We’re already at part 31 of the plansplaining series. And this is also the third part in my discussion of execution plans for cursors. After explaining the basics, and after diving into static cursors, it is now time to investigate dynamic cursors. As a quick reminder, recall that a static cursor presents data as it... The post Plansplaining part 31 – Dynamic cursors appeared first on SQLServerFast ..read more

In part 30 of the plansplaining series, we’ll continue our discussion of cursor processing. I recommend first reading the previous post, where I explain all the necessary basics. Sample query Throughout the series, I will keep using the same sample query, that grabs some sales and product data for sales of more than 10 units,... The post Plansplaining part 30 – Static cursors appeared first on SQLServerFast ..read more

For edition 174 T-SQL Tuesday, Kevin Feasel asks us to write about our favorite job interview questions. I don’t like job interviewing. Never have, never will. And while the process changed a lot once I shifted to contracting, my dislike for the interview process has remained. I am not hiring So I decided not to... The post T-SQL Tuesday 174 – Job interview questions appeared first on SQLServerFast ..read more

This is already the 29th part of the plansplaining series, where I look in detail at interesting examples of execution plans in SQL Server. With this part, I’ll kick off another mini-series, this time on cursor processing Don’t use cursors! And yes, I know the mantra. Do not use cursors. They are slow. There is... The post Plansplaining part 29 – Introduction to cursor processing appeared first on SQLServerFast ..read more

As I recently already wrote, I consider my leukemia diary closed now. And since today is exactly one year after my stem cell donation, I now officially have no restrictions on travel anymore. So let’s celebrate that by attending lots of in person events in the near future! SQLSaturday Austin My first trip is in... The post Lots of events appeared first on SQLServerFast ..read more

It’s February 2014, and it’s time to write a new T-SQL Tuesday post. Our host is Brent Ozar, and his chosen topic is the last ticket we closed. Well, sorry my friend. I’ve been ill. I have not been on active duty for well over a year now. And if you really think that I... The post T-SQL Tuesday 171 – The end of a diary? appeared first on SQLServerFast ..read more

In part twenty-eight of the plansplaining series, I’ll wrap up the six-part mini-series on window functions. After covering the basics, fast-track optimization, window frames ending at UNBOUNDED FOLLOWING, window frames specified with RANGE instead of ROWS, and LAG and LEAD, we will look at the LAST_VALUE and FIRST_VALUE analytical functions, and find that a function... The post Plansplaining part 28 – The curious case of the missing FIRST_VALUE function appeared first on SQLServerFast ..read more

Welcome to the new year! And welcome to my first T-SQL Tuesday contribution of 2024. Reitse Eskens is our host, and he invites us to think back of a project that failed or was abandoned, and reflect on lessons learned. I love learning from mistakes. I often say that it’s important to learn from mistakes,... The post T-SQL Tuesday 170 – Abandoned projects appeared first on SQLServerFast ..read more

This is part twenty-seven of the plansplaining series, and episode five in the mini-series on window functions. The previous parts covered the basics, fast-track optimization, window frames ending at UNBOUNDED FOLLOWING, and window frames specified with RANGE instead of ROWS. In this post, we will shift our attention to the LAG and LEAD functions. Two... The post Plansplaining part 27 – LAG and LEAD appeared first on SQLServerFast ..read more

This is part twenty-six of the plansplaining series. And already the fourth episode about window functions. The first of those posts covered basic window functions; the second post focused on fast-track optimization for running aggregates, and the third post explained how the optimizer works around the lack of execution plan support for UNBOUNDED FOLLOWING. But... The post Plansplaining part 26 – Windows with a ranged frame appeared first on SQLServerFast ..read more