Aggregate functions perform operations on multiple values to create summary results.
| Function | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Avg |
Avg(Sales) |
Calculates the average (mean) of a numeric set of values. |
| Count |
Count(Products) |
Determines the number of items with a non-null value. |
| First | First(Sales) |
Selects the first non-null returned value of the expression argument. The First function operates at the most detailed level specified in your explicitly defined dimension. |
| Last |
Last(Sales) |
Selects the last non-null returned value of the expression. |
| Max |
Max(Revenue) |
Calculates the maximum value (highest numeric value) of the rows satisfying the numeric expression argument. |
| Median |
Median(Sales) |
Calculates the median (middle) value of the rows satisfying the numeric expression argument. When there are an even number of rows, the median is the mean of the two middle rows. This function always returns a double. |
| Min |
Min(Revenue) |
Calculates the minimum value (lowest numeric value) of the rows satisfying the numeric expression argument. |
| StdDev |
StdDev(Sales) StdDev(DISTINCT Sales) |
Returns the standard deviation for a set of values. The return type is always a double. |
| StdDev_Pop |
StdDev_Pop(Sales) StdDev_Pop(DISTINCT Sales) |
Returns the standard deviation for a set of values using the computational formula for population variance and standard deviation. |
| Sum |
Sum(Revenue) |
Calculates the sum obtained by adding up all values satisfying the numeric expression argument. |
Calendar functions manipulate data of the data types DATE and DATETIME based on a calendar year.
Conversion functions convert a value from one form to another.
| Function | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cast |
Cast(hiredate AS CHAR(40)) FROM employee |
Changes the data type of an expression or a null literal to another data type. For example, you can cast a customer_name (a data type of Char or Varchar) or birthdate (a datetime literal).
Use |
| IfNull |
IfNull(Sales, 0) |
Tests if an expression evaluates to a null value, and if it does, assigns the specified value to the expression. |
| IndexCol |
SELECT IndexCol(VALUEOF (NQ_SESSION.GEOGRAPHY_LEVEL), Country, State, City), Revenue FROM Sales |
Uses external information to return the appropriate column for the signed-in user to see. |
| NullIf |
SELECT e.last_name, NULLIF(e.job_id, j.job_id) "Old Job ID" FROM employees e, job_history j WHERE e.employee_id = j.employee_id ORDER BY last_name, "Old Job ID"; |
Compares two expressions. If they are equal, then the function returns null. If they are not equal, then the function returns the first expression. You cannot specify the literal NULL for the first expression. |
| To_DateTime |
SELECT To_DateTime
('2009-03-0301:01:00',
'yyyy-mm-dd hh:mi:ss')
FROM sales
|
Converts string literals of dateTime format to a DateTime data type. |
Display functions operate on the result set of a query.
| Function | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
| BottomN |
BottomN(Sales, 10) |
Returns the n lowest values of expression, ranked from lowest to highest. |
| Filter |
Filter(Sales USING Product = 'widgit') |
Computes the expression using the given preaggregate filter. |
| Mavg |
Mavg(Sales, 10) |
Calculates a moving average (mean) for the last n rows of data in the result set, inclusive of the current row. |
| Msum |
SELECT Month, Revenue, Msum(Revenue, 3) as 3_MO_SUM FROM Sales |
Calculates a moving sum for the last n rows of data, inclusive of the current row.
The sum for the first row is equal to the numeric expression for the first row. The sum for the second row is calculated by taking the sum of the first two rows of data, and so on. When the nth row is reached, the sum is calculated based on the last n rows of data. |
| NTile |
Ntile(Sales, 100) |
Determines the rank of a value in terms of a user-specified range. It returns integers to represent any range of ranks. The example shows a range from 1 to 100, with the lowest sale = 1 and the highest sale = 100. |
| Percentile |
Percentile(Sales) |
Calculates a percent rank for each value satisfying the numeric expression argument. The percentile rank ranges are from 0 (1st percentile) to 1 (100th percentile), inclusive. |
| Rank |
Rank(Sales) |
Calculates the rank for each value satisfying the numeric expression argument. The highest number is assigned a rank of 1, and each successive rank is assigned the next consecutive integer (2, 3, 4,...). If certain values are equal, they are assigned the same rank (for example, 1, 1, 1, 4, 5, 5, 7...). |
| Rcount |
SELECT month, profit, Rcount(profit) FROM sales WHERE profit > 200 |
Takes a set of records as input and counts the number of records encountered so far. |
| Rmax |
SELECT month, profit, Rmax(profit) FROM sales |
Takes a set of records as input and shows the maximum value based on records encountered so far. The specified data type must be one that can be ordered. |
| Rmin |
SELECT month, profit, Rmin(profit) FROM sales |
Takes a set of records as input and shows the minimum value based on records encountered so far. The specified data type must be one that can be ordered. |
| Rsum |
SELECT month, revenue, Rsum(revenue) as RUNNING_SUM FROM sales |
Calculates a running sum based on records encountered so far.
