sort(), limit(), skip() — MongoDB Technical Interview Questions & Answers

Ordering and paging query results.

sort(), limit(), skip()

  • Simple meaning: sort orders results, limit takes the first N, skip jumps N (pagination).
  • How to use: db.students.find().sort({ marks: -1 }).skip(10).limit(10) — page 2 if page size 10.
  • 1 = ascending, -1 = descending.
  • Try this: top 3 marks: sort({ marks: -1 }).limit(3).
  • Common mistake: huge skip on big collections (slow). Use range on _id or a key for deep pages.
  • Interview tip: sort + limit for “top N”. skip for simple pages. Index the sort field.

Technical Interview Tip: Top 3: sort -1 + limit 3.

Code Examples for sort(), limit(), skip()

sort(), limit(), skip() — working example

db.users.find({ active: true })
  .sort({ age: -1 })
  .skip(10)
  .limit(5)

sort(), limit(), skip() — sort orders results, skip/limit page them (skip is costly on huge offsets).

How to Explain sort(), limit(), skip() to an Interviewer

How do you get top 3 marks?

find().sort({ marks: -1 }).limit(3)