MySQL:
PARENTHESIZED QUERY EXPRESSIONS
Syntax:
parenthesized_query_expression:
( query_expression [order_by_clause] [limit_clause] )
[order_by_clause]
[limit_clause]
[into_clause]
query_expression:
query_block [UNION query_block [UNION query_block ...]]
[order_by_clause]
[limit_clause]
[into_clause]
query_block:
SELECT ... (see )
order_by_clause:
ORDER BY as for SELECT (see )
limit_clause:
LIMIT as for SELECT (see )
into_clause:
INTO as for SELECT (see )
MySQL 8.0.22 and higher supports parenthesized query expressions
according to the preceding syntax. At its simplest, a parenthesized
query expression contains a single SELECT and no following optional
clauses:
(SELECT 1);
(SELECT * FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.SCHEMATA WHERE SCHEMA_NAME = 'mysql');
A parenthesized query expression can also contain a UNION comprising
multiple SELECT statements, and end with any or all of the optional
clauses:
mysql> (SELECT 1 AS result UNION SELECT 2);
+--------+
| result |
+--------+
| 1 |
| 2 |
+--------+
mysql> (SELECT 1 AS result UNION SELECT 2) LIMIT 1;
+--------+
| result |
+--------+
| 1 |
+--------+
mysql> (SELECT 1 AS result UNION SELECT 2) LIMIT 1 OFFSET 1;
+--------+
| result |
+--------+
| 2 |
+--------+
mysql> (SELECT 1 AS result UNION SELECT 2)
ORDER BY result DESC LIMIT 1;
+--------+
| result |
+--------+
| 2 |
+--------+
mysql> (SELECT 1 AS result UNION SELECT 2)
ORDER BY result DESC LIMIT 1 OFFSET 1;
+--------+
| result |
+--------+
| 1 |
+--------+
mysql> (SELECT 1 AS result UNION SELECT 3 UNION SELECT 2)
ORDER BY result LIMIT 1 OFFSET 1 INTO @var;
mysql> SELECT @var;
+------+
| @var |
+------+
| 2 |
+------+
Parenthesized query expressions are also used as query expressions, so
a query expression, usually composed of query blocks, may also consist
of parenthesized query expressions:
(SELECT * FROM t1 ORDER BY a) UNION (SELECT * FROM t2 ORDER BY b) ORDER BY z;
Query blocks may have trailing ORDER BY and LIMIT clauses, which are
applied before the outer UNION and ORDER BY and LIMIT.
You cannot have a query block with a trailing ORDER BY or LIMIT,
without wrapping it in parentheses, but parentheses may be used for
enforcement in various ways:
o To enforce LIMIT on each query block:
(SELECT 1 LIMIT 1) UNION (SELECT 2 LIMIT 1);
o To enforce LIMIT on both query blocks and the entire query
expression:
(SELECT 1 LIMIT 1) UNION (SELECT 2 LIMIT 1) LIMIT 1;
o To enforce LIMIT on the entire query expression (with no
parentheses):
SELECT 1 UNION SELECT 2 LIMIT 1;
o Hybrid enforcement: LIMIT on the first query block and on the entire
query expression:
(SELECT 1 LIMIT 1) UNION SELECT 2 LIMIT 1;
The syntax described in this section is subject to certain
restrictions:
o If ORDER BY occurs within a parenthesized query expression and also
is applied in the outer query, the results are undefined and may
change in a future MySQL version. The same is true if LIMIT occurs
within a parenthesized query expression and also is applied in the
outer query.
o A trailing INTO clause for a query expression is not permitted if
there is another INTO clause inside parentheses.
o Parenthesized query expressions do not permit multiple levels of
ORDER BY or LIMIT operations. For example:
mysql> (SELECT 'a' UNION SELECT 'b' LIMIT 1) LIMIT 2;
ERROR 1235 (42000): This version of MySQL doesn't yet support 'parenthesized
query expression with more than one external level of ORDER/LIMIT operations'
URL: https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.0/en/parenthesized-query-expressions.html
Example