Use sum function in calculated column - tsql

Question

Is it possible to use a sum function in a calculated column?
If yes, I would like to create a calculated column, that calculates the sum of a column in the same table where the date is smaller than the date of this entry. is this possible?
And last, would this optimize repeated calls on this value over the exemplified view below?
SELECT ProductGroup, SalesDate, (
SELECT SUM(Sales)
FROM SomeList
WHERE (ProductGroup= KVU.ProductGroup) AND (SalesDate<= KVU.SalesDate)) AS cumulated
FROM SomeList AS KVU

Answer 1

Is it possible to use a sum function in a calculated column?
Yes, it's possible using a scalar valued function (scalar UDF) for you computed column but this would be a disaster. Using scalar UDFs for computed columns destroy performance. Adding a scalar UDF that accesses data (which would be required here) makes things even worse.
It sounds to me like you just need a good ol' fashioned index to speed things up. First some sample data:
IF OBJECT_ID('dbo.somelist','U') IS NOT NULL DROP TABLE dbo.somelist;
GO
CREATE TABLE dbo.somelist
(
ProductGroup INT NOT NULL,
[Month] TINYINT NOT NULL CHECK ([Month] <= 12),
Sales DECIMAL(10,2) NOT NULL
);
INSERT dbo.somelist
VALUES (1,1,22),(2,1,45),(2,1,25),(2,1,19),(1,2,100),(1,2,200),(2,2,50.55);
and the correct index:
CREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX nc_somelist ON dbo.somelist(ProductGroup,[Month])
INCLUDE (Sales);
With this index in place this query would be extremely efficient:
SELECT s.ProductGroup, s.[Month], SUM(s.Sales)
FROM dbo.somelist AS s
GROUP BY s.ProductGroup, s.[Month];
If you needed to get a COUNT by month & product group you could create an indexed view like so:
CREATE VIEW dbo.vw_somelist WITH SCHEMABINDING AS
SELECT s.ProductGroup, s.[Month], TotalSales = COUNT_BIG(*)
FROM dbo.somelist AS s
GROUP BY s.ProductGroup, s.[Month];
GO
CREATE UNIQUE CLUSTERED INDEX uq_cl__vw_somelist ON dbo.vw_somelist(ProductGroup, [Month]);
Once that indexed view was in place your COUNTs would be pre-aggregated. You cannot, however, include SUM in an indexed view.