"Haximus" <14356256546_at_spam.org> wrote in message
news:loqNb.105814$X%5.72649_at_pd7tw2no...
> "B. Jones" <seismo_at_elvis.com> wrote in message
> news:e6ca440a.0401141103.1a52fb5c_at_posting.google.com...
> > Hey, gang.
> > I've been relying on a simple little statement that I THOUGHT would
> > show me the last record in a table. I found out today that it's
> > unreliable (returned records that were inserted on December 12 when
> > there were records from today).
> > Here's my statement...
> > select * from <table> where rowid = (select max(rowid) from <table>);
> >
> > What do you guys do to find the last record in a table?
>
> The last record inserted, as in chronologically? Not possible, as Oracle
> does not support "natural" sort orders. You need to sequence your
records,
> add a numeric column named "seq" or something like that, then for each
> insert assign it a value from a sequence generator. Then a simple query
> like "select * from table where rownum=1 order by seq desc" will always
give
> you the last inserted record.
>
>
No it won't. rownum is evaluated BEFORE the sort occurs.
Jim
Received on Thu Jan 15 2004 - 09:25:51 CST
