Select * from table with where and order by clause problem

Question

I need to get the number of items that have a comment but I cant get this SQL statement to work for me........any advice?

Select count(Name) as TotalComments 
from TableName where comment <> '' 
order by ID 

Error Message:

Column "TableName.ID" is invalid in the ORDER BY clause because it is not contained in either an aggregate function or the GROUP BY clause.

What am I missing exactly?

Answer 1

Wait a minute...

Select count(Name) as TotalComments  
from TableName where comment <> ''  
order by ID 

You're selecting a count, so the Order By clause is pointless. You should be getting a scalar result. ( a single value, not a set if rows)

Is this a trick question? It's too early for that.

Simply remove the "Order By" clause. It's unnecessary.

Answer 2

try this (I tried it in Sql server not in MySql)

SELECT     Name, COUNT(ID) AS TotalComments
FROM       TableName
WHERE     (Comment IS NOT NULL)
GROUP BY Name
ORDER BY TotalComments