RANK

Aggregate Syntax

rank_aggregate::=

Text description of rank_aggregate

Analytic Syntax

rank_analytic::=

Text description of rank_analytic

Purpose

RANK calculates the rank of a value in a group of values. Rows with equal values for the ranking criteria receive the same rank. Oracle then adds the number of tied rows to the tied rank to calculate the next rank. Therefore, the ranks may not be consecutive numbers.

• As an aggregate function, RANK calculates the rank of a hypothetical row identified by the arguments of the function with respect to a given sort specification. The arguments of the function must all evaluate to constant expressions within each aggregate group, because they identify a single row within each group. The constant argument expressions and the expressions in the ORDER BY clause of the aggregate match by position. Therefore, the number of arguments must be the same and their types must be compatible.
• As an analytic function, RANK computes the rank of each row returned from a query with respect to the other rows returned by the query, based on the values of the value_exprs in the order_by_clause.

Aggregate Example

The following example calculates the rank of a hypothetical employee in the sample table hr.employees with a salary of $15,500 and a commission of 5%:

SELECT RANK(15500, .05) WITHIN GROUP
   (ORDER BY salary, commission_pct) "Rank"
   FROM employees;

      Rank
----------
       105

Similarly, the following query returns the rank for a $15,500 salary among the employee salaries:

SELECT RANK(15500) WITHIN GROUP 
   (ORDER BY salary DESC) "Rank of 15500" 
   FROM employees;

Rank of 15500
--------------
             4

Analytic Example

The following statement ranks the employees in the sample hr schema within each department based on their salary and commission. Identical salary values receive the same rank and cause nonconsecutive ranks. Compare this example with the example for DENSE_RANK.

SELECT department_id, last_name, salary, commission_pct,
   RANK() OVER (PARTITION BY department_id
   ORDER BY salary DESC, commission_pct) "Rank"
   FROM employees;

DEPARTMENT_ID LAST_NAME           SALARY COMMISSION_PCT       Rank
------------- --------------- ---------- -------------- ----------
           10 Whalen                4400                         1
           20 Hartstein            13000                         1
           20 Fay                   6000                         2
           30 Raphaely             11000                         1
           30 Khoo                  3100                         2
           30 Baida                 2900                         3
           30 Tobias                2800                         4
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