Oracle MIN() OVER function

Oracle MIN() Over function has an interesting options. It can be used to get the MIN value from a particular subset of data, or show he MIN value, based on the records ranked so far, if it is used with ORDER BY clause. Here is an example:

1 select ename,
2         deptno,
3         sal,
4         min(sal) over (partition by deptno order by ename) min_so_far,
5         min(sal) over (partition by deptno) min_overall
6    from emp
7  order by deptno, ename

ENAME          DEPTNO        SAL MIN_SO_FAR MIN_OVERALL
---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- -----------
CLARK              10       2450       2450        1300
KING               10       5000       2450        1300
MILLER             10       1300       1300        1300
ADAMS              20       1110       1110         800
FORD               20       3000       1110         800
JONES              20       2975       1110         800
SCOTT              20       3000       1110         800
smith              20        800        800         800
ALLEN              30       1600       1600         950
BLAKE              30       2850       1600         950
MARTIN             30       1250       1250         950
SM0                30        950        950         950

Of course, it would make more sense to use this form of the analytic function when you’re trying to do something like compute a personal best that you can use as a comparison in future periods. If you’re tracking an individual’s decreasing golf scores, mile times, or weight, displaying personal bests can be a form of motivation.

 1  with golf_scores as
  2  (  select 1 golfer_id, 80 score, sysdate dt from dual union all
  3     select 1, 82, sysdate+1 dt from dual union all
  4     select 1, 72, sysdate+2 dt from dual union all
  5     select 1, 75, sysdate+3 dt from dual union all
  6     select 1, 71, sysdate+4 dt from dual union all
  7     select 2, 74, sysdate from dual )
  8  select golfer_id,
  9         score,
 10         dt,
 11         (case when score=personal_best
 12               then 'New personal best'
 13               else null
 14           end) msg
 15    from (
 16  select golfer_id,
 17         score,
 18         dt,
 19         min(score) over (partition by golfer_id
 20                              order by dt) personal_best
 21    from golf_scores
 22*        )
SQL> /

 GOLFER_ID      SCORE DT        MSG
---------- ---------- --------- -----------------
         1         80 12-SEP-11 New personal best
         1         82 13-SEP-11
         1         72 14-SEP-11 New personal best
         1         75 15-SEP-11
         1         71 16-SEP-11 New personal best
         2         74 12-SEP-11 New personal best

6 rows selected.