How to Efficiently Select the Latest Record from a Database Table in SQL?

Selecting the Latest Record from a Database Table

Selecting all records from a table is a standard operation in SQL. However, retrieving the last record can be more challenging, especially when faced with errors such as incorrect syntax. Here's how to effectively select the last record of a table in SQL:

SQL Server

To select the last record from a table in SQL Server, use the following syntax:

SELECT TOP 1 * FROM Table ORDER BY ID DESC

This query uses TOP 1 to retrieve only the first record from the result set, which will be the latest record based on the descending order of the ID column.

MySQL

For MySQL, the syntax is slightly different:

SELECT * FROM Table ORDER BY ID DESC LIMIT 1

Here, LIMIT 1 is used to restrict the result set to only the first (latest) record.

Troubleshooting the Error

The error encountered in the code provided, "Incorrect syntax near 'LIMIT'," suggests that the LIMIT clause is not recognized by the database being used. To fix this, ensure that you are using the correct syntax for the specific database system you are working with.

In the sample code, the following line can be updated:

SqlCommand myCommand = new SqlCommand("SELECT * FROM HD_AANVRAGEN ORDER BY " +
                "aanvraag_id DESC LIMIT 1", conn);

To the appropriate syntax, such as:

// For SQL Server
SqlCommand myCommand = new SqlCommand("SELECT TOP 1 * FROM HD_AANVRAGEN ORDER BY aanvraag_id DESC", conn);

// For MySQL
SqlCommand myCommand = new SqlCommand("SELECT * FROM HD_AANVRAGEN ORDER BY aanvraag_id DESC LIMIT 1", conn);

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