SELECT TOP

SELECT TOP is a SQL clause in the SELECT Queries category. SQL Server specific: limits rows returned. Can use number or PERCENT. The syntax is SELECT TOP number|percent column1, column2 FROM table;. It returns limited result set. A typical example: SELECT TOP 10 name, salary FROM employees ORDER BY salary DESC; -- Top 10 highest paid (SQL Server) SELECT TOP 50 PERCENT * FROM employees ORDER BY salary DESC; -- Top 50% highest paid A close relative is SELECT, which retrieves data from a table. The most fundamental SQL statement. A close relative is SELECT *, which selects all columns from a table. A close relative is SELECT DISTINCT, which returns only distinct (unique) values from the specified columns. More about this category: Core SELECT query clauses — SELECT, FROM, WHERE, GROUP BY, HAVING, ORDER BY, LIMIT. Related SELECT Queries entries: SELECT, SELECT *, SELECT DISTINCT, WHERE, AND / OR / NOT, IN, BETWEEN, LIKE.