From the course: SQL Server 2008 Essential Training
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Introduction to SQL functions - SQL Server Tutorial
From the course: SQL Server 2008 Essential Training
Introduction to SQL functions
Earlier we saw a few examples of what are called aggregate functions in SQL, like using COUNT to return the total number of rows in a table or using MAX to return in the largest value in a particular column, or average or SUM or MIN. These functions, like in other languages, are just a way of packaging up a piece of useful behavior and giving it a name, so that we can use it again-and-again. When you're writing these in SQL Server Management Studio they tend to show up in hot pink. We do have a few other aggregate functions, but these are really just the tip of the iceberg, because SQL Server has over 200 functions. But don't worry. You don't need to go and memorize every single one of them, because although some of these 200 things, like COUNT and MAX and MIN, are so common and so useful that you could end up using them on almost a daily basis, some functions are specialized enough that you might work with SQL Server for years and never come across them. But they're all packaged…
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