LARGEST

The LARGEST function returns the largest value of an expression. You can use this function to compare numeric values or date values.

Return Value

The data type of the expression. It can be INTEGER, LONGINT, DECIMAL, or DATE.

Syntax

LARGEST(expression [CACHE] [dimension...])

Arguments

expression

The expression whose largest value is to be returned.

CACHE

Specifies slightly different internal behavior. Specify this keyword only when the original performance is extrememly slow.

dimension

The name of a dimension of the result; or, the name of a relation between one of the dimensions of expression and another dimension that you want as a dimension of the result.

By default, LARGEST returns a single value. When you indicate one or more dimensions for the result, LARGEST tests for values along the dimensions that are specified and returns an array of values. Each dimension must be either a dimension of expression or related to one of its dimensions.

Tip:

When you specify a dimension that is not an actual dimension of expression, but, instead, is dimension that is related to a dimension of expression and when there is more than one relation between the two dimensions, Oracle OLAP uses the default relation between the dimensions to perform the calculation. (See the RELATION command for more information on default relations.) When you do not want Oracle OLAP to use this default relation, specify the related dimension by specifying the name of a specify relation.

Notes

NA Values and LARGEST

LARGEST is affected by the NASKIP option in the same manner as other aggregate functions. When NASKIP is set to YES (the default), LARGEST ignores NA values and returns the largest value or values that are not NA. When NASKIP is set to NO, LARGEST returns NA when any value of the expression is NA. When all the values of the expression are NA, LARGEST returns NA for either setting of NASKIP.

Using LARGEST With an Expression Dimensioned by a DWMQY Dimension

When expression is dimensioned by a dimension of type DAY, WEEK, MONTH, QUARTER, or YEAR, you can specify any other DAY, WEEK, MONTH, QUARTER, or YEAR dimension as a related dimension. Oracle OLAP uses the implicit relation between the dimensions. To control the mapping of one DAY, WEEK, MONTH, QUARTER, or YEAR dimension to another (for example, from weeks to months), you can define an explicit relation between the two dimensions and specify the name of the relation as the dimension argument to the LARGEST function.

For each time period in the related dimension, Oracle OLAP finds the largest data value in any source time period that ends in the target time period. This method is used regardless of which dimension has the more aggregate periods.

Examples

Example 8-4 Finding the Largest Monthly Sales

This example uses the LARGEST function to find the largest monthly sportswear sales for each district during the first half of 1996. To see the largest sales figure for each district, specify district as the dimension of the results.

LIMIT product TO 'Sportswear'
LIMIT month TO 'Jan96' TO 'Jun96'
REPORT HEADING 'Largest Sales' LARGEST(sales district)

The preceding statements produce the following output.

Largest
DISTRICT         Sales
-------------- ----------
Boston          79,630.20
Atlanta        177,967.49
Chicago        112,792.78
Dallas         175,716.31
Denver          97,236.88
Seattle         60,322.88