plinehan wrote:

>
>
> This works in FB
>
> SELECT DISTINCT(First_Name)
> FROM Employee
> ORDER BY Last_Name
>
> but this doesn't in Oracle
>
>
> SELECT DISTINCT(Ename)
> FROM Emp
> ORDER BY Sal
>
> ------------------
> with the error
> ERROR at line 3:
> ORA-01791: not a SELECTed expression
> ------------------
>
>
> I thought that I was missing something extremely
> simple in Oracle, so I posted the info there, only
> to be told that
>
> --------------------------
> It is pretty useless to order on sal when
> you don't display the sal. Oracle agrees with me.
> Oracle != Sqlserver and whatever toy products are
> available .
> -----------------------------
>
>
> Can anyone give me a few valid reasons why
> one might want to sort on a field that
> one doesn't select?
>
>
> Paul...
>

No, just one: because you want them sorted that way.

john