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

Discovering T-SQL Anti- Patterns in Depth

In Chapter 5, Writing Elegant T-SQL Queries, we covered some anti-patterns that may impact query performance that should be obvious just by reading the T-SQL code itself. Now we will move on to some anti-patterns that may require some more in-depth analysis to be identified. These often involve T-SQL that at first glance seems straightforward, but when we dig into the query plan, there may be hidden performance pitfalls such as expensive operations or hidden practices that prevent predicate SARGability.

In this chapter we will cover the following topics:

  • Implicit conversions
  • Avoiding unnecessary sort operations
  • Avoiding UDF pitfalls
  • Avoiding unnecessary overhead with stored procedures
  • Pitfalls of complex views
  • Pitfalls of correlated sub-queries
  • Properly storing intermediate results