MySQL ROLLUP

Summary: in this tutorial, you will learn how to use the MySQL ROLLUP clause to generate subtotals and grand totals.

Setting up a sample table

The following statement creates a new table named sales that stores the order values summarized by product lines and years. The data comes from the products, orders, and orderDetails tables in the sample database.

CREATE TABLE sales
SELECT
    productLine,
    YEAR(orderDate) orderYear,
    SUM(quantityOrdered * priceEach) orderValue
FROM
    orderDetails
        INNER JOIN
    orders USING (orderNumber)
        INNER JOIN
    products USING (productCode)
GROUP BY
    productLine ,
    YEAR(orderDate);
Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

The following query returns all rows from the sales table:

SELECT * FROM sales;Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Output:

+------------------+-----------+------------+
| productLine      | orderYear | orderValue |
+------------------+-----------+------------+
| Classic Cars     |      2003 | 1374832.22 |
| Classic Cars     |      2004 | 1763136.73 |
| Classic Cars     |      2005 |  715953.54 |
| Motorcycles      |      2003 |  348909.24 |
| Motorcycles      |      2004 |  527243.84 |
| Motorcycles      |      2005 |  245273.04 |
| Planes           |      2003 |  309784.20 |
| Planes           |      2004 |  471971.46 |
| Planes           |      2005 |  172881.88 |
| Ships            |      2003 |  222182.08 |
| Ships            |      2004 |  337326.10 |
| Ships            |      2005 |  104490.16 |
| Trains           |      2003 |   65822.05 |
| Trains           |      2004 |   96285.53 |
| Trains           |      2005 |   26425.34 |
| Trucks and Buses |      2003 |  376657.12 |
| Trucks and Buses |      2004 |  465390.00 |
| Trucks and Buses |      2005 |  182066.45 |
| Vintage Cars     |      2003 |  619161.48 |
| Vintage Cars     |      2004 |  854551.85 |
| Vintage Cars     |      2005 |  323846.30 |
+------------------+-----------+------------+
21 rows in set (0.00 sec)Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

MySQL ROLLUP Overview

A grouping set is a set of columns to which you want to group. For example, the following query creates a grouping set denoted by (productline)

SELECT 
    productline, 
    SUM(orderValue) totalOrderValue
FROM
    sales
GROUP BY 
    productline;Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Output:

+------------------+-----------------+
| productline      | totalOrderValue |
+------------------+-----------------+
| Classic Cars     |      3853922.49 |
| Motorcycles      |      1121426.12 |
| Planes           |       954637.54 |
| Ships            |       663998.34 |
| Trains           |       188532.92 |
| Trucks and Buses |      1024113.57 |
| Vintage Cars     |      1797559.63 |
+------------------+-----------------+
7 rows in set (0.00 sec)
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

The following query creates an empty grouping set denoted by the ():

SELECT 
    SUM(orderValue) totalOrderValue
FROM
    sales;Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Output:

+-----------------+
| totalOrderValue |
+-----------------+
|      9604190.61 |
+-----------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

If you want to generate two or more grouping sets together in one query, you may use the UNION ALL operator as follows:

SELECT 
    productline, 
    SUM(orderValue) totalOrderValue
FROM
    sales
GROUP BY 
    productline 
UNION ALL
SELECT 
    NULL, 
    SUM(orderValue) totalOrderValue
FROM
    sales;Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Here’s the query output:

+------------------+-----------------+
| productline      | totalOrderValue |
+------------------+-----------------+
| Classic Cars     |      3853922.49 |
| Motorcycles      |      1121426.12 |
| Planes           |       954637.54 |
| Ships            |       663998.34 |
| Trains           |       188532.92 |
| Trucks and Buses |      1024113.57 |
| Vintage Cars     |      1797559.63 |
| NULL             |      9604190.61 |
+------------------+-----------------+
8 rows in set (0.00 sec)Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Because the UNION ALL requires all queries to have the same number of columns, we added NULL in the select list of the second query to fulfill this requirement.

The NULL in the productLine column identifies the total super-aggregate line.

This query can generate the total order values by product lines and also the grand total row. However, it has two problems:

The query is quite lengthy.
The performance of the query may not be good since the database engine has to internally execute two separate queries and combine the result sets into one.

To fix these issues, you can use the ROLLUP clause.

The ROLLUP clause is an extension of the GROUP BY clause with the following syntax:

SELECT 
    select_list
FROM 
    table_name
GROUP BY
    c1, c2, c3 WITH ROLLUP;
Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

The ROLLUP generates multiple grouping sets based on the columns or expressions specified in the GROUP BY clause. For example:

SELECT 
    productLine, 
    SUM(orderValue) totalOrderValue
FROM
    sales
GROUP BY 
    productline WITH ROLLUP;Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Here is the output:

+------------------+-----------------+
| productLine      | totalOrderValue |
+------------------+-----------------+
| Classic Cars     |      3853922.49 |
| Motorcycles      |      1121426.12 |
| Planes           |       954637.54 |
| Ships            |       663998.34 |
| Trains           |       188532.92 |
| Trucks and Buses |      1024113.57 |
| Vintage Cars     |      1797559.63 |
| NULL             |      9604190.61 |
+------------------+-----------------+
8 rows in set (0.00 sec)Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

As clearly shown in the output, the ROLLUP clause generates not only the subtotals but also the grand total of the order values.

