This topic describes the expression elements that you can use in the Expression Editor.
Topics:
SQL operators are used to specify comparisons between expressions.
You can use various types of SQL operators.
Operator | Example | Description | Syntax |
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BETWEEN |
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Determines if a value is between two non-inclusive bounds.
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IN |
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Determines if a value is present in a set of values. |
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IS NULL |
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Determines if a value is null. |
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LIKE |
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Determines if a value matches all or part of a string. Often used with wildcard characters to indicate any character string match of zero or more characters (%) or any single character match (_). |
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+ |
Plus sign for addition. |
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- |
Minus sign for subtraction. |
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* or X |
Multiply sign for multiplication. |
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/ |
Divide by sign for division. |
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% |
Percentage |
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|| |
Character string concatenation. |
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( |
Open parenthesis. |
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) |
Closed parenthesis. |
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> |
Greater than sign, indicating values higher than the comparison. |
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< |
Less than sign, indicating values lower than the comparison. |
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= |
Equal sign, indicating the same value. |
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>= |
Greater than or equal to sign, indicating values the same or higher than the comparison. |
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<= |
Less than or equal to sign, indicating values the same or lower than the comparison. |
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<> |
Not equal to, indicating values higher or lower, but different. |
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, |
Comma, used to separate elements in a list. |
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You use conditional expressions to create expressions that convert values.
The conditional expressions described in this section are building blocks for creating expressions that convert a value from one form to another.
Follow these rules:
CASE
statements, AND
has precedence over OR
Expression | Example | Description | Syntax |
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CASE (If) |
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Evaluates each If none of the |
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CASE (Switch) |
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Also referred to as If none of the If the first expression matches an expression in multiple |
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IfCase > Else |
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IfCase > IfNull |
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IfCase > NullIf |
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IfCase > When |
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IfCase > Case |
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SwitchCase > Else |
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SwitchCase > IfNull |
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SwitchCase > NullIf |
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SwitchCase > When |
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There are various types of functions that you can use in expressions.
Topics:
Aggregate functions perform operations on multiple values to create summary results.
Function | Example | Description | Syntax |
---|---|---|---|
Aggregate At |
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This function aggregates columns based on the level or levels you specify. measure is the name of a measure column. level is the level at which you want to aggregate. You can optionally specify more than one level. You cannot specify a level from a dimension that contains levels that are being used as the measure level for the measure you specified in the first argument. For example, you cannot write the function as AGGREGATE(yearly_sales AT month) because "month" is from the same time dimension that is being used as the measure level for "yearly_sales". |
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Avg |
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Calculates the average (mean) of a numeric set of values. |
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AvgDistinct |
Calculates the average (mean) of all distinct values of an expression. |
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Bin |
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The BIN function classifies a given numeric expression into a specified number of equal width buckets. The function can return either the bin number or one of the two end points of the bin interval. numeric_expr is the measure or numeric attribute to bin BY grain_expr1,…, grain_exprN is a list of expressions that define the grain at which the numeric_expr will be calculated. BY is required for measure expressions and is optional for attribute expressions. WHERE a filter to apply to the numeric_expr before the numeric values are assigned to bins INTO number_of_bins BINS is the number of bins to return BETWEEN min_value AND max_value is the min and max values used for the end points of the outermost bins RETURNING NUMBER indicates that the return value should be the bin number (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.). This is the default. RETURNING RANGE_LOW indicates the lower value of the bin interval RETURNING RANGE_HIGH indicates the higher value of the bin interval |
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BottomN |
Ranks the lowest n values of the expression argument from 1 to n, 1 corresponding to the lowest numerical value. expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. integer is any positive integer. Represents the bottom number of rankings displayed in the result set, 1 being the lowest rank. |
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Count |
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Determines the number of items with a non-null value. |
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CountDistinct |
Adds distinct processing to the Count function. expr is any expression. |
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Count* |
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Counts the number of rows. |
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First |
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Selects the first non-null returned value of the expression argument. The |
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Last |
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Selects the last non-null returned value of the expression. |
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Mavg |
Calculates a moving average (mean) for the last n rows of data in the result set, inclusive of the current row. expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. integer is any positive integer. Represents the average of the last n rows of data. |
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Max |
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Calculates the maximum value (highest numeric value) of the rows satisfying the numeric expression argument. |
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Median |
