PostgreSQL Tutorial: CUBE

September 23, 2023

Summary: in this tutorial, you will learn how to use the PostgreSQL CUBE to generate multiple grouping sets.

Table of Contents

Introduction to the PostgreSQL CUBE

PostgreSQL CUBE is a subclause of the GROUP BY clause. The CUBE allows you to generate multiple grouping sets.

A grouping set is a set of columns to which you want to group. For more information on the grouping sets, check it out the GROUPING SETS tutorial.

The following illustrates the syntax of the CUBE subclause:

SELECT
    c1,
    c2,
    c3,
    aggregate (c4)
FROM
    table_name
GROUP BY
    CUBE (c1, c2, c3);

In this syntax:

  • First, specify the CUBE subclause in the the GROUP BY clause of the SELECT statement.
  • Second, in the select list, specify the columns (dimensions or dimension columns) which you want to analyze and aggregation function expressions.
  • Third, in the GROUP BY clause, specify the dimension columns within the parentheses of the CUBE subclause.

The query generates all possible grouping sets based on the dimension columns specified in CUBE. The CUBE subclause is a short way to define multiple grouping sets so the following are equivalent:

CUBE(c1,c2,c3) 

GROUPING SETS (
    (c1,c2,c3), 
    (c1,c2),
    (c1,c3),
    (c2,c3),
    (c1),
    (c2),
    (c3), 
    ()
 )

In general, if the number of columns specified in the CUBE is n, then you will have 2n combinations.

PostgreSQL allows you to perform a partial cube to reduce the number of aggregates calculated. The following shows the syntax:

SELECT
    c1,
    c2,
    c3,
    aggregate (c4)
FROM
    table_name
GROUP BY
    c1,
    CUBE (c1, c2);

PostgreSQL CUBE examples

We will use the sales table created in the GROUPING SETS tutorial for the demonstration.

Sales Table

The following query uses the CUBE subclause to generate multiple grouping sets:

SELECT
    brand,
    segment,
    SUM (quantity)
FROM
    sales
GROUP BY
    CUBE (brand, segment)
ORDER BY
    brand,
    segment;

Here is the output:

PostgreSQL CUBE example

The following query performs a partial cube:

SELECT
    brand,
    segment,
    SUM (quantity)
FROM
    sales
GROUP BY
    brand,
    CUBE (segment)
ORDER BY
    brand,
    segment;

PostgreSQL CUBE - partial cube example

In this tutorial, you have learned how to use the PostgreSQL CUBE to generate multiple grouping sets.

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