SQL LIMIT Clause: Purpose and Usage

In SQL, the LIMIT clause is used to restrict the number of rows returned from a query result. Its purpose is to control the quantity of the query result, making it more manageable and efficient.

Specifically, LIMIT can be used with two parameters, the first parameter being the starting position (offset) of the rows to be returned, and the second parameter being the number of rows to be returned. For example, LIMIT 5 means returning 5 rows of data starting from the first row of the query result.

LIMIT can be used together with the ORDER BY clause to specify the order of the returned results. For example, LIMIT 10 ORDER BY id DESC means that the data will be sorted in descending order by the id field and only the first 10 rows will be returned.

Using LIMIT can optimize query performance by preventing the retrieval of unnecessary data, particularly when dealing with large datasets.