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457. JOIN with TOP

Learn how TOP can limit rows returned by joined queries in SQL Server.

📘 Lesson 457 of 728 ⏱ 10 min 🎯 Intermediate

TOP is a SQL Server feature used to restrict the number or percentage of rows returned by a query.

SQL Server users frequently use TOP when retrieving a limited number of rows from large joined datasets.

Return the ten highest-value orders with customer information.

SQL 
SELECT TOP 10
    c.CustomerName,
    o.OrderID,
    o.OrderAmount
FROM Customers c
INNER JOIN Orders o
    ON c.CustomerID = o.CustomerID
ORDER BY o.OrderAmount DESC;

TOP is useful in SQL Server reporting, dashboards, testing, and top-performance analysis.

  • TOP is commonly used in SQL Server.
  • It limits the number of returned rows.
  • ORDER BY determines which rows are considered top.
  • TOP can be combined with JOIN.
  • Other databases may use different syntax.
What does TOP do in SQL Server?

TOP limits the number or percentage of rows returned by a query.

Why should TOP usually be combined with ORDER BY?

ORDER BY defines which records should be considered the top records.

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