Oracle 12c column_name inconsistency

Question

So I have this small problem with Oracle 12c. Whenever I do a query like

SELECT COLUMN_NAME FROM USER_TAB_COLUMNS WHERE table_name = 'EMP';

I get the column names in the right order

empno
ename
...

but when I run it again the column names get reversed.

deptno
comm
...
ename
empno

Anyone knows why this happens? Is this a new "feature" implemented in 12c or it's just me that get this the wrong way? And most important is there a way to fix this? Thanks in advance and sorry if this is a dumb question.

Answer 1

Use

order by column_id;

and you will allways get the right order of columns