If you’re getting an error that reads “function ntile() does not exist” in PostgreSQL, it could be that you’re calling the ntile() function without any arguments.
This error message could be a bit misleading. The ntile() function does in fact exist (if you’re using PostgreSQL 8.4 or later), but the error occurs when we don’t provide an argument, or if we provide an argument of the wrong type.
If you’re getting an error that reads “window function nth_value requires an OVER clause” in PostgreSQL, it’s because you’re calling the nth_value() function without an OVER clause.
PostgreSQL requires that you include an OVER clause any time you call a built in nonaggregate window function such as nth_value().
To fix this issue, add an OVER clause to your window function.
In PostgreSQL the lead() function returns the value from a subsequent row to the current row, specified by the given offset.
The offset specifies how many rows after the current row to get the value from. For example, an offset of 1 gets the value from the next row.
In PostgreSQL the lag() function returns the value from a previous row, specified by the given offset.
The offset specifies how many rows prior to the current row to get the value from. For example, an offset of 1 gets the value from the previous row.
In PostgreSQL the nth_value() function is a window function that returns the value from the given row of the current window frame. We provide the column and row number as an argument when we call the function.
In PostgreSQL, we can use the cume_dist() function to return the cumulative distribution of a value within a group of values.
It calculates this as follows: (the number of partition rows preceding or peers with current row) / (total partition rows).
The return value ranges from 1/N to 1.
In PostgreSQL, we can use the percent_rank() function to return the relative rank of each row, expressed as a percentage ranging from 0 to 1 inclusive.
In PostgreSQL, the ntile() function is a window function that divides a partition into the specified number of groups (buckets), distributing the rows as equally as possible, and returns the bucket number of the current row within its partition.
PostgreSQL has a window function called rank() that returns the rank of the current row, with gaps.
“With gaps” means that it returns the same rank for any ties (i.e. two or more rows with the same value), but then subsequent ranks jump forward to account for the ties.
This means that there’s the potential for noncontiguous rank values. For example it could go 1, 2, 5, etc if several rows are ranked at 2. If there are no ties, then the rank values will be contiguous.