Beyond the First Page: Using Row Offset for Advanced Result Set Navigation in SQL Server

Here's a breakdown of these clauses with examples:

ORDER BY: This clause sorts the results based on a specified column. It's mandatory when using OFFSET and FETCH.

Example: SELECT * FROM Customers ORDER BY Name

OFFSET: This clause specifies the number of rows to skip before returning any results.

Example:

-- Skip the first 10 rows and retrieve all remaining rows:
SELECT * FROM Customers ORDER BY Name OFFSET 10 ROWS;

-- Skip the first 5 rows and retrieve the next 10 rows:
SELECT * FROM Customers ORDER BY Name OFFSET 5 ROWS FETCH NEXT 10 ROWS ONLY;

FETCH NEXT: This clause specifies the maximum number of rows to return after the OFFSET is applied. It's optional, and if omitted, all remaining rows after the offset are returned.

Example: (refer to the second example under OFFSET)

Related Issues and Solutions:

Additional Notes:

• The OFFSET value must be a non-negative integer.
• The FETCH NEXT value must be a positive integer between 1 and 10000.
• Consider specifying only the required columns instead of * for better performance.