SQL Aggregate vs Window Functions: Key Differences Explained

SQL aggregate functions and window functions are both used to perform calculations on sets of data, but they differ significantly in how they return results. Aggregate functions such as SUM(), AVG(), COUNT(), MAX(), and MIN() collapse multiple rows into a single scalar value. Window functions, by contrast, perform calculations across a related set of rows while preserving each individual row in the output. For example, the RANK() window function can rank employees by salary without reducing the result set to a single row. Understanding this distinction helps developers choose the right function type depending on whether row-level detail needs to be retained.
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