SQL FIRST() function

The FIRST() function returns the value of the first record in the specified column.

SQL FIRST() syntax 

SELECT FIRST(column_name) FROM table_name;

Note: Only MS Access supports FIRST() functions.


SQL FIRST() workspaces in SQL Server, MySQL, and Oracle

SQL Server syntax 

SELECT TOP 1 column_name
FROM table_name
ORDER BY column_name ASC;

Instance 

SELECT TOP 1 CustomerName FROM Customers                
ORDER BY CustomerID ASC;

MySQL syntax 

SELECT column_name FROM table_name                
ORDER BY column_name ASC                
LIMIT 1;

Instance 

SELECT CustomerName FROM Customers               
ORDER BY CustomerID ASC                
LIMIT 1;

Oracle syntax 

SELECT column_name FROM table_name                
ORDER BY 
column_name ASC               
WHERE ROWNUM <=1;

Instance 

SELECT CustomerName FROM Customers                
ORDER BY CustomerID ASC                
WHERE ROWNUM <=1;

Demonstrate the database

In this tutorial, we'll use the well-known Northwind sample database.

Here's the data from the "Customers" table:

CustomerID CustomerName ContactName Address City PostalCode Country
1

Alfreds Futterkiste Maria Anders Obere Str. 57 Berlin 12209 Germany
2 Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados Ana Trujillo Avda. de la Constitución 2222 México D.F. 05021 Mexico
3 Antonio Moreno Taquería Antonio Moreno Mataderos 2312 México D.F. 05023 Mexico
4

Around the Horn Thomas Hardy 120 Hanover Sq. London WA1 1DP UK
5 Berglunds snabbköp Christina Berglund Berguvsvägen 8 Luleå S-958 22 Sweden

SQL FIRST() instance

The following SQL statement picks the value of the first record in the "CustomerName" column of the "Customers" table:

SELECT FIRST(CustomerName) AS FirstCustomer FROM Customers;