which is used with SELECT query to fetch the records in ascending or descending order from a table. Just like we sort the integer and the string values stored in the column of the tables, similarly, we can sort the dates stored in the SQL table’s column.
How do I view a SQL description?
SQL Server: sp_help table_name (or sp_columns table_name for only columns) Oracle DB2: desc table_name or describe table_name. MySQL: describe table_name (or show columns from table_name for only columns)
Why DESC is used in SQL?
The DESC command is used to sort the data returned in descending order.
What is difference between GROUP BY and ORDER BY?
1. Group by statement is used to group the rows that have the same value. Whereas Order by statement sort the result-set either in ascending or in descending order.
How do you use GROUP BY and ORDER BY?
Using Group By and Order By Together When combining the Group By and Order By clauses, it is important to bear in mind that, in terms of placement within a SELECT statement: The GROUP BY clause is placed after the WHERE clause. The GROUP BY clause is placed before the ORDER BY clause.
When to use group by?
The SQL GROUP BY clause is used whenever aggregate functions by group are required. This is an aid to understanding and analyzing information. How To Use SQL GROUP BY. SQL GROUP BY is used as follows. It must follow the FROM and WHERE clauses. The columns in a SELECT clause must be either group by columns or aggregate function columns.
How to use group by?
GROUP BY clause is used with the SELECT statement.
What does group by function actually does in SQL?
The GROUP BY Clause SQL is used to group rows with same values.
Where is group by SQL?
Important Points: GROUP BY clause is used with the SELECT statement. In the query, GROUP BY clause is placed after the WHERE clause. In the query, GROUP BY clause is placed before ORDER BY clause if used any.