Tag: what is

Using the AGE() Function to Compare Dates in DuckDB

Posted on by Ian

When working with date and time data in DuckDB, calculating the difference between two dates is a common requirement. Whether we’re determining a person’s age from their birthdate or measuring the duration between two events, DuckDB’s age() function provides a straightforward solution. This function returns an interval representing the difference between two timestamps or dates, making it especially useful for time-based analyses.

In this article, we’ll explore how to use the age() function in DuckDB. We’ll cover its syntax, and provide some simple examples.

Continue reading →

Checking if a Value is Finite in DuckDB with ISFINITE()

Posted on by Ian

In DuckDB, ISFINITE() is a function for checking whether values are finite. DuckDB supports infinite values, and so we can use this function to check whether a value is infinite or not. This can be useful when working with floating-point data that might contain special values like NaN (Not a Number) or infinity. We can also use it on date and timestamp values.

Continue reading →

How ARG_MAX_NULL() Works in DuckDB

Posted on by Ian

In DuckDB, the arg_max_null() function works in a similar way to the arg_max() function, in that it finds the row with the maximum value in one column and returns the corresponding value from another column at that row.

But where it differs from arg_max() is in the way it deals with NULL values. Also, arg_max_null() only accepts two arguments, whereas arg_max() accepts an optional third argument. Additionally, there aren’t any aliases for arg_max_null() at the time of writing (arg_max() has a couple of aliases).

In this article we’ll look at how arg_max_null() works, and we’ll compare it with arg_max() to see how each function handles NULL values.

Continue reading →

Using the .nullvalue Command to See NULL Output in the DuckDB CLI

Posted on by Ian

By default, when a query returns a null value in the DuckDB command line interface (CLI), an empty string is displayed. This may or may not be what you want. But if you’re like me, you probably want DuckDB to explicitly tell you that it’s a null value. After all, if an empty string is returned, perhaps the data contained an empty string?

Fortunately, DuckDB provides us with the .nullvalue dot command so that we can change the output of null values.

Continue reading →