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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. |
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Min |
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Calculates the minimum value (lowest numeric value) of the rows satisfying the numeric expression argument. |
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NTile |
Determines the rank of a value in terms of a user-specified range. It returns integers to represent any range of ranks. NTile with numTiles=100 returns what is commonly called the "percentile" (with numbers ranging from 1 to 100, with 100 representing the high end of the sort). expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. numTiles is a positive, nonnull integer that represents the number of tiles. |
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Percentile |
Calculates a percentile rank for each value satisfying the numeric expression argument. The percentile rank ranges are between 0 (0th percentile) to 1 (100th percentile). expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. |
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Rank |
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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...). expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. |
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StdDev |
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Returns the standard deviation for a set of values. The return type is always a double. |
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StdDev_Pop |
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Returns the standard deviation for a set of values using the computational formula for population variance and standard deviation. |
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Sum |
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Calculates the sum obtained by adding up all values satisfying the numeric expression argument. |
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SumDistinct |
Calculates the sum obtained by adding all of the distinct values satisfying the numeric expression argument. expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. |
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TopN |
Ranks the highest n values of the expression argument from 1 to n, 1 corresponding to the highest numerical value. expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. integer is any positive integer. Represents the top number of rankings displayed in the result set, 1 being the highest rank. |
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Analytics functions allow you to explore data using models such as trendline and cluster.
Function | Example | Description | Syntax |
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Trendline |
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Fits a linear or exponential model and returns the fitted values or model. The numeric_expr represents the Y value for the trend and the series (time columns) represent the X value. |
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Cluster |
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Collects a set of records into groups based on one or more input expressions using K-Means or Hierarchical Clustering. |
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Outlier |
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This function classifies a record as Outlier based on one or more input expressions using K-Means or Hierarchical Clustering or Multi-Variate Outlier detection Algorithms. |
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Regr |
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Fits a linear model and returns the fitted values or model. This function can be used to fit a linear curve on two measures. |
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Evaluate_Script |
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Executes a Python script as specified in the script_file_path, passing in one or more columns or literal expressions as input. The output of the function is determined by the output_column_name. |
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Calendar functions manipulate data of the data types DATE
and DATETIME
based on a calendar year.
Function | Example | Description | Syntax |
---|---|---|---|
Current_Date |
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Returns the current date. The date is determined by the system in which the Oracle BI is running. |
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Current_Time |
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Returns the current time to the specified number of digits of precision, for example: HH:MM:SS.SSS If no argument is specified, the function returns the default precision. |
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Current_TimeStamp |
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Returns the current date/timestamp to the specified number of digits of precision. |
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DayName |
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Returns the name of the day of the week for a specified date expression. |
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DayOfMonth |
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Returns the number corresponding to the day of the month for a specified date expression. |
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DayOfWeek |
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Returns a number between 1 and 7 corresponding to the day of the week for a specified date expression. For example, 1 always corresponds to Sunday, 2 corresponds to Monday, and so on through to Saturday which returns 7. |
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DayOfYear |
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Returns the number (between 1 and 366) corresponding to the day of the year for a specified date expression. |
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Day_Of_Quarter |
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Returns a number (between 1 and 92) corresponding to the day of the quarter for the specified date expression. |
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Hour |
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Returns a number (between 0 and 23) corresponding to the hour for a specified time expression. For example, 0 corresponds to 12 a.m. and 23 corresponds to 11 p.m. |
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Minute |
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Returns a number (between 0 and 59) corresponding to the minute for a specified time expression. |
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Month |
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Returns the number (between 1 and 12) corresponding to the month for a specified date expression. |
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MonthName |
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Returns the name of the month for a specified date expression. |
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Month_Of_Quarter |
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Returns the number (between 1 and 3) corresponding to the month in the quarter for a specified date expression. |
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Now |
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Returns the current timestamp. The |
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Quarter_Of_Year |
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Returns the number (between 1 and 4) corresponding to the quarter of the year for a specified date expression. |
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Second |
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Returns the number (between 0 and 59) corresponding to the seconds for a specified time expression. |
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TimeStampAdd |
