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The new Analytic functions in SQL Server 2012

  • January 18, 2012 at 10:08 pm

    #249841

    Comments posted to this topic are about the item The new Analytic functions in SQL Server 2012

    Wayne
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
    Author - SQL Server T-SQL Recipes

    If you can't explain to another person how the code that you're copying from the internet works, then DON'T USE IT on a production system! After all, you will be the one supporting it!
    Links:
    For better assistance in answering your questions
    Performance Problems
    Common date/time routines
    Understanding and Using APPLY Part 1 & Part 2

  • January 19, 2012 at 2:39 am

    #1435702

    Finally they will have what Oracle had delivered ages ago....

  • January 19, 2012 at 5:53 am

    #1435753

    I finally see SQL Server catching up, I am so used to of Lead/Lag in DB2. It will make my life little easier. Thanks

  • January 19, 2012 at 6:01 am

    #1435758

    WayneS (1/18/2012)

    Comments posted to this topic are about the item <A HREF="/articles/SQL+Server+2012/76704/">The new Analytic functions in SQL Server 2012</A>

    Great information, thanks for that.

    To me it was not clear immediately, what the difference between the MAX Aggregate Window Function and LAST_VALUE(X) was. In the end MAX(x) OVER (PARTITION BY y) should return the same as FIRST_VALUE(X) OVER (PARTITION BY Y, ORDER BY X DESC)

    But obviously, the MAX / MIN Aggregate Window Functions do not allow you to order your partition by a different column before applying the aggregate. (And it actually does not really make sense to impose a different order on MAX or MIN.)

    So the whole point of FIRST_VALUE and LAST_VALUE seem to be:

    FIRST_VALUE(X) OVER (PARTITION BY Y, ORDER BY SomeOtherColumn DESC)

    Any other points I may have missed?

    Best Regards,

    Chris Büttner

  • January 19, 2012 at 6:48 am

    #1435793

    Any idea what the performance of these things is like?

  • January 19, 2012 at 7:55 am

    #1435874

    Good Stuff Wayne

    Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
    _______________________________________________
    I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
    SQL RNNR
    Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
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  • January 19, 2012 at 8:14 am

    #1435897

    Great article Wayne. This is great info to have when management wants to know why we are always upgrading 😀

  • January 19, 2012 at 8:24 am

    #1435908

    PERCENTILE_CONT / PERCENTILE_DISC

    Lets recall from statistics that continuous variables (PERCENTILE_CONT) are those that "cannot not be exactly counted," while discrete variables (PERCENTILE_DISC) "have an exact amount."

    PERCENTILE_CONT would be better used when performing estimation or predictive calculations, as you are trying to determine a value from a sample of data (where the entire data set is unknown).

    PERCENTILE_DISC would be better for when we need an exact measure, and the entire data set is known.

    **Note: I am not a statistician, nor an analytics guru, so hopefully someone with greater experience could shine some better light on this, or at least validate my statement.

    Hopefully this helps some trying to understand the purposes behind these functions.

    Stephen

  • January 19, 2012 at 8:30 am

    #1435915

    Good article Wayne. One thing I like to see in articles like this though is how you might solve the same problem without using the new functions. Just to see how much the new functions help.

    Jack Corbett
    Consultant - Straight Path Solutions
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  • January 19, 2012 at 12:41 pm

    #1436130

    Thank you for this Wayne - I'll definitely come back to it later. I like your concise writing style with helpful examples too.

    - Mark

    The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge. - Stephen Hawking

  • January 19, 2012 at 1:14 pm

    #1436145

    How do the newfangled Analytics functions compare with the Quirky Update method used for - among other things - creating running totals in term of performance ?

  • January 19, 2012 at 1:23 pm

    #1436148

    Thanks - this is a great summary.

  • January 19, 2012 at 3:27 pm

    #1436225

    Nice article, very helpful. It's nice to see articles like this with examples. Definitely helps to prove to others why upgrades are needed. 🙂

  • January 19, 2012 at 7:40 pm

    #1436267

    Christian Buettner-167247 (1/19/2012)

    WayneS (1/18/2012)

    Comments posted to this topic are about the item <A HREF="/articles/SQL+Server+2012/76704/">The new Analytic functions in SQL Server 2012</A>

    Great information, thanks for that.

    To me it was not clear immediately, what the difference between the MAX Aggregate Window Function and LAST_VALUE(X) was. In the end MAX(x) OVER (PARTITION BY y) should return the same as FIRST_VALUE(X) OVER (PARTITION BY Y, ORDER BY X DESC)

    But obviously, the MAX / MIN Aggregate Window Functions do not allow you to order your partition by a different column before applying the aggregate. (And it actually does not really make sense to impose a different order on MAX or MIN.)

    So the whole point of FIRST_VALUE and LAST_VALUE seem to be:

    FIRST_VALUE(X) OVER (PARTITION BY Y, ORDER BY SomeOtherColumn DESC)

    Any other points I may have missed?

    Actually...

    this article only talks about the Analytic functions. You might want to look at my previous article The OVER Clause enhancements in SQL Server code named “Denali”, CTP3[/url].

    Basically, the MIN/MAX functions DO allow you to order your partition by a different column. But let's talk about this "over there"... it's more appropriate there.

    Wayne
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
    Author - SQL Server T-SQL Recipes

    If you can't explain to another person how the code that you're copying from the internet works, then DON'T USE IT on a production system! After all, you will be the one supporting it!
    Links:
    For better assistance in answering your questions
    Performance Problems
    Common date/time routines
    Understanding and Using APPLY Part 1 & Part 2

  • January 19, 2012 at 7:42 pm

    #1436268

    RichB (1/19/2012)

    Any idea what the performance of these things is like?

    Did you click on that "TSQL Challenges Winner" icon in my signature? (Well, that is using the aggregate functions and not the analytic, but I believe them to be similar.)

    Wayne
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
    Author - SQL Server T-SQL Recipes

    If you can't explain to another person how the code that you're copying from the internet works, then DON'T USE IT on a production system! After all, you will be the one supporting it!
    Links:
    For better assistance in answering your questions
    Performance Problems
    Common date/time routines
    Understanding and Using APPLY Part 1 & Part 2

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