How to retrieve a random row or multiple random rows in MySQL?
You can use RAND() method for this. To retrieve a random row, use the following syntax
SELECT *FROM yourTableName ORDER BY RAND() LIMIT yourIntegerNumber;
To understand the above syntax, let us create a table. The query to create a table is as follows
mysql> create table gettingRandomRow
-> (
-> CustomerId int NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
-> CustomerName varchar(100)
-> );
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.45 sec)
Insert some records in the table using insert command. The query is as follows −
mysql> insert into gettingRandomRow(CustomerName) values('Chris');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.14 sec)
mysql> insert into gettingRandomRow(CustomerName) values('Robert');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.10 sec)
mysql> insert into gettingRandomRow(CustomerName) values('Ramit');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.15 sec)
mysql> insert into gettingRandomRow(CustomerName) values('James');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.11 sec)
mysql> insert into gettingRandomRow(CustomerName) values('Jace');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.12 sec)
mysql> insert into gettingRandomRow(CustomerName) values('Mike');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.15 sec)
mysql> insert into gettingRandomRow(CustomerName) values('Sam');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.17 sec)
mysql> insert into gettingRandomRow(CustomerName) values('Bob');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.12 sec)
mysql> insert into gettingRandomRow(CustomerName) values('Carol');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.11 sec)
mysql> insert into gettingRandomRow(CustomerName) values('David');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.16 sec)
mysql> insert into gettingRandomRow(CustomerName) values('Maxwell');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.14 sec)
mysql> insert into gettingRandomRow(CustomerName) values('Larry');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.13 sec)
mysql> insert into gettingRandomRow(CustomerName) values('John');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.11 sec)Display all records from the table using select statement. The query is as follows −
mysql> select *from gettingRandomRow;
The following is the output
+------------+--------------+
| CustomerId | CustomerName |
+------------+--------------+
| 1 | Chris |
| 2 | Robert |
| 3 | Ramit |
| 4 | James |
| 5 | Jace |
| 6 | Mike |
| 7 | Sam |
| 8 | Bob |
| 9 | Carol |
| 10 | David |
| 11 | Maxwell |
| 12 | Larry |
| 13 | John |
+------------+--------------+
13 rows in set (0.00 sec)
Here is the query to get a random row or multiple random rows.
Case 1: The query is as follows −
mysql> select *from gettingRandomRow order by rand() LIMIT 1;
The following is the output
+------------+--------------+
| CustomerId | CustomerName |
+------------+--------------+
| 13 | John |
+------------+--------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
Case 2: The query is as follows −
mysql> select *from gettingRandomRow order by rand() LIMIT 2;
The following is the output
+------------+--------------+
| CustomerId | CustomerName |
+------------+--------------+
| 2 | Robert |
| 3 | Ramit |
+------------+--------------+
2 rows in set (0.00 sec)
Case 3: The query is as follows −
mysql> select *from gettingRandomRow order by rand() LIMIT 2;
The following is the output
+------------+--------------+
| CustomerId | CustomerName |
+------------+--------------+
| 4 | James |
| 9 | Carol |
+------------+--------------+
2 rows in set (0.00 sec)
Published on 01-Apr-2019 09:55:36