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Adds a specified number of intervals to a timestamp, and returns a single timestamp. Interval options are: SQL_TSI_SECOND, SQL_TSI_MINUTE, SQL_TSI_HOUR, SQL_TSI_DAY, SQL_TSI_WEEK, SQL_TSI_MONTH, SQL_TSI_QUARTER, SQL_TSI_YEAR |
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TimeStampDiff |
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Returns the total number of specified intervals between two timestamps. Use the same intervals as TimeStampAdd. |
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Week_Of_Quarter |
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Returns a number (between 1 and 13) corresponding to the week of the quarter for the specified date expression. |
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Week_Of_Year |
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Returns a number (between 1 and 53) corresponding to the week of the year for the specified date expression. |
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Year |
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Returns the year for the specified date expression. |
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Conversion functions convert a value from one form to another.
Function | Example | Description | Syntax |
---|---|---|---|
Cast |
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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 Don’t use |
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IfNull |
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Tests if an expression evaluates to a null value, and if it does, assigns the specified value to the expression. |
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IndexCol |
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Uses external information to return the appropriate column for the signed-in user to see. |
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NullIf |
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Compares two expressions. If they’re equal, then the function returns null. If they’re not equal, then the function returns the first expression. You can’t specify the literal NULL for the first expression. |
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To_DateTime |
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Converts string literals of dateTime format to a DateTime data type. |
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Display functions operate on the result set of a query.
Function | Example | Description | Syntax |
---|---|---|---|
BottomN |
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Returns the n lowest values of expression, ranked from lowest to highest. |
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Filter |
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Computes the expression using the given preaggregate filter. |
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Mavg |
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Calculates a moving average (mean) for the last n rows of data in the result set, inclusive of the current row. |
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Msum |
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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. |
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NTile |
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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. |
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Percentile |
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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. |
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Rank |
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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...). |
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Rcount |
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Takes a set of records as input and counts the number of records encountered so far. |
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Rmax |
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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. |
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Rmin |
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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. |
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Rsum |
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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. |
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TopN |
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Returns the n highest values of expression, ranked from highest to lowest. |
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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 | Syntax |
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Evaluate |
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Passes the specified database function with optional referenced columns as parameters to the database for evaluation. |
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Evaluate_Aggr |
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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 |
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The mathematical functions described in this section perform mathematical operations.
Function | Example | Description | Syntax |
---|---|---|---|
Abs |
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Calculates the absolute value of a numeric expression. expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. |
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Acos |
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Calculates the arc cosine of a numeric expression. expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. |
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Asin |
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Calculates the arc sine of a numeric expression. expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. |
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Atan |
expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. |
Calculates the arc tangent of a numeric expression. |
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Atan2 |
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Calculates the arc tangent of |
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Ceiling |
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Rounds a non-integer numeric expression to the next highest integer. If the numeric expression evaluates to an integer, the |
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Cos |
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Calculates the cosine of a numeric expression. expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. |
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Cot |
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Calculates the cotangent of a numeric expression. expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. |
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Degrees |
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Converts an expression from radians to degrees. expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. |
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Exp |
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Sends the value to the power specified. Calculates |
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ExtractBit |
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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. |
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Floor |
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Rounds a non-integer numeric expression to the next lowest integer. If the numeric expression evaluates to an integer, the |
FLOOR(expr) |
Log |
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Calculates the natural logarithm of an expression. expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. |
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Log10 |
