SQL WHERE ROW NUMBER is an SQL command used to select a specified number of rows from a table, starting from the first row. For instance, to select the first 10 rows from the “Customers” table, you would use the following query: SELECT * FROM Customers WHERE ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY CustomerID) <= 10
This command is particularly useful when working with large datasets and you need to retrieve a specific subset of rows. It offers greater flexibility and control over row selection compared to using the LIMIT clause. Historically, the WHERE ROW NUMBER command originated from the T-SQL (Transact-SQL) extension of SQL, which was developed by Microsoft for use with their SQL Server database management system.