Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!meaddata!gordon
From: gordon@meaddata.com (Gordon Edwards)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: SELECT only x number of items
Keywords: SELECT SQL
Message-ID: <1723@meaddata.meaddata.com>
Date: 22 Oct 90 12:50:14 GMT
References: <5@unigold.UUCP>
Sender: usenet@meaddata.com
Reply-To: gordon@meaddata.com (Gordon Edwards)
Distribution: comp
Organization: Mead Data Central, Dayton OH
Lines: 17


In article <5@unigold.UUCP>, lance@unigold.UUCP (Lance Ellinghouse) writes:
|> Is there a way to say 'I want to select only the first 5 items
|> that full-fill my criteria?' without using ESQLC? I would like
|> to really do it using straight SQL (BTW: I am using Ingres and
|> Ingres specific ways are fine also).
|> 

To my knowledge, there is no way to use "straight" SQL to perform your task.
If you have Ingres 6.3 you can probably use database procedures and 
temporary tables to perform this (your probably better off using ESQLC).

ESQLC is really the more appropriate method of handling procedural access.
SQL and the relational model really have no concept of tuple ordering or
partial solutions.  

-- Gordon     (gordon@meaddata.com)