---
title: "Ordered and Unordered Expressions (XQuery) | Microsoft Docs"
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ms.date: "03/14/2017"
ms.prod: sql
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ms.technology: xml
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  - "XML"
helpviewer_keywords: 
  - "unordered expressions [XQuery]"
  - "ordered expressions [XQuery]"
  - "expressions [XQuery], ordered"
  - "expressions [XQuery], unordered"
ms.assetid: 6e7b3631-38d5-4375-b565-21d2e3f36ae0
author: "rothja"
ms.author: "jroth"
---
# Ordered and Unordered Expressions (XQuery)
[!INCLUDE[tsql-appliesto-ss2012-xxxx-xxxx-xxx-md](../includes/tsql-appliesto-ss2012-xxxx-xxxx-xxx-md.md)]

  By default, the ordering mode for all operations in [!INCLUDE[ssNoVersion](../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] is **ordered**. Therefore, the node sequences returned by the path expressions and the FLWOR expressions, without the **order by** clause, are in document order.  
  
 The additional **ordered** and **unordered** syntax described in the XQuery specification is not supported.  
  
## See Also  
 [XQuery Expressions](../xquery/xquery-expressions.md)   
 [FLWOR Statement and Iteration (XQuery)](../xquery/flwor-statement-and-iteration-xquery.md)   
 [Path Expressions (XQuery)](../xquery/path-expressions-xquery.md)