This error occurs when using a RANGE frame in a MySQL window function without a numeric or temporal ORDER BY column. Window frames with RANGE boundaries require numeric or date/time types to define the range offset.
In MySQL window functions, there are two ways to specify frame boundaries: ROWS and RANGE. While ROWS counts physical rows, RANGE defines logical value ranges. The RANGE frame type requires that the ORDER BY column contains numeric or temporal (DATE, TIME, DATETIME, TIMESTAMP) data so MySQL can calculate the offset (e.g., "10 PRECEDING" means 10 units less than the current value). If you try to use RANGE with a non-numeric column like a string or text field, MySQL throws error 3589.
Examine your query for window functions with RANGE frames:
SELECT
name,
amount,
SUM(amount) OVER (
ORDER BY name -- Error: 'name' is not numeric/temporal
RANGE BETWEEN 10 PRECEDING AND 10 FOLLOWING
)
FROM orders;The error occurs because 'name' (a string column) cannot define numeric range offsets.
Confirm that your ORDER BY column is numeric or temporal:
DESC your_table; -- Check column types
-- Valid numeric types: INT, BIGINT, DECIMAL, FLOAT, DOUBLE
-- Valid temporal types: DATE, TIME, DATETIME, TIMESTAMP
-- Invalid for RANGE: VARCHAR, TEXT, CHAR, ENUMModify your query to order by a numeric or date/time column:
SELECT
name,
amount,
order_date,
SUM(amount) OVER (
ORDER BY order_date -- Valid: DATETIME column
RANGE BETWEEN INTERVAL 7 DAY PRECEDING AND CURRENT ROW
) as rolling_sum_7days
FROM orders;If you don't need logical value-based ranges, use ROWS instead. ROWS counts physical rows and works with any data type:
SELECT
name,
amount,
SUM(amount) OVER (
ORDER BY name -- Now valid with ROWS
ROWS BETWEEN 1 PRECEDING AND 1 FOLLOWING
) as moving_sum_3rows
FROM orders;ROWS BETWEEN 1 PRECEDING AND 1 FOLLOWING includes exactly 3 rows (the current row plus 1 before and 1 after), regardless of the ORDER BY column's data type.
For numeric columns, use simple numeric offsets:
-- Numeric column example
SELECT
product_id,
price,
SUM(price) OVER (
ORDER BY unit_cost
RANGE BETWEEN 5 PRECEDING AND 5 FOLLOWING -- 5 units of price
)
FROM products;For temporal columns, use INTERVAL syntax:
-- Temporal column example
SELECT
event_name,
event_date,
COUNT(*) OVER (
ORDER BY event_date
RANGE BETWEEN INTERVAL 30 DAY PRECEDING AND CURRENT ROW
) as events_last_30_days
FROM events;RANGE vs ROWS distinction: ROWS is a physical frame (counts rows) while RANGE is logical (groups by values). Rows with identical ORDER BY values in a RANGE frame are considered peers and processed together. This is why temporal columns need INTERVAL syntax—it converts the range offset into time units. If you need to order by a string column but apply range logic, consider creating a numeric or date-based computed column instead. Default frame behavior when only ORDER BY is specified is RANGE BETWEEN UNBOUNDED PRECEDING AND CURRENT ROW.
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