Tuesday, May 13, 2008

SQL to Select a random row from a database table

There are lots of ways to select a random record or row from a database table. Here are some example SQL statements that don't require additional application logic, but each database server requires different SQL syntax.
Select a random row with MySQL:SELECT column FROM table
ORDER BY RAND()
LIMIT 1
Select a random row with PostgreSQL:SELECT column FROM table
ORDER BY RANDOM()
LIMIT 1
Select a random row with Microsoft SQL Server:SELECT TOP 1 column FROM table
ORDER BY NEWID()

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