How can I compute consecutive differences in Oracle SQL without a cursor?

Data and Databases
1

How do I calculate differences between adjacent rows in Oracle SQL without using a cursor? Analytic functions might work. For example:

SELECT num_value,
       num_value - LAG(num_value) OVER (ORDER BY num_value DESC) AS difference
FROM value_set;
2

hey, ive tried a self join approach using rownum to make sure order stays intact. it was a bit hairy with dupes so i still lean on analytic funcs most times. gives you good perf if your data is clean.

3

hey guys, i’ve been tinkering with lag function. curoius if analytic functions can act up wit duplicate values sometimes. anyone experimented with self joins instead? what challenges did u face? keen to hr more ideas and experiences.