SQLServerCentral.com Content tagged T-SQL, SQL Puzzles

The SQL of Scrabble and Rapping

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 07:00:00 UT

In which Phil decides to use a table consisting of all the common words in English to explore ways of cheating at Scrabble and writing doggerel using SQL Server. He then issues a SQL challenge.

Just For Fun: An Impossible Delete

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:00:00 UT

How can you delete only some duplicates? Without Identity's, Temp tables, Cursors, loops or ROW_NUMBER()? Would you believe, go back to the 70's?

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Celko's SQL Stumper: The Data Warehouse Problem

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:00:00 UT

Joe Celko comes back with a puzzle that isn't new, but one where the answer he originally gave now seems archaic: It is a deceptively simple problem, but is it true that the new features of SQL have simplified the solution? We leave it to the readers to provide the answer!

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Celko's Summer SQL Stumpers: Prime numbers

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:00:00 UT

Our first Stumper sees Joe Celko providing a conundrum with a prize for anyone who can come up with a better solution than he can.

Just For Fun: An Impossible Delete

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:00:00 UT

How can you delete only some duplicates? Without Identity's, Temp tables, Cursors, loops or ROW_NUMBER()? Would you believe, go back to the 70's?

Eliminating Cursors

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:00:00 UT

T-SQL does some things wonderfully, but cursors are the bane of the language, often causing performance issues. Changing your queries around to remove cursors can be tricky and new author Kamran Ali brings us one technique he has used to dramatically improve performance.

Delete Duplicates

Tue, 13 May 2008 06:00:00 UT

The T-SQL Quiz

Thu, 01 May 2008 06:00:00 UT

Longtime SQL Server DBA and author Grant Fritchey decided to quiz his developers on how to perform some simple functions in T-SQL. Read about his results and see how you might do in taking his quiz.

Full Control Over a Randomly Generated Password

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 07:00:00 UT

All of us need a steady stream of random passwords for the various systems we manage. Peter Larsson brings us an interesting T-SQL solution that generates one for us.

Finding Primes

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 07:00:00 UT

While it's not likely that many of you need to find prime numbers using T-SQL, it is an interesting programming exercise. SQL Server guru Kathi Kellenburger brings us one solution after taking a break over the holidays and reading some popular fiction.

Celko's 'Can't Be Your Own Supervisor' SQL Puzzle

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 06:00:00 UT

A SQL puzzle from the SQL guru.

A Raffle Puzzle

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 06:00:00 UT

An interesting puzzle from the Orlando SQL Server Users Group

The GO Command and the Semicolon Terminator

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 06:00:00 UT

There are probably not many SQL Server DBAs that use the semicolon as a statement separator. In SQL Server 2005, this is required in certain places and new author Kenneth Powers brings us a look at where and why you need to use this syntax.

The T-SQL Quiz

Thu, 01 May 2008 06:00:00 UT

Longtime SQL Server DBA and author Grant Fritchey decided to quiz his developers on how to perform some simple functions in T-SQL. Read about his results and see how you might do in taking his quiz.

SQLChess - A tutorial on thinking in sets

Mon, 21 May 2007 06:00:00 UT

Chess makes a fantastic game for programming examples. You will find hundreds of examples on the internet. Some dedicated to OO patterns, others to algorithms and so forth. Unfortunately, most of these examples do not use a database or if they do, treat the database as nothing more than a storage repository. In this series of articles we will use SQL Server and T-SQL to implement the game of chess with an emphasis on thinking in sets.

Full Control Over a Randomly Generated Password

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 07:00:00 UT

All of us need a steady stream of random passwords for the various systems we manage. Peter Larsson brings us an interesting T-SQL solution that generates one for us.

Creating cross tab queries and pivot tables in SQL

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 06:00:00 UT

For those times when you absolutely, positively got to perform a cross tab query in SQL, Keith Fletcher's T-SQL stored procedure will allow you to do it "on the fly". You can add it to your database and start cross tabbing immediately, without any further setup or changes to you SQL code. Check it out, and then take the cross tab challenge.

Finding Primes

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 07:00:00 UT

Eliminating Cursors

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:00:00 UT

SQL 2000 DBA Toolkit Part 4

Thu, 04 May 2006 06:00:00 UT

In the final installment of his series, Michael Coles examines a few other functions in his SQL Server 2000 toolkit to help you with other functions, like reading a directory on your server. Read the series and send some feedback to make this THE premier toolset for SQL Server 2000 DBAs.

SQL 2000 DBA Toolkit Part 3

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 06:00:00 UT

Phonetic matching, working on finding terms that are misspelled, is an art and there are a number of ways to handle it. In SQL Server 2000 the tools are limited, but Michael Coles brings us part 3 of his toolkit with some handy functions that can help you with text searching.

Triggers to Execute in Pre Defined Order

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 06:00:00 UT

SQL Server allows multiple triggers on a table, but the order in which they are executed can sometimes cause problems. Author Dinesh Asanka brings us a technique for managing the order of execution for your triggers.

Finding Gaps in a Sequential Number Sequence

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 06:00:00 UT

Do you use identity values? Do missing values ever cause problems? Maybe you need to look for missing invoices? Stephen Lasham brings us a technique for finding those missing values in a sequence.

The Dodgy GO Statement

Tue, 21 Feb 2006 07:00:00 UT

Do you really understand what happens when you create a stored procedure? What if you have some extra code in your batch? This is an interesting article that shows an interesting effect of creating a stored procedure and where your GO statement is placed.

Practical Uses of PatIndex

Mon, 06 Feb 2006 07:00:00 UT

String manipulation is not one of the strong points of T-SQL, but there are some functions that can greatly assist you with searching and working with character values. New author Robert Davis brings us a look at PATINDEX, one of the search functions and also explains the differences between it and the often used CHARINDEX.

Eliminating Cursors

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:00:00 UT

Working With System Tables

Mon, 16 Jan 2006 07:00:00 UT

It's not recommended, but sometimes writing scripts against the system tables and getting information is a great way to work with SQL Server. Alex Grinberg brings us a look at some of the things you can get from system tables along with some sample scripts.

The GO Command and the Semicolon Terminator

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 06:00:00 UT

Outer Join Trouble

Thu, 05 Jan 2006 07:00:00 UT

Writing outer joins can be more difficult than it appears at first glance. Steve Jones examines this less often used query technique and brings to light a few places where you can lose data.

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Male, Female and The Other One (NULL)

Wed, 28 Dec 2005 07:00:00 UT

When programming in T-SQL, the impact of NULL values can be severe in many cases, especially aggregates. New Author Peter Ward brings us a great explanation on how NULLs can impact things like SUM operations.

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