Composable DML and Composable Queries
In a previous blog entry a while ago, I wrote about writing a single SQL statement that did a SQL MERGE operation, used the OUTPUT clause to put out a rowset and directed the rowset into an INSERT...
View ArticleWhat exactly does PERCENTILE_CONT do, anyhow?
I'm always leery when I hear people say "statistics show that…" followed by whatever their opinion is. Scientists do it. And your users probably do it too. I worked with a product called SAS once, on...
View ArticleAn FAQ about the window clause in SQL Server Denali
I've been working with the new Denali T-SQL windowing functionality and ran into someone who asked about this "problem". It's almost sure to become an FAQ. Why does last_value not always "work right"?...
View ArticleDenali window clause followup question
So, quickly on the heels of the first window clause and last_value() question, came a followup: OK smartie, why does last_value work fine here? I didn't have to change from the default window. What...
View ArticleRemember: LAG function in SQL Server Denali uses rows
You've heard my rant before "measure what you think you are measuring". If not, follow the link. Here's an example using the LAG function, new in SQL Server Denali, to measure sales trends. We'll...
View ArticleWindow clause, range specification, and missing values
In the previous post, I insinuated that allowing LAG/LEAD to be sensitive to value RANGEs might help with series of data with missing values. It won't do that unless there's some logic that allows the...
View ArticleSQL Azure “version 11″ arrives on my server
I've been trying this out every day or so since I'd heard about the update (originally named the July 2011 Service Release), but I'd forgotten about it for about a week. So I don't exactly know when...
View ArticleSQL Denali T-SQL features in SQL Azure now
Earlier this month I noticed that SQL Azure, with the latest upgrade has a version of 11…something (actually 11.0.1467.26, to be exact). And I wondered, aside from the long-touted new spatial library,...
View ArticleNew T-SQL 2012 scalar functions (all but 1) work in SQL Azure
Back when I was saw SQL Azure was producing an @@version string that mentioned version 11 (that's SQL Server 2012's major version number), I'd started looking at the version number every week or so....
View ArticleDoes everybody get that? (generalizing esoteric optimization techniques)
This post is an example of the "bring your own problem" approach in the classroom, inspired by upcoming SQLskills Immersion Events in August. See previous posting for the reason behind the blog post...
View ArticleIntegrating SQL Server 2014 constructs into the T-SQL canon
So I was going through the features in SQL Server 2014, seeing how and where they fit into the canon of SQL Server’s T-SQL. I’m going to add some of this for my advanced T-SQL Immersion Event at the...
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