SQLite Aggregate Functions - SUM

SQLite provides several aggregate functions for performing calculations on sets of data. One of these functions is the SUM function, which calculates the sum of all values in a set of data.

Syntax

The syntax for the SUM function is as follows:

SELECT SUM(column_name) FROM table_name;

Example

Suppose we have a table called sales that contains data about sales transactions. We want to calculate the total revenue for all sales transactions in the table.

SELECT SUM(revenue) FROM sales;

Output

The output of the above SQL query would be the total revenue of all sales transactions in the sales table.

SUM(revenue)
-------------
12345.67

Explanation

The example above selects the SUM of the revenue column from the sales table. The SUM function calculates the sum of all values in the revenue column. This gives us the total revenue of all sales transactions in the sales table.

Use

The SUM function can be used to calculate the sum of all values in a set of data. This is useful for calculating total revenues, total costs, or other aggregate measures from a table of data.

Important Points

• The SUM function only works on numeric data types, such as INTEGER and REAL.
• If a column contains NULL values, the SUM function ignores them and still calculates the sum of the non-NULL values.
• It is important to be aware of potential data overflow issues when using the SUM function on very large data sets.
• The SUM function can also be used in combination with other aggregate functions and the GROUP BY clause to calculate more complex aggregate measures.

Summary

In this tutorial, we learned about the SUM function in SQLite and how it can be used to calculate the sum of all values in a set of data. We saw an example of how to use the SUM function to calculate total revenue for all sales transactions in a table. The SUM function is a useful tool for calculating aggregate measures from a table of data and can help with decision making in a variety of contexts.