SQLite Aggregate functions

SQLite aggregate functions are powerful tools used to perform calculations on sets of data in a SQLite database. These functions can be used to return a single value that summarizes a set of values, such as the sum, average, or maximum of a group of numbers.

SQLite aggregate functions are commonly used in business and financial applications, where they can be used to calculate things like averages, sums, and totals.

SQLite provides a variety of built-in aggregate functions that can be used to perform these calculations. These functions include:

SUM This function returns the sum of all the values in a specified column or expression.

AVG This function returns the average of all the values in a specified column or expression.

MAX This function returns the maximum value in a specified column or expression.

MIN This function returns the minimum value in a specified column or expression.

COUNT This function returns the number of rows in a specified column or expression. It can also be used with the DISTINCT keyword to count only unique values.

GROUP_CONCAT This function concatenates values from a specified column or expression into a single string, separated by a specified delimiter.

TOTAL Calculates the sum of all values in a set, ignoring null values.

To use an aggregate function in SQLite, you typically need to include it in a SELECT statement that specifies the columns or expressions you want to aggregate. You can also use the GROUP BY clause to group the data by one or more columns before applying the aggregate function.

Example

For example, to calculate the average price of all products in a table, you could use the following SQL statement:

SELECT AVG(price) FROM products;

To calculate the total sales for each salesperson in a table, you could use the following SQL statement:

SELECT salesperson, SUM(sales) 
FROM sales_data 
GROUP BY salesperson;

Aggregate functions can be very useful for analyzing large sets of data in a SQLite database. By understanding how these functions work, you can perform complex calculations and generate meaningful insights from your data.