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OVER Clause (Transact-SQL)

Determines the partitioning and ordering of the rowset before the associated window function is applied.

Applies to:

Ranking Window functions

Aggregate Window functions. For more information, see Aggregate Functions (Transact-SQL).

Topic link iconTransact-SQL Syntax Conventions

Syntax

Ranking Window Functions 
<OVER_CLAUSE> :: =
    OVER ( [ PARTITION BY value_expression , ... [ n ] ]
           <ORDER BY_Clause> )

Aggregate Window Functions 
<OVER_CLAUSE> :: = 
    OVER ( [ PARTITION BY value_expression , ... [ n ] ] )

Arguments

  • PARTITION BY
    Divides the result set into partitions. The window function is applied to each partition separately and computation restarts for each partition.
  • value_expression
    Specifies the column by which the rowset produced by the corresponding FROM clause is partitioned. <value_expression> can only refer to columns made available by the FROM clause. It cannot refer to expressions or aliases in the select list. <value_expression> can be a column expression, scalar subquery, scalar function, or user-defined variable.
  • <ORDER BY Clause>
    Specifies the order to apply the ranking window function. For more information, see ORDER BY Clause (Transact-SQL).

    Important

    When used in the context of a ranking window function, <ORDER BY Clause> can only refer to columns made available by the FROM clause. An integer cannot be specified to represent the position of the name or alias of a column in the select list. <ORDER BY Clause> cannot be used with aggregate window functions.

Remarks

Window functions are defined in the ISO SQL standard. SQL Server provides ranking and aggregate window functions. A window is a user-specified set of rows. A window function computes a value for each row in a result set derived from the window.

More than one ranking or aggregate window function can be used in a single query with a single FROM clause. However, the OVER clause for each function can differ in partitioning and also ordering. The OVER clause cannot be used with the CHECKSUM aggregate function.

Examples

A. Using the OVER clause with the ROW_NUMBER function

Each ranking function, ROW_NUMBER, DENSE_RANK, RANK, NTILE uses the OVER clause. The following example shows using the OVER clause with ROW_NUMBER.

USE AdventureWorks;
GO
SELECT c.FirstName, c.LastName
    ,ROW_NUMBER() OVER(ORDER BY SalesYTD DESC) AS 'Row Number'
    ,s.SalesYTD, a.PostalCode
FROM Sales.SalesPerson s 
    INNER JOIN Person.Contact c 
        ON s.SalesPersonID = c.ContactID
    INNER JOIN Person.Address a 
        ON a.AddressID = c.ContactID
WHERE TerritoryID IS NOT NULL 
    AND SalesYTD <> 0;
GO

B. Using the OVER clause with aggregate functions

The following examples show using the OVER clause with aggregate functions. In this example, using the OVER clause is more efficient than using subqueries.

USE AdventureWorks;
GO
SELECT SalesOrderID, ProductID, OrderQty
    ,SUM(OrderQty) OVER(PARTITION BY SalesOrderID) AS 'Total'
    ,AVG(OrderQty) OVER(PARTITION BY SalesOrderID) AS 'Avg'
    ,COUNT(OrderQty) OVER(PARTITION BY SalesOrderID) AS 'Count'
    ,MIN(OrderQty) OVER(PARTITION BY SalesOrderID) AS 'Min'
    ,MAX(OrderQty) OVER(PARTITION BY SalesOrderID) AS 'Max'
FROM Sales.SalesOrderDetail 
WHERE SalesOrderID IN(43659,43664);
GO

Here is the result set.

SalesOrderID ProductID OrderQty Total Avg Count Min Max

43659

776

1

26

2

12

1

6

43659

777

3

26

2

12

1

6

43659

778

1

26

2

12

1

6

43659

771

1

26

2

12

1

6

43659

772

1

26

2

12

1

6

43659

773

2

26

2

12

1

6

43659

774

1

26

2

12

1

6

43659

714

3

26

2

12

1

6

43659

716

1

26

2

12

1

6

43659

709

6

26

2

12

1

6

43659

712

2

26

2

12

1

6

43659

711

4

26

2

12

1

6

43664

772

1

14

1

8

1

4

43664

775

4

14

1

8

1

4

43664

714

1

14

1

8

1

4

43664

716

1

14

1

8

1

4

43664

777

2

14

1

8

1

4

43664

771

3

14

1

8

1

4

43664

773

1

14

1

8

1

4

43664

778

1

14

1

8

1

4

The following example shows using the OVER clause with an aggregate function in a calculated value.

USE AdventureWorks;
GO
SELECT SalesOrderID, ProductID, OrderQty
    ,SUM(OrderQty) OVER(PARTITION BY SalesOrderID) AS 'Total'
    ,CAST(1. * OrderQty / SUM(OrderQty) OVER(PARTITION BY SalesOrderID) 
        *100 AS DECIMAL(5,2))AS 'Percent by ProductID'
FROM Sales.SalesOrderDetail 
WHERE SalesOrderID IN(43659,43664);
GO

Here is the result set. Notice that the aggregates are calculated by SalesOrderID and the Percent by ProductID is calculated for each line of each SalesOrderID.

SalesOrderID ProductID OrderQty Total Percent by ProductID

43659

776

1

26

3.85

43659

777

3

26

11.54

43659

778

1

26

3.85

43659

771

1

26

3.85

43659

772

1

26

3.85

43659

773

2

26

7.69

43659

774

1

26

3.85

43659

714

3

26

11.54

43659

716

1

26

3.85

43659

709

6

26

23.08

43659

712

2

26

7.69

43659

711

4

26

15.38

43664

772

1

14

7.14

43664

775

4

14

28.57

43664

714

1

14

7.14

43664

716

1

14

7.14

43664

777

2

14

14.29

43664

771

3

14

21.43

43664

773

1

14

7.14

43664

778

1

14

7.14

See Also

Reference

Ranking Functions (Transact-SQL)
Aggregate Functions (Transact-SQL)

Help and Information

Getting SQL Server 2005 Assistance

Change History

Release History

17 July 2006

New content:
  • Added the examples.