How to use Grouping clause to handle NULLS in Oracle?

Problem:

You want to use GROUPING() with ROLLUP, CUBE and SETS functions.

Solution

The GROUPING() function accepts a column and returns 0 or 1. This function returns 1 when the column value is null and returns 0 when the column value is non null. However, GROUPING() is used only in queries that use ROLLUP or CUBE. GROUPING() is very useful when you want to display a value when a null would otherwise be returned.

GROUPING() with a Single Column in a ROLLUP

SQL to pass a column to ROLLUP

The last row in the below example will result total/sum of fees. This total is represented as NULL.

Example

<p>SELECT class_id, SUM(fees)
   FROM students
GROUP BY ROLLUP(class_id)
ORDER BY class_id;</p>

Output

The class_id column for the last row is null. WE can use the GROUPING() function to determine whether this column is null, as shown in the following query.

The GROUPING() returns 0 for the rows that have non null class_id values and returns 1 for the last row that has a null class_id.

Example

<p>SELECT  GROUPING(class_id) As grp, class_id, SUM(fees)
FROM students
GROUP BY ROLLUP(class_id)
ORDER BY class_id;</p>

Output

We will now use the CASE statement to put a meaningful value.

Example

<p>SELECT
   CASE GROUPING(class_id)
      WHEN 1 THEN 'Total fees'
      ELSE class_id
  END AS class_group,
  SUM(fees) AS total
FROM students
GROUP BY ROLLUP(class_id)
ORDER BY class_id;</p>

Output

GROUPING() with CUBE

Example

<p>SELECT
  CASE GROUPING(class_id)
    WHEN 1 THEN 'Total Salaries'
    ELSE class_id
  END AS job_group,
  SUM(fees) AS total_fees
FROM students
GROUP BY CUBE(class_id)
ORDER BY class_id;</p>

Output

The GROUPING SETS clause typically offers better performance than CUBE. Therefore, you should use GROUPING SETS as your first option rather than CUBE wherever possible.

GROUPING SETS Clause

Example

<p>SELECT department_id, class_id, SUM(fees) AS total_fees
FROM students
GROUP BY GROUPING SETS(department_id, class_id)
ORDER BY department_id, class_id;</p>

Output

Data Preparation: Data used for the problem is shown below. The data is completely made up for demonstration purpose.

Example

DROP TABLE students;
COMMIT;

CREATE TABLE students
    ( student_id    NUMBER(6)
    , first_name     VARCHAR2(20)
    , last_name      VARCHAR2(25) CONSTRAINT  stu_last_name_nn  NOT NULL
    , email          VARCHAR2(40) CONSTRAINT  stu_email_nn  NOT NULL
    , phone_number   VARCHAR2(20)
      , join_date      DATE CONSTRAINT           stu_join_date_nn  NOT NULL
    , class_id         VARCHAR2(20) CONSTRAINT stu_job_nn  NOT NULL
    , fees           NUMBER(8,2)
    , professor_id     NUMBER(6)
    , department_id  NUMBER(4)
    , CONSTRAINT     stu_fees_min CHECK (fees > 0)
    , CONSTRAINT     stu_email UNIQUE (email)
    ) ;

Example

CREATE UNIQUE INDEX stu_id_pk ON students (student_id) ;
INSERT INTO students VALUES (100,'SMITH','JAMES','SMITH.JAMES@notreal.com','111.111.1245',TO_DATE('17-06-2003','DD-MM-YYYY'),'INS_CHAIRMAN',24000,NULL,NULL);
INSERT INTO students VALUES (101,'JOHNSON','JOHN','JOHNSON.JOHN@notreal.com','111.111.1246',TO_DATE('21-09-2005','DD-MM-YYYY'),'INS_VP',17000,100,90);
INSERT INTO students VALUES (102,'WILLIAMS','ROBERT','WILLIAMS.ROBERT@notreal.com','111.111.1247',TO_DATE('13-01-2001','DD-MM-YYYY'),'INS_VP',17000,100,90);
INSERT INTO students VALUES (103,'BROWN','MICHAEL','BROWN.MICHAEL@notreal.com','111.111.1248',TO_DATE('03-01-2006','DD-MM-YYYY'),'INS_STAFF',9000,102,60);
INSERT INTO students VALUES (104,'JONES','WILLIAM','JONES.WILLIAM@notreal.com','111.111.1249',TO_DATE('21-05-2007','DD-MM-YYYY'),'INS_STAFF',6000,103,60);
INSERT INTO students VALUES (105,'MILLER','DAVID','MILLER.DAVID@notreal.com','111.111.1250',TO_DATE('25-06-2005','DD-MM-YYYY'),'INS_STAFF',4800,103,60);
INSERT INTO students VALUES (106,'DAVIS','RICHARD','DAVIS.RICHARD@notreal.com','111.111.1251',TO_DATE('05-02-2006','DD-MM-YYYY'),'INS_STAFF',4800,103,60);
INSERT INTO students VALUES (107,'GARCIA','CHARLES','GARCIA.CHARLES@notreal.com','111.111.1252',TO_DATE('07-02-2007','DD-MM-YYYY'),'INS_STAFF',4200,103,60);
INSERT INTO students VALUES (108,'RODRIGUEZ','JOSEPH','RODRIGUEZ.JOSEPH@notreal.com','111.111.1253',TO_DATE('17-08-2002','DD-MM-YYYY'),'CL_PHY',12008,101,100);
INSERT INTO students VALUES (109,'WILSON','THOMAS','WILSON.THOMAS@notreal.com','111.111.1254',TO_DATE('16-08-2002','DD-MM-YYYY'),'CL_MATH',9000,108,100);
INSERT INTO students VALUES (110,'MARTINEZ','CHRISTOPHER','MARTINEZ.CHRISTOPHER@notreal.com','111.111.1255',TO_DATE('28-09-2005','DD-MM-YYYY'),'CL_MATH',8200,108,100);
INSERT INTO students VALUES (111,'ANDERSON','DANIEL','ANDERSON.DANIEL@notreal.com','111.111.1256',TO_DATE('30-09-2005','DD-MM-YYYY'),'CL_MATH',7700,108,100);
INSERT INTO students VALUES (112,'TAYLOR','PAUL','TAYLOR.PAUL@notreal.com','111.111.1257',TO_DATE('07-03-2006','DD-MM-YYYY'),'CL_MATH',7800,108,100);
INSERT INTO students VALUES (113,'THOMAS','MARK','THOMAS.MARK@notreal.com','111.111.1258',TO_DATE('07-12-2007','DD-MM-YYYY'),'CL_MATH',6900,108,100);

COMMIT;