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Calculates the base 10 logarithm of an expression. expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. |
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Mod |
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Divides the first numeric expression by the second numeric expression and returns the remainder portion of the quotient. |
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Pi |
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Returns the constant value of pi. |
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Power |
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Takes the first numeric expression and raises it to the power specified in the second numeric expression. |
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Radians |
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Converts an expression from degrees to radians. expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. |
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Rand |
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Returns a pseudo-random number between 0 and 1. |
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RandFromSeed |
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Returns a pseudo-random number based on a seed value. For a given seed value, the same set of random numbers are generated. |
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Round |
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Rounds a numeric expression to expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. integer is any positive integer that represents the number of digits of precision. |
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Sign |
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This function returns the following:
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Sin |
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Calculates the sine of a numeric expression. |
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Sqrt |
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Calculates the square root of the numeric expression argument. The numeric expression must evaluate to a nonnegative number. |
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Tan |
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Calculates the tangent of a numeric expression. expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. |
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Truncate |
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Truncates a decimal number to return a specified number of places from the decimal point. expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. integer is any positive integer that represents the number of characters to the right of the decimal place to return. |
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Running ggregate functions perform
Function | Example | Description | Syntax |
---|---|---|---|
Mavg |
Calculates a moving average (mean) for the last n rows of data in the result set, inclusive of the current row. expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. integer is any positive integer. Represents the average of the last n rows of data. |
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Msum |
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This function calculates a moving sum for the last n rows of data, inclusive of the current row. expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. integer is any positive integer. Represents the sum of the last n rows of data. |
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Rsum |
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This function calculates a running sum based on records encountered so far. expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value. |
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Rcount |
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This function takes a set of records as input and counts the number of records encountered so far. expr is an expression of any datatype. |
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Rmax |
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This function takes a set of records as input and shows the maximum value based on records encountered so far. expr is an expression of any datatype. |
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Rmin |
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This function takes a set of records as input and shows the minimum value based on records encountered so far. expr is an expression of any datatype. |
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String functions perform various character manipulations. They operate on character strings.
Function | Example | Description | Syntax |
---|---|---|---|
Ascii |
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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. expr is any expression that evaluates to a character string. |
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Bit_Length |
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Returns the length, in bits, of a specified string. Each Unicode character is 2 bytes in length (equal to 16 bits). expr is any expression that evaluates to a character string. |
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Char |
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Converts a numeric value between 0 and 255 to the character value corresponding to the ASCII code. expr is any expression that evaluates to a numerical value between 0 and 255. |
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Char_Length |
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Returns the length, in number of characters, of a specified string. Leading and trailing blanks aren’t counted in the length of the string. expr is any expression that evaluates to a character string. |
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Concat |
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Concatenates two character strings. exprs are expressions that evaluate to character strings, separated by commas. |
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Insert |
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Inserts a specified character string into a specified location in another character string. expr1 is any expression that evaluates to a character string. Identifies the target character string. integer1 is any positive integer that represents the number of characters from the beginning of the target string where the second string is to be inserted. integer2 is any positive integer that represents the number of characters in the target string to be replaced by the second string. expr2 is any expression that evaluates to a character string. Identifies the character string to be inserted into the target string. |
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Left |
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Returns a specified number of characters from the left of a string. expr is any expression that evaluates to a character string integer is any positive integer that represents the number of characters from the left of the string to return. |
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Length |
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Returns the length, in number of characters, of a specified string. The length is returned excluding any trailing blank characters. expr is any expression that evaluates to a character string. |
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Locate |
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Returns the numeric position of a character string in another character string. If the character string isn’t found in the string being searched, the function returns a value of 0. expr1 is any expression that evaluates to a character string. Identifies the string for which to search. expr2 is any expression that evaluates to a character string. Identifies the string to be searched. |
