PostgreSQL 8.1.3 Documentation
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# 9.15. Aggregate Functions

Aggregate functions compute a single result value from a set of input values. Table 9-37 shows the built-in aggregate functions. The special syntax considerations for aggregate functions are explained in Section 4.2.7. Consult Section 2.7 for additional introductory information.

Table 9-37. Aggregate Functions

Function | Argument Type | Return Type | Description
--- | --- | --- | ---
`avg(`expression`)` | `smallint`, `int`, `bigint`, `real`, `double precision`, `numeric`, or `interval` | `numeric` for any integer type argument, `double precision` for a floating-point argument, otherwise the same as the argument data type | the average (arithmetic mean) of all input values
`bit_and(`expression`)` | `smallint`, `int`, `bigint`, or `bit` | same as argument data type | the bitwise AND of all non-null input values, or null if none
`bit_or(`expression`)` | `smallint`, `int`, `bigint`, or `bit` | same as argument data type | the bitwise OR of all non-null input values, or null if none
`bool_and(`expression`)` | `bool` | `bool` | true if all input values are true, otherwise false
`bool_or(`expression`)` | `bool` | `bool` | true if at least one input value is true, otherwise false
`count(*)` |  | `bigint` | number of input values
`count(`expression`)` | any | `bigint` | number of input values for which the value of `expression` is not null
`every(`expression`)` | `bool` | `bool` | equivalent to `bool_and`
`max(`expression`)` | any array, numeric, string, or date/time type | same as argument type | maximum value of `expression` across all input values
`min(`expression`)` | any array, numeric, string, or date/time type | same as argument type | minimum value of `expression` across all input values
`stddev(`expression`)` | `smallint`, `int`, `bigint`, `real`, `double precision`, or `numeric` | `double precision` for floating-point arguments, otherwise `numeric` | sample standard deviation of the input values
`sum(`expression`)` | `smallint`, `int`, `bigint`, `real`, `double precision`, `numeric`, or `interval` | `bigint` for `smallint` or `int` arguments, `numeric` for `bigint` arguments, `double precision` for floating-point arguments, otherwise the same as the argument data type | sum of `expression` across all input values
`variance`(`expression`) | `smallint`, `int`, `bigint`, `real`, `double precision`, or `numeric` | `double precision` for floating-point arguments, otherwise `numeric` | sample variance of the input values (square of the sample standard deviation)

It should be noted that except for `count`, these functions return a null value when no rows are selected. In particular, `sum` of no rows returns null, not zero as one might expect. The `coalesce` function may be used to substitute zero for null when necessary.

> Note: Boolean aggregates `bool_and` and `bool_or` correspond to standard SQL aggregates `every` and `any` or `some`. As for `any` and `some`, it seems that there is an ambiguity built into the standard syntax:

>     SELECT b1 = ANY((SELECT b2 FROM t2 ...)) FROM t1 ...;

> Here `ANY` can be considered both as leading to a subquery or as an aggregate if the select expression returns 1 row. Thus the standard name cannot be given to these aggregates.

> Note: Users accustomed to working with other SQL database management systems may be surprised by the performance of the `count` aggregate when it is applied to the entire table. A query like:

>     SELECT count(*) FROM sometable;

> will be executed by PostgreSQL using a sequential scan of the entire table.

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