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Returns the number of items in a group. COUNT_BIG works like the COUNT function. The only difference between the two functions is their return values. COUNT_BIG always returns a bigint data type value. COUNT always returns an int data type value. May be followed by the OVER clause.
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Transact-SQL Syntax Conventions
Syntax
COUNT_BIG ( { [ ALL | DISTINCT ] expression } | * )
Arguments
- ALL
Applies the aggregate function to all values. ALL is the default.
- DISTINCT
Specifies that COUNT_BIG returns the number of unique nonnull values.
- expression
Is an expression of any type. Aggregate functions and subqueries are not permitted.
- *
Specifies that all rows should be counted to return the total number of rows in a table. COUNT_BIG(*) takes no parameters and cannot be used with DISTINCT. COUNT_BIG(*) does not require an expression parameter because, by definition, it does not use information about any particular column. COUNT_BIG(*) returns the number of rows in a specified table without getting rid of duplicates. It counts each row separately. This includes rows that contain null values.
Return Types
bigint
Remarks
COUNT_BIG(*) returns the number of items in a group. This includes NULL values and duplicates.
COUNT_BIG(ALL expression) evaluates expression for each row in a group and returns the number of nonnull values.
COUNT_BIG(DISTINCT expression) evaluates expression for each row in a group and returns the number of unique, nonnull values.
See Also
Reference
Aggregate Functions (Transact-SQL)
COUNT (Transact-SQL)
int, bigint, smallint, and tinyint (Transact-SQL)
OVER Clause (Transact-SQL)