SQL LIMIT / TOP / FETCH FIRST

These keywords let you limit how many rows your query returns. Usage differs slightly by database.

🔹 Syntax by DBMS

-- ✅ MySQL / PostgreSQL
SELECT * FROM employees
ORDER BY salary DESC
LIMIT 5;

-- ✅ SQL Server
SELECT TOP 5 * FROM employees
ORDER BY salary DESC;

-- ✅ Oracle 12c+ / PostgreSQL (Standard SQL)
SELECT * FROM employees
ORDER BY salary DESC
FETCH FIRST 5 ROWS ONLY;

🔹 Pagination Example (MySQL/PostgreSQL)

-- Get 10 rows starting from row 21 (page 3 if page size is 10)
SELECT * FROM employees
ORDER BY name
LIMIT 10 OFFSET 20;

🧠 Quick Recap

DBMS	Keyword Used	Notes
MySQL	`LIMIT`	With optional `OFFSET` for paging
PostgreSQL	`LIMIT` / `OFFSET` or `FETCH`	Both options supported
SQL Server	`TOP`	Use `TOP N` in SELECT
Oracle 12c+	`FETCH FIRST`	Use with `ORDER BY` for proper results

✅ Use this to show only top results or paginate large datasets