Use the EMP Table
In this 10-Minute Solution, I am going to use the EMP table in the query examples. This table belongs to the SCOTT schema of the Oracle starter database (provided with Oracle database server versions 7.3 to 9i).

Here is the table's structure:

Name Null? Type
----------- -------- ------------
EMPNO NOT NULL NUMBER(4)
ENAME VARCHAR2(10)
JOB VARCHAR2(9)
MGR NUMBER(4)
HIREDATE DATE
SAL NUMBER(7,2)
COMM NUMBER(7,2)
DEPTNO NUMBER(2)

Run the following query to get a look at the data in the EMP table:

select Empno, Ename, Job, Mgr, Hiredate, Sal
from Emp;

The following listing shows the output of the above code:

EMPNO ENAME JOB MGR HIREDATE SAL
------- ---------- --------- ---------- --------- ----------
7369 SMITH CLERK 7902 17-DEC-80 800
7499 ALLEN SALESMAN 7698 20-FEB-81 1600
7521 WARD SALESMAN 7698 22-FEB-81 1250
7566 JONES MANAGER 7839 02-APR-81 2975
7654 MARTIN SALESMAN 7698 28-SEP-81 1250
7698 BLAKE MANAGER 7839 01-MAY-81 2850
7782 CLARK MANAGER 7839 09-JUN-81 2450
7788 SCOTT ANALYST 7566 19-APR-87 3000
7839 KING PRESIDENT 17-NOV-81 5000
7844 TURNER SALESMAN 7698 08-SEP-81 1500
7876 ADAMS CLERK 7788 23-MAY-87 1100
7900 JAMES CLERK 7698 03-DEC-81 950
7902 FORD ANALYST 7566 03-DEC-81 3000
7934 MILLER CLERK 7782 23-JAN-82 1300
14 rows selected.

The query returns only 14 rows, but that is enough if you want to retrieve records in sets of three (i.e., if you choose the value of N = 3). For all the code examples, you will retrieve the names and salaries (ENAME and SAL columns) of employees whose salaries are greater than or equal to $750.

The following query returns all the results in one batch:

select Ename,
Sal
from Emp
where Sal >= 750;

The following listing shows the output from the above code:

ENAME SAL
---------- ----------
SMITH 800
ALLEN 1600
WARD 1250
JONES 2975
MARTIN 1250
BLAKE 2850
CLARK 2450
SCOTT 3000
KING 5000
TURNER 1500
ADAMS 1100
JAMES 950
FORD 3000
MILLER 1300
14 rows selected.

The query ran almost instantly and the results look great. Again, you have only 14 rows.