EARLIER accepts a second parameter, which is the number of steps to skip, so thatone can skip two or more row contexts. Moreover, there is also a function named EARLIESTthat lets a developer access the outermost row context defi ned for a table. In the real world,neither EARLIEST nor the second parameter of EARLIER is used often. Though having twonested row contexts is a common scenario in calculated columns, having three or more ofthem is something that rarely happens. Besides, since the advent of variables, EARLIER hasvirtually become useless because variable usage superseded EARLIER.