For random records, you can use rand() method. To set the number of records, use the LIMIT −
select *from yourTableName order by rand() limit numberOfRecords;
Let us first create a table −
mysql> create table DemoTable -> ( -> LastName varchar(100) -> ); Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.51 sec)
Insert some records in the table using insert command −
mysql> insert into DemoTable values('Brown');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.20 sec)
mysql> insert into DemoTable values('Smith');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.13 sec)
mysql> insert into DemoTable values('Taylor');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.10 sec)
mysql> insert into DemoTable values('Miller');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.15 sec)
mysql> insert into DemoTable values('Johnson');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.20 sec)Display all records from the table using select statement −
mysql> select *from DemoTable;
This will produce the following output −
+----------+ | LastName | +----------+ | Brown | | Smith | | Taylor | | Miller | | Johnson | +----------+ 5 rows in set (0.00 sec)
Following is the query to select fixed number of random records −
mysql> select *from DemoTable order by rand() limit 4;
This will produce the following output −
+----------+ | LastName | +----------+ | Brown | | Miller | | Johnson | | Taylor | +----------+ 4 rows in set (0.03 sec)
