这篇文章将带着大家解决查询top N的数据，不仅仅是最高或者最低的一条。
一、准备工作
创建如下表并添加数据：
+--------+------------+-------+
| type | variety | price |
+--------+------------+-------+
| apple | gala | 2.79 |
| apple | fuji | 0.24 |
| apple | limbertwig | 2.87 |
| orange | valencia | 3.59 |
| orange | navel | 9.36 |
| pear | bradford | 6.05 |
| pear | bartlett | 2.14 |
| cherry | bing | 2.55 |
| cherry | chelan | 6.33 |
+--------+------------+-------+
二、查询
1.查询每类水果里最便宜的
+--------+----------+-------+
| type | variety | price |
+--------+----------+-------+
| apple | fuji | 0.24 |
| orange | valencia | 3.59 |
| pear | bartlett | 2.14 |
| cherry | bing | 2.55 |
+--------+----------+-------+
和其他查询极值的sql一样分为两步：第一步找到最符合条件的price，第二步查询符合这个条件其他列的数据。
自连接
1.找出每类水果里价格最便宜的
select type, min(price) as minprice
from fruits
group by type;
+--------+----------+
| type | minprice |
+--------+----------+
| apple | 0.24 |
| cherry | 2.55 |
| orange | 3.59 |
| pear | 2.14 |
+--------+----------+
2.通过查询相同表join上一步结果找出其余列
select f.type, f.variety, f.price
from (
select type, min(price) as minprice
from fruits group by type
) as x inner join fruits as f on f.type = x.type and f.price = x.minprice;
+--------+----------+-------+
| type | variety | price |
+--------+----------+-------+
| apple | fuji | 0.24 |
| cherry | bing | 2.55 |
| orange | valencia | 3.59 |
| pear | bartlett | 2.14 |
+--------+----------+-------+
相关子查询(效率较低)
select type, variety, price
from fruits
where price = (select min(price) from fruits as f where f.type = fruits.type);
+--------+----------+-------+
| type | variety | price |
+--------+----------+-------+
| apple | fuji | 0.24 |
| orange | valencia | 3.59 |
| pear | bartlett | 2.14 |
| cherry | bing | 2.55 |
+--------+----------+-------+
二、查询每组TOP N的几行数据
查询每类水果里最便宜的两个数据，这是第一次尝试
select type, variety, price
from fruits
where price = (select min(price) from fruits as f where f.type = fruits.type)
or price = (select min(price) from fruits as f where f.type = fruits.type
and price > (select min(price) from fruits as f2 where f2.type = fruits.type));
+--------+----------+-------+
| type | variety | price |
+--------+----------+-------+
| apple | gala | 2.79 |
| apple | fuji | 0.24 |
| orange | valencia | 3.59 |
| orange | navel | 9.36 |
| pear | bradford | 6.05 |
| pear | bartlett | 2.14 |
| cherry | bing | 2.55 |
| cherry | chelan | 6.33 |
+--------+----------+-------+
当查询TOP 3、TOP4..时这个方法会很难用
这里有一个跟好的方法：
select type, variety, price
from fruits
where (
select count(*) from fruits as f
where f.type = fruits.type and f.price <= fruits.price
) <= 2;
这个方法更简洁、方便，但是它和上面的方法机制上是一样的，这两个从本质上来讲都是关于水果种类的二次计算。
使用UNION
(select * from fruits where type = 'apple' order by price limit 2)
union all
(select * from fruits where type = 'orange' order by price limit 2)
union all
(select * from fruits where type = 'pear' order by price limit 2)
union all
(select * from fruits where type = 'cherry' order by price limit 2)
需要注意的是：用union all而不是union
