如何在带有limit关键字的sql查询中使用多重排序？

Question

I want to get nth highest salary in a table by first limiting result set to n top salaries first and then to reverse the result set and limiting it to 1.

I have used this query which is resulting into an error:-

select *
  from salaries
 where emp_no=(select * from salaries order by salary desc limit 2) order by salary asc limit 1;    

The error states that subquery return more than one row.

Answer 1

If you want second highest value you could use:

SELECT *
FROM salaries
ORDER BY salary DESC
LIMIT 1,1;

db<>fiddle demo

Answer 2

Here's one way:

SELECT s.* FROM 
(SELECT * FROM `salaries` ORDER BY salary DESC LIMIT 2) s
 ORDER BY s.salary ASC LIMIT 1;

Never use SELECT * , see http://www.parseerror.com/blog/select-*-is-evil

Answer 3

select * from salaries 
order by salary 
desc limit 1 offset 4;

https://www.db-fiddle.com/f/2itHSFs2enyNpJ3MK6Nxcz/0