---
title: "7: Field order in objects | SurrealDB University"
description: "Follow along with interactive SurrealDB lessons featuring hands-on exercises, code examples, and step-by-step instructions."
url: https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-07
---

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[Welcome to the Tour of SurrealDB!](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour) [1: Connecting to a database](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-01) [2: Creating records](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-02) [3: Using the ONLY keyword](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-03) [4: Non-ASCII record IDs](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-04) [5: Parentheses, indexing, and accessing fields](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-05) [6: Deleting records](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-06) [7: Field order in objects](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-07) [8: Tips when selecting records](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-08) [9: Casting and aliases](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-09) [10: Affixes](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-10) [11: Updating records](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-11) [12: Linking records](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-12) [13: Viewing the database as a whole](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-13) [14: Schemafull and schemaless](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-14) [15: Viewing the schema](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-15) [16: Literal types and assertions](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-16) [17: INSERT and using JSON](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-17) [18: FOR loops](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-18) [19: Basic graph relations](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-19) [20: Creating graph edges](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-20) [21: Querying graph relations](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-21) [22: Graph relations at greater depth](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-22) [23: Adding and improving data](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-23) [24: Defining events](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-24) [25: Defining indexes](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-25) [26: Improving the schema](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-26) [27: Visualising graph paths](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-27) [28: Recursive queries: setup](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-28) [29: Recursive queries](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-29) [30: More on recursive queries](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-30) [31: AI vector search](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-31) [Done the tour!](https://surrealdb.com/learn/tour/page-32)

# 7: Field order in objects

Now that all the `place` records that we used for testing are deleted, let's create the one library that we will use in this tour. This time it will have three fields besides an `id`: a `name`, an `address`, and the number of `floors`. To do this, we can use `SET` along with the names of these fields and a value for each.

```
CREATE place:surreal_library SET    name = "Surreal Library",    address = "2025 Statement Street, Riverdale",    place_type = "library",    floors = 8;
```

![Surrealist Icon](https://surrealdb.com/assets/static/fdfe2c20f5941d5e.D0guSOhZ.webp) Run Query

While the fields inside the `CREATE` statement weren't in alphabetical order, the output always will be.

```surql
[
  {
    address: '2025 Statement Street, Riverdale',
    floors: 8,
    id: library:76wabj5zw4g4qcuy9o3y,
    name: 'Surreal Library',
    place_type: 'library'
  }
]
```

This behaviour is because [anything can be compared and ordered in SurrealDB](https://surrealdb.com/docs/reference/query-language/language-primitives/data-types/values#comparing-and-ordering-values). Even objects can be compared, because their fields are lined up alphabetically and compared in that order.

This next example returns `true` because the value `9` for `floors` (alphabetically the first field) in the first object is greater than 8 in the second.

```
{  floors: 9,  name: 'A Library'} > {  floors: 8,  name: 'Surreal Library'};
```

![Surrealist Icon](https://surrealdb.com/assets/static/fdfe2c20f5941d5e.D0guSOhZ.webp) Run Query

But if you change `name` to `a_name` it will now be compared before `floors`. And because "A Library" (which starts with A) is less than "Surreal Library" (which starts with S), the output is now `false`.

```
{  floors: 9,  a_name: 'A Library'} > {  floors: 8,  a_name: 'Surreal Library'};
```

![Surrealist Icon](https://surrealdb.com/assets/static/fdfe2c20f5941d5e.D0guSOhZ.webp) Run Query

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