The latest articles on DEV Community by WeenAIthDev (@weenaithdev). https://dev.to/weenaithdev https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3910009%2F14b8ecb6-78b7-481d-9dbe-6f55ffcc6b45.jpg https://dev.to/weenaithdev en WeenAIthDev Wed, 13 May 2026 10:14:29 +0000 https://dev.to/weenaithdev/understanding-sql-query-structure-4hei https://dev.to/weenaithdev/understanding-sql-query-structure-4hei <p>This is basically SQL’s version of BODMAS/PEDMAS.</p> <p>We <em>write</em> SQL one way…<br> but SQL <em>executes</em> it differently.</p> <p>The golden rule:<br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>F/JWGBHSOL/O </code></pre> </div> <p>Looks gibberish at first.<br> Actually very important.</p> <h1> How SQL Executes Queries </h1> <h2> F/J → FROM / JOIN </h2> <p>Build the dataset.</p> <ul> <li>FROM → grab the main table</li> <li>JOIN → combine other tables</li> </ul> <h2> W → WHERE </h2> <p>First filter.</p> <p>Removes rows that don’t match conditions.</p> <h2> GB → GROUP BY </h2> <p>Create groups from rows.</p> <p>Turns row-level data into grouped data.</p> <h2> H → HAVING </h2> <p>Second filter.</p> <p>But this time for groups, not rows.</p> <h2> S → SELECT </h2> <p>Pick the final columns/results to display.</p> <h2> O → ORDER BY </h2> <p>Sort the final output.</p> <h2> L/O → LIMIT / OFFSET </h2> <ul> <li>LIMIT → how many rows to show</li> <li>OFFSET → how many rows to skip</li> </ul> <h1> Important Thing </h1> <p>We WRITE SQL like this:<br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight sql"><code><span class="k">SELECT</span> <span class="err">→</span> <span class="k">FROM</span> <span class="err">→</span> <span class="k">WHERE</span> </code></pre> </div> <p>But SQL THINKS like this:<br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight sql"><code><span class="k">FROM</span> <span class="err">→</span> <span class="k">WHERE</span> <span class="err">→</span> <span class="k">GROUP</span> <span class="k">BY</span> <span class="err">→</span> <span class="k">HAVING</span> <span class="err">→</span> <span class="k">SELECT</span> <span class="err">→</span> <span class="k">ORDER</span> <span class="k">BY</span> </code></pre> </div> <p>Understanding this makes SQL much less confusing.</p> <p>Reference: <a href="https://builtin.com/data-science/sql-order-of-execution?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">SQL ORDER OF EXECUTION</a></p> beginners database sql tutorial