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LocateN |
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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. expr1 is any expression that evaluates to a character string. Identifies the string for which to search. expr2 is any expression that evaluates to a character string. Identifies the string to be searched. intergeris any positive (nonzero) integer that represents the starting position to begin to look for the character string. |
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Lower |
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Converts a character string to lowercase. expr is any expression that evaluates to a character string. |
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Octet_Length |
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Returns the number of bytes of a specified string. expr is any expression that evaluates to a character string. |
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Position |
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Returns the numeric position of expr1 is any expression that evaluates to a character string. Identifies the string to search for in the target string. expr2 is any expression that evaluates to a character string. Identifies the target string to be searched. |
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Repeat |
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Repeats a specified expression expr is any expression that evaluates to a character string integer is any positive integer that represents the number of times to repeat the character string. |
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Replace |
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Replaces one or more characters from a specified character expression with one or more other characters. expr1 is any expression that evaluates to a character string. This is the string in which characters are to be replaced. expr2 is any expression that evaluates to a character string. This second string identifies the characters from the first string that are to be replaced. expr3 is any expression that evaluates to a character string. This third string specifies the characters to substitute into the first string. |
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Right |
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Returns a specified number of characters from the right of a string. expr is any expression that evaluates to a character string. integer is any positive integer that represents the number of characters from the right of the string to return |
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Space |
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Inserts blank spaces. integer is any positive integer that indicates the number of spaces to insert. |
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Substring |
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Creates a new string starting from a fixed number of characters into the original string. expr is any expression that evaluates to a character string. startPos is any positive integer that represents the number of characters from the start of the left side of the string where the result is to begin. |
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SubstringN |
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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. xpr is any expression that evaluates to a character string. startPos is any positive integer that represents the number of characters from the start of the left side of the string where the result is to begin. |
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TrimBoth |
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Strips specified leading and trailing characters from a character string. char is any single character. If you omit this specification (and the required single quotes), a blank character is used as the default. expr is any expression that evaluates to a character string. |
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TrimLeading |
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Strips specified leading characters from a character string. char is any single character. If you omit this specification (and the required single quotes), a blank character is used as the default. expr is any expression that evaluates to a character string. |
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TrimTrailing |
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Strips specified trailing characters from a character string. char is any single character. If you omit this specification (and the required single quotes), a blank character is used as the default. expr is any expression that evaluates to a character string. |
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Upper |
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Converts a character string to uppercase. Expr is any expression that evaluates to a character string. |
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The USER
system function returns values relating to the session.
It returns the user name you signed in with.
Function | Example | Description | Syntax |
---|---|---|---|
Database |
Returns the name of the Oracle BI subject area to which you are logged on. |
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User |
Returns the user name for the Oracle BI Repository to which you are logged on. |
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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 | Syntax |
---|---|---|---|
Ago |
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Calculates the aggregated value of a measure from the current time to a specified time period in the past. For example, |
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Periodrolling |
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Computes the aggregate of a measure over the period starting measure is the name of a measure column. x x is an integer that specifies theoffset from the current time. y specifies the number of time units over which the function will compute. hierarchy is an optional argument that specifies the name of a hierarchy in a time dimension, such as yr, mon, day, that you want to use to compute the time window. |
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ToDate |
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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. expr is an expression that references at least one measure column. time_level is the type of time period, such as quarter, month, or year. |
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Forecast |
|
Creates a time-series model of the specified measure over the series using either Exponential Smoothing or ARMIA and outputs a forecast for a set of periods as specified by numPeriods. numeric _expr represents the measure to forecast. series is the time grain at which the forecast model is built. It is a list of one or more time dimension columns. If series is omitted, the time grain is determined from the query. output_column_name is the output column. The valid values are 'forecast', 'low', 'high', 'predictionInterval' . options is a string list of name=value pairs separated by ';'. The value can include %1 ... %N, which can be specified using runtime_binded_options. runtime_binded_options is an optional comma separated list of runtime binded colums or literal expressions. |
|
You can use constants in expressions.
Available constants include Date, Time, and Timestamp.
Constant | Example | Description | Syntax |
---|---|---|---|
Date |
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Inserts a specific date. |
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Time |
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Inserts a specific time. |
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TimeStamp |
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Inserts a specific timestamp. |
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