Sql query on rownum

Question

SELECT instmax
FROM
  (SELECT instmax ,rownum r
  FROM
    ( SELECT instmax FROM pswlinstmax ORDER BY instmax DESC NULLS LAST
    )
  WHERE r = 2
  );

After execution it's giving this error:

ORA-00904: "R": invalid identifier
00904. 00000 -  "%s: invalid identifier"
*Cause:    
*Action:
Error at Line: 39 Column: 8

why it's giving this error??

Answer 1

Because aliases are not supported in the WHERE clause of the same query. So instead write your query like:

SELECT instmax
FROM 
  (SELECT instmax ,rownum r 
  FROM 
    ( SELECT instmax FROM pswlinstmax ORDER BY instmax DESC NULLS LAST 
    )  
) WHERE r = 2;