SQL Order of Operations

Let's learn about the execution order of SELECT queries.

Reference: SQL BOLT

Syntax Order

1. SELECT column name

2. FROM table name

3. WHERE condition

4. GROUP BY column name

5. HAVING condition

6. ORDER BY column name

Execution Order

1. FROM

2. ON

3. JOIN

4. WHERE

5. GROUP BY

6. HAVING

7. SELECT

8. DISTINCT

9. ORDER BY

Detailed Look at Execution Order

1. FROM and JOINs

• JOIN is executed first to collect the data set

• This operation includes subqueries, creating a temporary table that contains all JOINed rows and columns

2. WHERE

• Once the data set is formed, the conditions in WHERE are applied to each row

• The constraints in the WHERE clause are applied to the tables requested in the FROM clause

3. GROUP BY

• After the WHERE clause is applied, the remaining rows are grouped based on common values in the columns specified in the GROUP BY clause

• When using a GROUP BY clause, you can use aggregate functions on those columns

4. HAVING

• If there is a GROUP BY clause in the query, the constraints in the HAVING clause are applied to the grouped rows

• Changing the conditions in the HAVING clause does not change the result data, only the number of output records

5. SELECT

• The SELECT clause is executed last

6. DISTINCT

• Among the remaining rows, rows with duplicate column values are deleted

7.ORDER BY

• The stored values are sorted in ascending or descending order

• Since the SELECT clause of the query has already been executed, aliases can be referenced in the ORDER_BY clause