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

Writing Elegant T-SQL Queries

At this point, we should have a good understanding of how to build a T-SQL query, and the building blocks of writing T-SQL code such as query optimization fundamentals, reading and interpreting query plans, and some best practices around indexing and writing efficient T-SQL code. But how do we build an elegant T-SQL query? One that not only gets the job done but does so efficiently?

There are a few guidelines that are important to keep in mind when writing T-SQL queries to ensure that they perform and scale well while avoiding some common pitfalls that even experienced T-SQL developers can encounter that will make a query perform poorly.

In this chapter, we will examine some common T-SQL patterns and anti-patterns, specifically those that should be easily identified just by looking at the T-SQL code. We’re going to cover the following main topics:

  • Best practices for T-SQL querying
  • The perils of SELECT *
  • Functions in our predicate...