If you have more than one column specified in the GROUP BY clause, the ROLLUP clause assumes a hierarchy among the input columns.

For example:

GROUP BY c1, c2, c3 WITH ROLLUPCode language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

The ROLLUP assumes that there is the following hierarchy:

c1 > c2 > c3Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

It generates the following grouping sets:

(c1, c2, c3)
(c1, c2)
(c1)
()Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

If you have two columns specified in the GROUP BY clause:

GROUP BY c1, c2 WITH ROLLUPCode language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

then the ROLLUP generates the following grouping sets:

(c1, c2)
(c1)
()Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

See the following query example:

SELECT 
    productLine, 
    orderYear,
    SUM(orderValue) totalOrderValue
FROM
    sales
GROUP BY 
    productline, 
    orderYear 
WITH ROLLUP;Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Here is the output:

+------------------+-----------+-----------------+
| productLine      | orderYear | totalOrderValue |
+------------------+-----------+-----------------+
| Classic Cars     |      2003 |      1374832.22 |
| Classic Cars     |      2004 |      1763136.73 |
| Classic Cars     |      2005 |       715953.54 |
| Classic Cars     |      NULL |      3853922.49 |
| Motorcycles      |      2003 |       348909.24 |
| Motorcycles      |      2004 |       527243.84 |
| Motorcycles      |      2005 |       245273.04 |
| Motorcycles      |      NULL |      1121426.12 |
| Planes           |      2003 |       309784.20 |
| Planes           |      2004 |       471971.46 |
| Planes           |      2005 |       172881.88 |
| Planes           |      NULL |       954637.54 |
| Ships            |      2003 |       222182.08 |
| Ships            |      2004 |       337326.10 |
| Ships            |      2005 |       104490.16 |
| Ships            |      NULL |       663998.34 |
| Trains           |      2003 |        65822.05 |
| Trains           |      2004 |        96285.53 |
| Trains           |      2005 |        26425.34 |
| Trains           |      NULL |       188532.92 |
| Trucks and Buses |      2003 |       376657.12 |
| Trucks and Buses |      2004 |       465390.00 |
| Trucks and Buses |      2005 |       182066.45 |
| Trucks and Buses |      NULL |      1024113.57 |
| Vintage Cars     |      2003 |       619161.48 |
| Vintage Cars     |      2004 |       854551.85 |
| Vintage Cars     |      2005 |       323846.30 |
| Vintage Cars     |      NULL |      1797559.63 |
| NULL             |      NULL |      9604190.61 |
+------------------+-----------+-----------------+
29 rows in set (0.00 sec)Code language: PHP (php)

The ROLLUP generates the subtotal row every time the product line changes and the grand total at the end of the result.

The hierarchy in this case is:

productLine > orderYearCode language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

If you reverse the hierarchy, for example:

SELECT 
    orderYear,
    productLine, 
    SUM(orderValue) totalOrderValue
FROM
    sales
GROUP BY 
    orderYear,
    productline
WITH ROLLUP;Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Output:

+-----------+------------------+-----------------+
| orderYear | productLine      | totalOrderValue |
+-----------+------------------+-----------------+
|      2003 | Classic Cars     |      1374832.22 |
|      2003 | Motorcycles      |       348909.24 |
|      2003 | Planes           |       309784.20 |
|      2003 | Ships            |       222182.08 |
|      2003 | Trains           |        65822.05 |
|      2003 | Trucks and Buses |       376657.12 |
|      2003 | Vintage Cars     |       619161.48 |
|      2003 | NULL             |      3317348.39 |
|      2004 | Classic Cars     |      1763136.73 |
|      2004 | Motorcycles      |       527243.84 |
|      2004 | Planes           |       471971.46 |
|      2004 | Ships            |       337326.10 |
|      2004 | Trains           |        96285.53 |
|      2004 | Trucks and Buses |       465390.00 |
|      2004 | Vintage Cars     |       854551.85 |
|      2004 | NULL             |      4515905.51 |
|      2005 | Classic Cars     |       715953.54 |
|      2005 | Motorcycles      |       245273.04 |
|      2005 | Planes           |       172881.88 |
|      2005 | Ships            |       104490.16 |
|      2005 | Trains           |        26425.34 |
|      2005 | Trucks and Buses |       182066.45 |
|      2005 | Vintage Cars     |       323846.30 |
|      2005 | NULL             |      1770936.71 |
|      NULL | NULL             |      9604190.61 |
+-----------+------------------+-----------------+
25 rows in set (0.00 sec)Code language: PHP (php)

The ROLLUP generates the subtotal every time the year changes and the grand total at the end of the result set.

The hierarchy in this example is:

orderYear > productLine
Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

The GROUPING() function

To check whether NULL in the result set represents the subtotals or grand totals, you use the GROUPING() function.

The GROUPING() function returns 1 when NULL occurs in a supper-aggregate row, otherwise, it returns 0.

The GROUPING() function can be used in the select list, HAVING clause, and (as of MySQL 8.0.12 ) ORDER BY clause.

Consider the following query:

SELECT 
    orderYear,
    productLine, 
    SUM(orderValue) totalOrderValue,
    GROUPING(orderYear),
    GROUPING(productLine)
FROM
    sales
GROUP BY 
    orderYear,
    productline
WITH ROLLUP;Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Output:

+-----------+------------------+-----------------+---------------------+-----------------------+
| orderYear | productLine      | totalOrderValue | GROUPING(orderYear) | GROUPING(productLine) |
+-----------+------------------+-----------------+---------------------+-----------------------+
|      2003 | Classic Cars     |      1374832.22 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2003 | Motorcycles      |       348909.24 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2003 | Planes           |       309784.20 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2003 | Ships            |       222182.08 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2003 | Trains           |        65822.05 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2003 | Trucks and Buses |       376657.12 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2003 | Vintage Cars     |       619161.48 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2003 | NULL             |      3317348.39 |                   0 |                     1 |
|      2004 | Classic Cars     |      1763136.73 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2004 | Motorcycles      |       527243.84 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2004 | Planes           |       471971.46 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2004 | Ships            |       337326.10 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2004 | Trains           |        96285.53 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2004 | Trucks and Buses |       465390.00 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2004 | Vintage Cars     |       854551.85 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2004 | NULL             |      4515905.51 |                   0 |                     1 |
|      2005 | Classic Cars     |       715953.54 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2005 | Motorcycles      |       245273.04 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2005 | Planes           |       172881.88 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2005 | Ships            |       104490.16 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2005 | Trains           |        26425.34 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2005 | Trucks and Buses |       182066.45 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2005 | Vintage Cars     |       323846.30 |                   0 |                     0 |
|      2005 | NULL             |      1770936.71 |                   0 |                     1 |
|      NULL | NULL             |      9604190.61 |                   1 |                     1 |
+-----------+------------------+-----------------+---------------------+-----------------------+
25 rows in set (0.00 sec)Code language: PHP (php)

The GROUPING(orderYear) returns 1 when NULL in the orderYear column occurs in a super-aggregate row, 0 otherwise.

Similarly, the GROUPING(productLine) returns 1 when NULL in the productLine column occurs in a super-aggregate row, 0 otherwise.

We often use GROUPING() function to substitute meaningful labels for super-aggregate NULL values instead of displaying it directly.

The following example shows how to combine the IF() function with the GROUPING() function to substitute labels for the super-aggregate NULL values in orderYear and productLine columns:

SELECT 
    IF(GROUPING(orderYear),
        'All Years',
        orderYear) orderYear,
    IF(GROUPING(productLine),
        'All Product Lines',
        productLine) productLine,
    SUM(orderValue) totalOrderValue
FROM
    sales
GROUP BY 
    orderYear , 
    productline 
WITH ROLLUP;Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

The output is:

+-----------+-------------------+-----------------+
| orderYear | productLine       | totalOrderValue |
+-----------+-------------------+-----------------+
| 2003      | Classic Cars      |      1374832.22 |
| 2003      | Motorcycles       |       348909.24 |
| 2003      | Planes            |       309784.20 |
| 2003      | Ships             |       222182.08 |
| 2003      | Trains            |        65822.05 |
| 2003      | Trucks and Buses  |       376657.12 |
| 2003      | Vintage Cars      |       619161.48 |
| 2003      | All Product Lines |      3317348.39 |
| 2004      | Classic Cars      |      1763136.73 |
| 2004      | Motorcycles       |       527243.84 |
| 2004      | Planes            |       471971.46 |
| 2004      | Ships             |       337326.10 |
| 2004      | Trains            |        96285.53 |
| 2004      | Trucks and Buses  |       465390.00 |
| 2004      | Vintage Cars      |       854551.85 |
| 2004      | All Product Lines |      4515905.51 |
| 2005      | Classic Cars      |       715953.54 |
| 2005      | Motorcycles       |       245273.04 |
| 2005      | Planes            |       172881.88 |
| 2005      | Ships             |       104490.16 |
| 2005      | Trains            |        26425.34 |
| 2005      | Trucks and Buses  |       182066.45 |
| 2005      | Vintage Cars      |       323846.30 |
| 2005      | All Product Lines |      1770936.71 |
| All Years | All Product Lines |      9604190.61 |
+-----------+-------------------+-----------------+

In this tutorial, you have learned how to use the MySQL ROLLUP() to generate multiple grouping sets considering a hierarchy between columns specified in the GROUP BY clause.

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