Order by Descending

[maxy22]

I have a small script that is fetching data as

$sql=mysql_query("SELECT * FROM messages LIMIT 9");
while($row=mysql_fetch_array($sql))
{
$msg=$row['msg'];
$mes_id=$row['mes_id'];
$up=$row['up'];
$down=$row['down'];
?>

I want to display the fetched data in Descending order based on the value in 'up' for each entry , so I tried that

$sql=mysql_query("SELECT * FROM messages  LIMIT 9 ORDER BY up DESC");

but I get the error "supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource"
What is the problem here

Thanks

[maxy22]

OK a quick update, I have got it working I just had to remove that LIMIT 9 from the script

what exactly does the limit 9 does ? can I remove it permanently ?

[r937]

LIMIT 9 means "return only 9 rows"

put it back after the ORDER BY, not in front

[maxy22]

LIMIT 9 means "return only 9 rows"

put it back after the ORDER BY, not in front

Thanks for your help
much appreciated