When most developers think of joins, they think of a.SomethingID = b.SomethingID. This type of join, the equijoin, is vitally important to SQL programming; however, it only scratches the surface of the power of the SQL join. This is the first in a series of articles that will look at several different types of exotic joins in SQL. This article will focus on using the BETWEEN operator in joins when dealing with range-based data.   Read more...

Fast Track to MDX gives readers all the necessary background information needed to write useful, powerful MDX expressions and introduces the most frequently used MDX functions and constructs. No prior knowledge is assumed and examples are used throughout the book to rapidly develop MDX skills to the point where a reader can solve real business problems. A CD containing examples from within the book, and a time-limited version of ProClarity, is included  Read more...

Brian Knight recently had the basic need to retrieve a record from the database at random. What seemed to be an easy task quickly became a complex one. This case showed an interesting quirk with T-SQL that was resolved in an equally quirky way. This quick article shows you a method to retrieve random data or randomize the display of data.   Read more...

Ever wanted to know how to reuse identity values after they're deleted? In this example by Dinesh, he shows you two methods to reuse the wholes in identity rows.   Read more...

In the previous article, you saw how the BETWEEN operator could be used in joins to solve problems dealing with range-based data. In this article, Chris Cubley will show you how to take joins even further by using multiple criteria in joins as well as using the greater than, less than, and not equals operators in joins.   Read more...

When most developers think of joins, they think of a.SomethingID = b.SomethingID. This type of join, the equijoin, is vitally important to SQL programming; however, it only scratches the surface of the power of the SQL join. This is the first in a series of articles that will look at several different types of exotic joins in SQL. This article will focus on using the BETWEEN operator in joins when dealing with range-based data.   Read more...

Are you using default values for your parameters? Using named parameters when you call the proc or passing the values by ordinal? Should you be? Andy thinks 6 out of 10 of our readers will agree with his point of view, we'll be a little more conservative and guess that 5 of out 10 will be closer.   Read more...

Building and executing dynamic sql in a stored procedure - is it the only way to solve problems like supporting a simple search function? Leon offers a couple alternatives that let you continue to provide the functionality in a stored procedure without using dynamic sql. Interesting ideas worth exploring!   Read more...