Select a random row in MySQL

To select a random row, use the rand() with LIMIT from MySQL. The syntax is as follows:

SELECT * FROM yourTableName ORDER BY RAND() LIMIT 1;

To understand the above syntax, let us create a table. The query to create a table is as follows:

mysql> create table generateRandomRow
   -> (
   -> Id int NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
   -> Name varchar(20),
   -> Age int,
   -> PRIMARY KEY(Id)
   -> );
Query OK, 0 rows affected (1.66 sec)

Insert some records in the table using insert command. The query is as follows:

mysql> insert into generateRandomRow(Name,Age) values('John',23);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.22 sec)

mysql> insert into generateRandomRow(Name,Age) values('Larry',21);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.32 sec)

mysql> insert into generateRandomRow(Name,Age) values('David',21);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.39 sec)

mysql> insert into generateRandomRow(Name,Age) values('Carol',24);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.21 sec)

mysql> insert into generateRandomRow(Name,Age) values('Bob',27);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.14 sec)

mysql> insert into generateRandomRow(Name,Age) values('Mike',29);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.19 sec)

mysql> insert into generateRandomRow(Name,Age) values('Sam',26);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.17 sec)

Display all records from the table using select statement. The query is as follows:

mysql> select *from generateRandomRow;

The following is the output:

+----+-------+------+
| Id | Name  | Age  |
+----+-------+------+
|  1 | John  |   23 |
|  2 | Larry |   21 |
|  3 | David |   21 |
|  4 | Carol |   24 |
|  5 | Bob   |   27 |
|  6 | Mike  |   29 |
|  7 | Sam   |   26 |
+----+-------+------+
7 rows in set (0.00 sec)

Here is the query to select a random row from the table using rand(). The query is as follows:

mysql> select *from generateRandomRow order by rand() limit 1;

The output displays a random row:

+----+------+------+
| Id | Name | Age  |
+----+------+------+
| 5  | Bob  | 27   |
+----+------+------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

Now when we will run the query again, the following random row would be visible:

mysql> select *from generateRandomRow order by rand() limit 1;

The following is the output:

+----+------+------+
| Id | Name | Age  |
+----+------+------+
| 6  | Mike | 29   |
+----+------+------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

Ankith Reddy

Published on 01-Feb-2019 10:43:55

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