13.5 Summary

We have covered a lot of ground in this chapter, so don't feel bad if it takes a couple of passes to get a feel for all of the different analytic functions and how they can be applied. While there are many different functions, it is easier to digest if you concentrate on one category at a time (Ranking, Windowing, Reporting). Those who have worked with Oracle for many years are probably chomping at the bit to give these functions a try. Along with being compact and efficient, Oracle's analytic functions keep analytical calculations where they belong—in the database server—instead of relying on procedural languages or spreadsheet macros to finish the job.