Advanced SQL

SQLServerCentral Article

SQL Server Enum Implementation: A Single-Row View Strategy for Avoiding Magic Values

  • Article

Learn about an alternative strategy for avoiding hardcoded literal values in SQL Server queries by using single-row views designed to mimic enum behavior.

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2026-06-26

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SQLServerCentral Article

SQL Window Functions Series: NTILE()

  • Article

Unlock the power of SQL's NTILE function with our latest deep-dive article. Learn to segment your data effectively into quantiles for more nuanced analysis, discover common pitfalls and their solutions, and optimize your queries for peak performance.

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2024-02-03 (first published: )

5,291 reads

SQLServerCentral Article

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2023-11-20 (first published: )

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SQLServerCentral Article

Exploring Parameter Sensitive Plan Optimization in SQL Server 2022

  • Article

PSPO (Parameter Sensitive Plan Optimization) is a SQL Server feature that improves query performance by accepting varied data sizes based on the runtime parameter value(s) specified by the customer. It deals with the situation in which a single cached plan for a parameterized query isn't the best option for all potential incoming parameter values. Non-uniform data distributions exhibit this phenomenon. When using PSPO, SQL Server keeps several execution plans for a single query, each one customized for a particular parameter value. With the help of this feature, numerous execution plans for a parameterized query are generated, each of which is tailored for a certain range of parameter values.

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2023-07-21

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SQLServerCentral Article

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2022-07-13

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Technical Article

Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

  • Script

Many people have published high performance, read-less, Inline Table Valued functions that use Itzik Ben-Gan's wonderful "Virtual Numbers Table" to replace WHILE loops and other forms of RBAR. This one is Jeff Moden's version.

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2019-08-13 (first published: )

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Stairway to Advanced T-SQL

Stairway to Advanced T-SQL Level 3: Understanding Common Table Expressions (CTEs)

  • Stairway Step

A CTE is a temporary result set defined by a simple query, and is used within the execution scope of a single INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, or SELECT statement. In this article we will explore how to define and use CTE's.

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2024-04-03 (first published: )

6,532 reads

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Symmetric Key Encryption

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Question of the Day

Symmetric Key Encryption

If I run this statement in SQL Server 2025, how is the password encrypted?

CREATE SYMMETRIC KEY MySymmetricKey
WITH ALGORITHM = AES_256,
KEY_SOURCE = 'My secret key source passphrase',
IDENTITY_VALUE = 'My secret identity value'
ENCRYPTION BY PASSWORD = 'S&perS#cretP@ssword7';
GO

See possible answers