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Note that columns are specified by name, not by position number. However in Hive 0.11.0 and later, columns can be specified by position if  when configured as follows:

• For Hive 0.11.0 through 2.1.x, set hive.groupby.orderby.position.alias

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•  to true (the default is false).
• For Hive 2.2.0 and later, hive.orderby.position.alias is true by default.

The default sorting order is ascending (ASC).

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