Select top N records in SQL / Teradata

In different databases, the syntax of selecting top N records are slightly different. They may also differ from ISO standards.

In Teradata, use TOP N or SAMPLE to retrieve N records from the table. Remember to replace N with one actual number. As Teradata is a distributed system, SAMPLE will still scan all the records.

Code snippet

SELECT TOP N * FROM TableName;
SELECT * FROM TableName SAMPLE N;