How can ORDER BY ABS() be used in a MySQL query to sort data based on the absolute difference from a specific value in PHP?

To sort data based on the absolute difference from a specific value in MySQL using ORDER BY ABS(), you can calculate the absolute difference between the specific value and the column you want to sort by. This can be achieved by subtracting the specific value from the column and then taking the absolute value of the result. You can then use this calculated value in the ORDER BY clause to sort the data accordingly. 

<?php
// Connect to MySQL database
$mysqli = new mysqli("localhost", "username", "password", "database");

// Define the specific value to calculate the absolute difference from
$specificValue = 50;

// Query to select data and order by absolute difference from the specific value
$query = "SELECT column_name FROM table_name ORDER BY ABS(column_name - $specificValue)";

// Execute the query
$result = $mysqli->query($query);

// Fetch and display the sorted data
while ($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
    echo $row['column_name'] . "<br>";
}

// Close the database connection
$mysqli->close();
?>

Keywords

PHP MySQL ORDER BY ABS() sorting

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