Analytic Functions 101

SQL gives you rows of detail, aggregate functions gives you summarized data. To solve your requirements you often need both at the same time. Or you need in one row to access data from or compare with one or more other rows. That can be messy with plain SQL often requiring accessing the same data multiple times.

Analytic functions can help you to make your SQL do many such things efficiently, that you otherwise might have been tempted to do in slow procedural loops. Properly applied analytic functions can speed up the tasks (for which they are appropriate) manyfold.

In this session I’ll cover the syntax as well as little quirks to remember, all demonstrated with short and clear examples.