How to randomly select 10% of the rows from a table

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Phil Parkin SSC Guru Points: 247180 More actions · Answer 1

Use NEWID() to force randomness.

SELECT TOP (10) PERCENT
       *
FROM sys.columns
ORDER BY NEWID();

SQL_Hunt SSC-Dedicated Points: 33518 More actions · Answer 2

thanks, Phil. Can I use random () to rewrite the same query?

Thanks.

Phil Parkin SSC Guru Points: 247180 More actions · Answer 3

SQL_Hunt wrote:

thanks, Phil. Can I use random () to rewrite the same query?

Please post the link to the T-SQL random() function that you intend to use.

BrainDonor SSCoach Points: 19269 More actions · Answer 4

Phil's solution is definitely the more elegant but (for completeness) there is also a TABLESAMPLE clause.

Steve Hall
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