Difference between order by and group by clause in SQL

1. Order By :
Order by keyword sort the result-set either in ascending or in descending order. This clause sorts the result-set in ascending order by default. In order to sort the result-set in descending order DESC keyword is used.

Order By Syntax –

SELECT column_1, column_2, column_3...........
FROM Table_Name
ORDER BY column_1, column_2, column_3....... ASC|DESC;


Table_Name: Name of the table.
ASC: keyword for ascending order
DESC: keyword for descending order

2. Group By :
Group by statement is used to group the rows that have the same value. It is often used with aggregate functions for example:AVG(), MAX(), COUNT(), MIN() etc. One thing to remember about the group by clause is that the tuples are grouped based on the similarity between the attribute values of tuples.

Group By Syntax –

SELECT function_Name(column_1), column_2
FROM Table_Name
WHERE condition
GROUP BY column_1, column_2
ORDER BY column_1, column_2;

function_Name: Name of the aggregate function, for example:

SUM(), AVG(), COUNT() etc.

Table_Name: Name of the table.

Let’s see the difference between Order by and group by clause:-

S.NO	GROUP BY	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.
2.	It may be allowed in CREATE VIEW statement.	While it does not use in CREATE VIEW statement.
3.	In select statement, it is always used before the order by keyword.	While in select statement, it is always used after the group by keyword.
4.	Attribute cannot be in the group by statement under aggregate function.	Whereas in order by statement, attribute can be under aggregate function.
5.	In group by clause, the tuples are grouped based on the similarity between the attribute values of tuples.	Whereas in order by clause, the result-set is sorted based on ascending or descending order.
6.	Group by controls the presentation of tuples(rows).	While order by clause controls the presentation of columns.

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