You can use blocks of rows to an aggregate function.
The aggregate function performs its computation on the group of rows in each block and returns one value per block.
For example, to get the average salary for the different cities in the employee table, you:
Use the GROUP BY clause to group rows into blocks with the same city.
Use the AVG() function to get the average salary for each block containing a group of rows.
The following query shows the use of the GROUP BY clause and AVG() function:
SQL> -- create demo table
SQL> create table Employee(
2 ID VARCHAR2(4 BYTE) NOT NULL,
3 First_Name VARCHAR2(10 BYTE),
4 Last_Name VARCHAR2(10 BYTE),
5 Start_Date DATE,
6 End_Date DATE,
7 Salary Number(8,2),
8 City VARCHAR2(10 BYTE),
9 Description VARCHAR2(15 BYTE)
10 )
11 /
Table created.
SQL>
SQL> -- prepare data
SQL> insert into Employee(ID, First_Name, Last_Name, Start_Date, End_Date, Salary, City, Description)
2 values ('01','Jason', 'Martin', to_date('19960725','YYYYMMDD'), to_date('20060725','YYYYMMDD'), 1234.56, 'Toronto', 'Programmer')
3 /
1 row created.
SQL> insert into Employee(ID, First_Name, Last_Name, Start_Date, End_Date, Salary, City, Description)
2 values('02','Alison', 'Mathews', to_date('19760321','YYYYMMDD'), to_date('19860221','YYYYMMDD'), 6661.78, 'Vancouver','Tester')
3 /
1 row created.
SQL> insert into Employee(ID, First_Name, Last_Name, Start_Date, End_Date, Salary, City, Description)
2 values('03','James', 'Smith', to_date('19781212','YYYYMMDD'), to_date('19900315','YYYYMMDD'), 6544.78, 'Vancouver','Tester')
3 /
1 row created.
SQL> insert into Employee(ID, First_Name, Last_Name, Start_Date, End_Date, Salary, City, Description)
2 values('04','Celia', 'Rice', to_date('19821024','YYYYMMDD'), to_date('19990421','YYYYMMDD'), 2344.78, 'Vancouver','Manager')
3 /
1 row created.
SQL> insert into Employee(ID, First_Name, Last_Name, Start_Date, End_Date, Salary, City, Description)
2 values('05','Robert', 'Black', to_date('19840115','YYYYMMDD'), to_date('19980808','YYYYMMDD'), 2334.78, 'Vancouver','Tester')
3 /
1 row created.
SQL> insert into Employee(ID, First_Name, Last_Name, Start_Date, End_Date, Salary, City, Description)
2 values('06','Linda', 'Green', to_date('19870730','YYYYMMDD'), to_date('19960104','YYYYMMDD'), 4322.78,'New York', 'Tester')
3 /
1 row created.
SQL> insert into Employee(ID, First_Name, Last_Name, Start_Date, End_Date, Salary, City, Description)
2 values('07','David', 'Larry', to_date('19901231','YYYYMMDD'), to_date('19980212','YYYYMMDD'), 7897.78,'New York', 'Manager')
3 /
1 row created.
SQL> insert into Employee(ID, First_Name, Last_Name, Start_Date, End_Date, Salary, City, Description)
2 values('08','James', 'Cat', to_date('19960917','YYYYMMDD'), to_date('20020415','YYYYMMDD'), 1232.78,'Vancouver', 'Tester')
3 /
1 row created.
SQL>
SQL>
SQL>
SQL> -- display data in the table
SQL> select * from Employee
2 /
ID FIRST_NAME LAST_NAME START_DAT END_DATE SALARY CITY DESCRIPTION
---- ---------- ---------- --------- --------- ---------- ---------- ---------------
01 Jason Martin 25-JUL-96 25-JUL-06 1234.56 Toronto Programmer
02 Alison Mathews 21-MAR-76 21-FEB-86 6661.78 Vancouver Tester
03 James Smith 12-DEC-78 15-MAR-90 6544.78 Vancouver Tester
04 Celia Rice 24-OCT-82 21-APR-99 2344.78 Vancouver Manager
05 Robert Black 15-JAN-84 08-AUG-98 2334.78 Vancouver Tester
06 Linda Green 30-JUL-87 04-JAN-96 4322.78 New York Tester
07 David Larry 31-DEC-90 12-FEB-98 7897.78 New York Manager
08 James Cat 17-SEP-96 15-APR-02 1232.78 Vancouver Tester
8 rows selected.
SQL>
SQL>
SQL> SELECT city, AVG(salary) FROM employee GROUP BY city;
CITY AVG(SALARY)
---------- -----------
New York 6110.28
Toronto 1234.56
Vancouver 3823.78
SQL>
SQL>
SQL>
SQL> -- clean the table
SQL> drop table Employee
2 /
Table dropped.
SQL>