hardDSA

RANK() vs DENSE_RANK() vs ROW_NUMBER() — when does the gap matter and how do you choose?

Q: RANK() vs DENSE_RANK() vs ROW_NUMBER() — when does the gap matter and how do you choose?

All three enumerate within a window, but only `RANK` leaves gaps after ties (`1,1,3`), `DENSE_RANK` doesn’t (`1,1,2`), and `ROW_NUMBER` never ties. Pick by whether you count *rows* or *distinct values*. Same scores [100,100,90] → ROW_NUMBER gaps vs RANK vs DENSE_RANK ROW_NUMBER() 1, 2, 3 — always unique even on ties use for dedup RANK() <text x="415" y="78" t

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Deep dive into ranking semantics, partition ordering, and performance implications for leaderboards.

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All three enumerate within a window, but only RANK leaves gaps after ties (1,1,3), DENSE_RANK doesn’t (1,1,2), and ROW_NUMBER never ties. Pick by whether you count rows or distinct values.

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