9. Writing Aggregate Functions : Function Definitions for Aggregates
 
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Function Definitions for Aggregates
Functions for user-defined types require the following:
A function definition (using the IIADD_FO_DFN structure) to define the function name
A function instance definition (using the IIADD_FI_DFN structure) to define the functions that will perform the operations
Note:  Function definitions for count(), max(), min() and sum() are already included in Ingres, in the same sense that arithmetic and comparison operations are pre-defined for user-defined data types; however, avg() is NOT pre-defined. Users can also code their own aggregate functions with distinct function names. The IIADD_FO_DFN structure instance must define “fod_type” to be II_AGGREGATE in this case.
Note:  Like all functions on user-defined data types, aggregate functions must also include definitions of each function instance for the function on a specific user-defined type. These are defined by IIADD_FI_DFN structure instances, and for aggregate functions they must include an “fid_optype” of II_AGGREGATE.
Note:  The instances of the function instance structure must be in a particular sorted sequence. Function instances with fid_optype of II_AGGREGATE must be placed between those for II_OPERATOR and II_NORMAL. If the function instance is for one of the standard Ingres aggregates, the “fid_opid” field must be set to the appropriate code (II_COUNT_OP for COUNT, II_MAX_OP for MAX, II_MIN_OP for MIN, II_SUM_OP for SUM). If the function instance is for a user-defined aggregate function, the fid_opid field must contain the value from the “fod_id” field of the corresponding IIADD_FO_DFN structure instance.
Note:  The function instance definitions must not use the II_RES_EXTERN value for the “fid_rltype” field.