Book Image

Learn T-SQL Querying - Second Edition

By : Pedro Lopes, Pam Lahoud
Book Image

Learn T-SQL Querying - Second Edition

By: Pedro Lopes, Pam Lahoud

Overview of this book

Data professionals seeking to excel in Transact-SQL (T-SQL) for Microsoft SQL Server and Azure SQL Database often lack comprehensive resources. This updated second edition of Learn T-SQL Querying focuses on indexing queries and crafting elegant T-SQL code, catering to all data professionals seeking mastery in modern SQL Server versions and Azure SQL Database. Starting with query processing fundamentals, this book lays a solid foundation for writing performant T-SQL queries. You’ll explore the mechanics of the Query Optimizer and Query Execution Plans, learning how to analyze execution plans for insights into current performance and scalability. Through dynamic management views (DMVs) and dynamic management functions (DMFs), you’ll build diagnostic queries. This book thoroughly covers indexing for T-SQL performance and provides insights into SQL Server’s built-in tools for expedited resolution of query performance and scalability issues. Further, hands-on examples will guide you through implementing features such as avoiding UDF pitfalls, understanding predicate SARGability, Query Store, and Query Tuning Assistant. By the end of this book, you‘ll have developed the ability to identify query performance bottlenecks, recognize anti-patterns, and skillfully avoid such pitfalls.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
1
Part 1: Query Processing Fundamentals
4
Part 2: Dos and Don’ts of T-SQL
9
Part 3: Assembling Our Query Troubleshooting Toolbox

Exploring query execution DMVs

Several different DMVs may be relevant when analyzing the activity that is currently happening in a SQL Database Engine. In this section, we will cover a few of the most common DMVs, along with some examples of the information that they can provide.

sys.dm_exec_sessions

The sys.dm_exec_sessions DMV lists information about all the sessions that are currently active on the server. This includes both user sessions and system sessions, and it also includes idle sessions that are connected but are not currently executing any queries.

Tip

Idle sessions can be identified by looking for rows that have a status of sleeping. When using connection pooling especially, it is common to have several user sessions in a sleeping status.

This DMV can be used to view information that is relevant to the session, such as login_name, host_name, program_name, and other properties that would be set at the session level. This can be helpful when trying to identify...