Pagination: Page 1
Return the first page of results (5 employees, starting from the beginning).
- CTEs
- Sorting
- Top-N
Interview brief
Understand the request
People operations coordinator The first page of the paginated employee list shows 5 records per page.
With page size 4, return page 1 of employees ordered by employee_id ascending. Show employee_id, first_name, last_name.
Return
- Return first_name, last_name, and salary.
Constraints
- Use LIMIT 5 OFFSET 0.
Data you will use
Review the relevant tables before deciding how to join, filter, or aggregate them.
employees
employee_idINTEGERfirst_nameTEXTlast_nameTEXT
Hints, when you need them
Open one clue at a time so you still do the reasoning.
Hint 1
OFFSET = (page_number - 1) * page_size. For page 1: OFFSET = 0.
Hint 2
`LIMIT 4 OFFSET 0` is identical to `LIMIT 4` — but writing it explicitly makes the formula obvious.
Hint 3
ORDER BY employee_id LIMIT 4 OFFSET 0
Verified SQL answer
Attempt the problem first, then compare structure and reasoning—not just syntax.
Reveal solution and explanation
SELECT employee_id, first_name, last_name FROM employees ORDER BY employee_id LIMIT 4 OFFSET 0;Why this works
Always store ORDER BY <unique-column> with pagination. Without a stable order, pages can overlap or skip rows when the data changes between page loads — a classic real-world bug.
Expected result
Use this output to verify values, aliases, ordering, and row count.
| employee_id | first_name | last_name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John | Doe |
| 2 | Jane | Smith |
| 3 | Mike | Johnson |
| 4 | Sarah | Williams |
Learn the concepts behind this answer
Strengthen your understanding with these targeted learning topics: