SQLite - Useful Functions

SQLite has many built-in functions to perform processing on string or numeric data. Following is the list of few useful SQLite built-in functions and all are case in-sensitive which means you can use these functions either in lower-case form or in upper-case or in mixed form. For more details, you can check official documentation for SQLite.
SQLite COUNT Function
SQLite COUNT aggregate function is used to count the number of rows in a database table.
SQLite MAX Function 
SQLite MAX aggregate function allows us to select the highest (maximum) value for a certain column.
SQLite MIN Function
SQLite MIN aggregate function allows us to select the lowest (minimum) value for a certain column.
SQLite AVG Function 
SQLite AVG aggregate function selects the average value for certain table column.
SQLite SUM Function
SQLite SUM aggregate function allows selecting the total for a numeric column.
SQLite RANDOM Function
SQLite RANDOM function returns a pseudo-random integer between -9223372036854775808 and +9223372036854775807.
SQLite ABS Function
SQLite ABS function returns the absolute value of the numeric argument.
SQLite UPPER Function
SQLite UPPER function converts a string into upper-case letters.
SQLite LOWER Function
SQLite LOWER function converts a string into lower-case letters.
SQLite LENGTH Function
SQLite LENGTH function returns the length of a string.
SQLite sqlite_version Function
SQLite sqlite_version function returns the version of the SQLite library.
Before we start giving examples on the above-mentioned functions, consider COMPANY table with the following records.
ID          NAME        AGE         ADDRESS     SALARY
----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------
1           Paul        32          California  20000.0
2           Allen       25          Texas       15000.0
3           Teddy       23          Norway      20000.0
4           Mark        25          Rich-Mond   65000.0
5           David       27          Texas       85000.0
6           Kim         22          South-Hall  45000.0
7           James       24          Houston     10000.0
SQLite COUNT aggregate function is used to count the number of rows in a database table. Following is an example −
sqlite> SELECT count(*) FROM COMPANY;
The above SQLite SQL statement will produce the following.
count(*)
----------
7

SQLite MAX aggregate function allows us to select the highest (maximum) value for a certain column. Following is an example −
sqlite> SELECT max(salary) FROM COMPANY;
The above SQLite SQL statement will produce the following.
max(salary)
-----------
85000.0

SQLite MIN aggregate function allows us to select the lowest (minimum) value for a certain column. Following is an example −
sqlite> SELECT min(salary) FROM COMPANY;
The above SQLite SQL statement will produce the following.
min(salary)
-----------
10000.0

SQLite AVG aggregate function selects the average value for a certain table column. Following is an the example −
sqlite> SELECT avg(salary) FROM COMPANY;
The above SQLite SQL statement will produce the following.
avg(salary)
----------------
37142.8571428572

SQLite SUM aggregate function allows selecting the total for a numeric column. Following is an example −
sqlite> SELECT sum(salary) FROM COMPANY;
The above SQLite SQL statement will produce the following.
sum(salary)
-----------
260000.0

SQLite RANDOM function returns a pseudo-random integer between -9223372036854775808 and +9223372036854775807. Following is an example −
sqlite> SELECT random() AS Random;
The above SQLite SQL statement will produce the following.
Random
-------------------
5876796417670984050

SQLite ABS function returns the absolute value of the numeric argument. Following is an example −
sqlite> SELECT abs(5), abs(-15), abs(NULL), abs(0), abs("ABC");
The above SQLite SQL statement will produce the following.
abs(5)      abs(-15)    abs(NULL)   abs(0)      abs("ABC")
----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------
5           15                      0           0.0

SQLite UPPER function converts a string into upper-case letters. Following is an example −
sqlite> SELECT upper(name) FROM COMPANY;
The above SQLite SQL statement will produce the following.
upper(name)
-----------
PAUL
ALLEN
TEDDY
MARK
DAVID
KIM
JAMES

SQLite LOWER function converts a string into lower-case letters. Following is an example −
sqlite> SELECT lower(name) FROM COMPANY;
The above SQLite SQL statement will produce the following.
lower(name)
-----------
paul
allen
teddy
mark
david
kim
james

SQLite LENGTH function returns the length of a string. Following is an example −
sqlite> SELECT name, length(name) FROM COMPANY;
The above SQLite SQL statement will produce the following.
NAME        length(name)
----------  ------------
Paul        4
Allen       5
Teddy       5
Mark        4
David       5
Kim         3
James       5

SQLite sqlite_version function returns the version of the SQLite library. Following is an example −
sqlite> SELECT sqlite_version() AS 'SQLite Version';
The above SQLite SQL statement will produce the following.
SQLite Version
--------------
3.6.20


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