SQL Quest › SQL Interview Questions › Window Functions
RANK vs DENSE_RANK Side-by-Side
Comp wants a teaching artifact: rank employees by performance_rating showing both RANK() and DENSE_RANK() side-by-side so the team can see what each function does when ratings tie.
Show name, performance_rating, rank_with_gaps (RANK()), and rank_no_gaps (DENSE_RANK()). Order by performance_rating descending, then name.
The difference (this is the interview answer): RANK leaves gaps after ties (1, 2, 2, 4). DENSE_RANK doesn't (1, 2, 2, 3). When the question is "who's in the top N tiers", DENSE_RANK is almost always what you want; when the question is "who's in the top N positions counting ties as taking up seats", RANK is right.
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Schema
employees
| emp_id | name | department | position | salary | hire_date | manager_id | performance_rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alice Johnson | Engineering | Senior Developer | 95000 | 2019-03-15 | 5 | 4.5 |
| 2 | Bob Smith | Engineering | Developer | 75000 | 2020-06-01 | 1 | 3.8 |
| 3 | Carol Williams | Marketing | Marketing Manager | 85000 | 2018-09-20 | NULL | 4.2 |
Expected output: RANK = 1, 1, 3 — DENSE_RANK = 1, 1, 2
Hint
SELECT, Window Functions, RANK, and open the hint there if you stall.Concepts
SELECT Window Functions RANK DENSE_RANK
Practise the topic: SQL practice questions · Window function practice · Ranking function practice
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