Parsing and binding

Parsing and binding are the first operations that SQL Server executes when you submit a query to the database engine and are performed by a component called the Algebrizer. Parsing first makes sure that the Transact-SQL (T-SQL) query has a valid syntax and then uses the query information to build a tree of relational operators. By that, I mean the parser translates the SQL query into an algebra tree representation of logical operators, which is called a parse tree. Parsing only checks for valid T-SQL syntax, not for valid table or column names, which are verified in the next phase: binding.

Parsing is similar to the Parse functionality available in Management Studio (by clicking the Parse button on the default toolbar) or the SET PARSEONLY statement. For example, the following query will successfully parse on the AdventureWorks2019 database, even when the listed columns and table do not exist in the said database:

SELECT lname, fname FROM authors

However...