mysql select top n max values

Question

How can you select the top n max values from a table?

For a table like this:

column1  column2
   1       foo
   2       foo
   3       foo
   4               


        

Answer 1

If you are using mySQl, why don't you use the LIMIT functionality? Sort the records in descending order and limit the top n i.e. :

SELECT yourColumnName FROM yourTableName 
ORDER BY Id desc 
LIMIT 0,3