The sum for the first row is equal to the numeric expression for the first row. The sum for the second row is calculated by taking the sum of the first two rows of data, and so on. |
| TopN |
TopN(Sales, 10) |
Returns the n highest values of expression, ranked from highest to lowest. |
Evaluate functions are database functions that can be used to pass through expressions to get advanced calculations.
Embedded database functions can require one or more columns. These columns are referenced by %1 ... %N within the function. The actual columns must be listed after the function.
| Function | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluate |
SELECT EVALUATE('instr(%1, %2)',
address, 'Foster City') FROM employees
|
Passes the specified database function with optional referenced columns as parameters to the database for evaluation. |
| Evaluate_Aggr |
EVALUATE_AGGR('REGR_SLOPE(%1, %2)',
sales.quantity, market.marketkey)
|
Passes the specified database function with optional referenced columns as parameters to the database for evaluation. This function is intended for aggregate functions with a GROUP BY clause. |
The mathematical functions described in this section perform mathematical operations.
| Function | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Abs |
Abs(Profit) |
Calculates the absolute value of a numeric expression. |
| Acos |
Acos(1) |
Calculates the arc cosine of a numeric expression. |
| Asin |
Asin(1) |
Calculates the arc sine of a numeric expression. |
| Atan |
Atan(1) |
Calculates the arc tangent of a numeric expression. |
| Atan2 |
Atan2(1, 2) |
Calculates the arc tangent of y/x, where y is the first numeric expression and x is the second numeric expression. |
| Ceiling |
Ceiling(Profit) |
Rounds a noninteger numeric expression to the next highest integer. If the numeric expression evaluates to an integer, the CEILING function returns that integer. |
| Cos |
Cos(1) |
Calculates the cosine of a numeric expression. |
| Cot |
Cot(1) |
Calculates the cotangent of a numeric expression. |
| Degrees |
Degrees(1) |
Converts an expression from radians to degrees. |
| Exp |
Exp(4) |
Sends the value to the power specified. |
| ExtractBit |
Int ExtractBit(1, 5) |
Retrieves a bit at a particular position in an integer. It returns an integer of either 0 or 1 corresponding to the position of the bit. |
| Floor |
Floor(Profit) |
Rounds a noninteger numeric expression to the next lowest integer. If the numeric expression evaluates to an integer, the FLOOR function returns that integer. |
| Log |
Log(1) |
Calculates the natural logarithm of an expression. |
| Log10 |
Log10(1) |
Calculates the base 10 logarithm of an expression. |
| Mod |
Mod(10, 3) |
Divides the first numeric expression by the second numeric expression and returns the remainder portion of the quotient. |
| Pi |
Pi() |
Returns the constant value of pi. |
| Power |
Power(Profit, 2) |
Takes the first numeric expression and raises it to the power specified in the second numeric expression. |
| Radians |
Radians(30) |
Converts an expression from degrees to radians. |
| Rand |
Rand() |
Returns a pseudo-random number between 0 and 1. |
| RandFromSeed |
Rand(2) |
Returns a pseudo-random number based on a seed value. For a given seed value, the same set of random numbers are generated. |
| Round |
Round(2.166000, 2) |
Rounds a numeric expression to n digits of precision. |
| Sign |
Sign(Profit) |
This function returns the following:
|
| Sin |
Sin(1) |
Calculates the sine of a numeric expression. |
| Sqrt |
Sqrt(7) |
Calculates the square root of the numeric expression argument. The numeric expression must evaluate to a nonnegative number. |
| Tan |
Tan(1) |
Calculates the tangent of a numeric expression. |
| Truncate |
Truncate(45.12345, 2) |
Truncates a decimal number to return a specified number of places from the decimal point. |
String functions perform various character manipulations. They operate on character strings.
