

The SQL ROW_NUMBER function is dynamic in nature and we are allowed to reset the values using the PARTITION BY clause It starts off with 1 and goes all the way down increasing by one, to the end of the table. If you’ve an experience with Oracle then the ROWNUM is more familiar to you. The output of ROW_NUMBER is a sequence of values starts from 1 with an increment of 1 but whereas the RANK function, the values are also incremented by 1 but the values will repeat for the ties. ROW_NUMBER and RANK functions are similar.

There is no guarantee that the rows returned by a SQL query using the SQL ROW_NUMBER function will be ordered exactly the same with each execution. The SQL ROW_NUMBER function is a non-persistent generation of a sequence of temporary values and it is calculated dynamically when then the query is executed. So, the partition may have values 1, 2, 3, and so on and the second partitions again start the counter from 1, 2, 3… and so on, and so forth. But when it crosses a partition limit or boundary, it resets the counter and starts from 1.

You can also use it with a PARTITION BY clause. So, it creates an ever-increasing integral value and it always starts off at 1 and subsequent rows get the next higher value. Most of the time, one or more columns are specified in the ORDER BY expression, but it’s possible to use more complex expressions or even a sub-query. The order, in which the row numbers are applied, is determined by the ORDER BY expression. ROW_NUMBER adds a unique incrementing number to the results grid. The SQL ROW_NUMBER function is available from SQL Server 2005 and later versions. The most commonly used function in SQL Server is the SQL ROW_NUMBER function. In this guide, I’ll explain what a window function is all about, and you’ll see sample examples to understand the concepts behind the SQL ROW_NUMBER function. This is a continuation of the SQL essential series. In this article, we’re going to discuss the SQL ROW_NUMBER function.
