Sean Lange (10/21/2014)

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A cte does NOT require it to start with a semicolon. The semicolon is statement terminator not a statement beginninator (nod to Lynn Pettis for that phrase). A cte, just like THROW, requires that the previous statement be terminated with a semicolon.

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You should start. It is the ANSI standard and at some point sql server will require it. Notice that all the new features already require it usage.