How to Compute Elapsed Time Between Clicks in SQL Server

Learn how to effectively calculate the `elapsed time` between click events in SQL Server considering user behavior and applicable conditions.
---
This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/68388314/ asked by the user 'RjLearn' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/16210205/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/68401386/ provided by the user 'Dale K' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/1127428/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

Visit these links for original content and any more details, such as alternate solutions, latest updates/developments on topic, comments, revision history etc. For example, the original title of the Question was: How to compute immediate each row visited Elapsed time in SQL Server

Also, Content (except music) licensed under CC BY-SA https://meta.stackexchange.com/help/licensing
The original Question post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ) license, and the original Answer post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ) license.

If anything seems off to you, please feel free to write me at vlogize [AT] gmail [DOT] com.
---
Introduction

If you are working with SQL Server and need to analyze user behavior based on click events, you might find yourself needing to compute the elapsed time between these events. This can be important for tracking interactions or understanding user engagement. However, there are certain conditions to consider, such as when to reset timing based on varying dates or long gaps between clicks.

In this post, we will help you solve the problem of calculating immediate elapsed time between click events by providing a structured approach to the SQL query you might use. This will include handling scenarios where the same user clicks from different sources or on different dates.

Problem Statement

After inserting click events into your EmpLog table, you may find that the basic elapsed time calculations do not quite meet your needs. Specifically, you'll want to address the following conditions:

Same User, Different Dates: If a user clicks on an event on a different date, the elapsed time should be treated as 0.

Gaps Greater than 5 Minutes: Even if the user clicks on the same source on the same day, if the time gap exceeds 5 minutes, the elapsed time should also be 0.

These requirements help in understanding click behavior in a more focused manner, as immediate clicks would be more relevant for your analysis.

The Table Structure

First, you will be working with the following SQL table structure for logging employee events:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Sample Insert Statements

To demonstrate our solution, assume we insert the following records into the EmpLog table:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Solution Approach

You can achieve the desired output by utilizing SQL's CASE expressions and window functions. Here's the query that will compute the elapsed time while considering the specified conditions:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Explanation of the Query

Using LEAD Function: The LEAD function retrieves the next StartTime for the same user and source, allowing comparison between clicks.

Condition Checks: The CASE expression evaluates to return either the calculated elapsed time or 0 depending on the day of the previous click and the time difference.

Cross Apply: This is used to avoid returning results for events that fall outside of your specified conditions regarding user and datetime.

Output Expectation

The output table should return results similar to the following, conforming to your specified requirements:

EmpIdStartTimeSourceETypeUserElapseTime12021-02-20 01:15:44.647PEnInabc022021-02-21 02:15:45.647PEnInabc032021-02-22 01:15:44.647PEnInabc042021-02-23 01:15:44.647PEnInabc052021-02-24 01:15:44.647PEnInabc262021-02-24 01:15:46.647PEnOPabc072021-02-24 01:15:48.647PEnEDabcd082021-02-24 01:15:50.647HMDashefg092021-02-24 01:15:52.647ChkSupcde0Conclusion

By utilizing the provided SQL query and explanations, you can efficiently calculate the immediate elapsed time between click events in SQL Server. The clarity of logic in the query allows you to easily adapt it to your specific database schema while ensuring you meet your analytical needs.

Feel free to modify the query as necessary to fine-tune the results based on other variables you may consider important for your user analysis!

Видео How to Compute Elapsed Time Between Clicks in SQL Server канала vlogize