Re: 8i vs 9i: Difference in "group by" ?

R Chin wrote:

> Hi Tom, how about the DISTINCT function ?
> ie select distinct sale_date from sales;
> Can I avoid a sort here ?
> thanks
> Robert
>
> >group by NEVER had to sort -- I can give you examples all of the way back
> to 7.0
> >whereby the group by doesn't sort.
> >
> >It never had it.
> >It never was assured.
> >
> >The *only* way -- repeat -- the ONLY way to get an ordered result set is
> .... to
> >use ORDER BY

What is the relationship you think exists between SQL and sorting?

With respect to output ... nothing sorts unless you specifically ask it to sort.

If the output happens to show up sorted that is nice ... but not guaranteed.

Daniel Morgan Received on Mon Jun 03 2002 - 16:05:30 CDT