> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://ploegert.gitbook.io/til/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://ploegert.gitbook.io/til/programmy/linux/is-app-installed/indexing/use-argument-indexes.md).

# Use Argument Indexes

In Postgres, each of the arguments you specify in a `select` statement has a 1-based index tied to it. You can use these indexes in the `order by` and `group by` parts of the statement.

Instead of writing

```sql
select id, updated_at from posts order by updated_at;
```

you can write

```sql
select id, updated_at from posts order by 2;
```

If you want to group by a table's `type` and then order by the counts from highest to lowest, you can do the following

```sql
select type, count(*) from transaction group by 1 order by 2 desc;
```
