A discussion of how Google can serve as an invaluable resource when facing a SQL-based challenge.

Today I briefly want to mention a question a colleague at work asked: How can a comma delimited string be split using T-SQL but without using a cursor/loop? I wasn’t sure at first, but as is often the case, Google served as an invaluable resource. I found a useful solution here.

This example question and solution shows something important – in general, other developers and DBAs have already encountered the same or similar predicaments and questions that we face on an ongoing basis. Certainly creativity is needed when addressing a problem, but such creativity isn’t typically groundbreaking or revolutionary. Instead, it is using the knowledge already out there [from one's own experience or the experiences of others] and applying it to particular scenario, and doing so with a critical eye to differentiate good vs. subpar solutions.

I’ll discuss this more in a future post.