| Function | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ascii |
Ascii('a')
|
Converts a single character string to its corresponding ASCII code, between 0 and 255. If the character expression evaluates to multiple characters, the ASCII code corresponding to the first character in the expression is returned. |
| Bit_Length |
Bit_Length('abcdef')
|
Returns the length, in bits, of a specified string. Each Unicode character is 2 bytes in length (equal to 16 bits). |
| Char |
Char(35) |
Converts a numeric value between 0 and 255 to the character value corresponding to the ASCII code. |
| Char_Length |
Char_Length(Customer_Name) |
Returns the length, in number of characters, of a specified string. Leading and trailing blanks are not counted in the length of the string. |
| Concat |
SELECT DISTINCT Concat
('abc', 'def') FROM employee
|
Concatenates two character strings. |
| Insert |
SELECT Insert('123456', 2, 3,
'abcd') FROM table
|
Inserts a specified character string into a specified location in another character string. |
| Left |
SELECT Left('123456', 3)
FROM table
|
Returns a specified number of characters from the left of a string. |
| Length |
Length(Customer_Name) |
Returns the length, in number of characters, of a specified string. The length is returned excluding any trailing blank characters. |
| Locate |
Locate('d' 'abcdef')
|
Returns the numeric position of a character string in another character string. If the character string is not found in the string being searched, the function returns a value of 0. |
| LocateN |
Locate('d' 'abcdef', 3)
|
Like Locate, returns the numeric position of a character string in another character string. LocateN includes an integer argument that enables you to specify a starting position to begin the search. |
| Lower |
Lower(Customer_Name) |
Converts a character string to lowercase. |
| Octet_Length |
Octet_Length('abcdef')
|
Returns the number of bytes of a specified string. |
| Position |
Position('d', 'abcdef')
|
Returns the numeric position of strExpr1 in a character expression. If strExpr1 is not found, the function returns 0. |
| Repeat |
Repeat('abc', 4)
|
Repeats a specified expression n times. |
| Replace |
Replace('abcd1234', '123',
'zz')
|
Replaces one or more characters from a specified character expression with one or more other characters. |
| Right |
SELECT Right('123456', 3)
FROM table
|
Returns a specified number of characters from the right of a string. |
| Space |
Space(2) |
Inserts blank spaces. |
| Substring |
Substring('abcdef' FROM 2)
|
Creates a new string starting from a fixed number of characters into the original string. |
| SubstringN |
Substring('abcdef' FROM 2 FOR 3)
|
Like Substring, creates a new string starting from a fixed number of characters into the original string.
SubstringN includes an integer argument that enables you to specify the length of the new string, in number of characters. |
| TrimBoth |
Trim(BOTH '_' FROM '_abcdef_') |
Strips specified leading and trailing characters from a character string. |
| TrimLeading |
Trim(LEADING '_' FROM '_abcdef') |
Strips specified leading characters from a character string. |
| TrimTrailing |
Trim(TRAILING '_' FROM 'abcdef_') |
Strips specified trailing characters from a character string. |
| Upper |
Upper(Customer_Name) |
Converts a character string to uppercase. |
The USER system function returns values relating to the session. It returns the user name you signed in with.
Time series functions are aggregate functions that operate on time dimensions. The time dimension members must be at or below the level of the function. Because of this, one or more columns that uniquely identify members at or below the given level must be projected in the query.
| Function | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ago |
SELECT Year_ID, Ago(sales, year, 1) |
Calculates the aggregated value of a measure from the current time to a specified time period in the past. For example, AGO can produce sales for every month of the current quarter and the corresponding quarter-ago sales. |
| Periodrolling |
SELECT Month_ID, Periodrolling (monthly_sales, -1, 1) |
Computes the aggregate of a measure over the period starting x units of time and ending y units of time from the current time. For example, PERIODROLLING can compute sales for a period that starts at a quarter before and ends at a quarter after the current quarter. |
| ToDate |
SELECT Year_ID, Month_ID, ToDate (sales, year) |
Aggregates a measure from the beginning of a specified time period to the currently displayed time. For example, this function can calculate Year to Date sales. |