Arrays

External Article

Arrays in SQL that Avoid Repeated Groups

  • Article

It is certainly possible to fake an Array in SQL, but there are only a few occasions when it would be the best design. Most often, the wish for an array in SQL is a sign of a forlorn struggle against poorly-normalised data. One of the worst sins against Codd is the repeating group, as Joe Celko explains.

2011-07-20

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Question of the Day

ORDER BY alias

There is a table tmp_tab:

CREATE TABLE tmp_tab (
id int,
val int
);
INSERT INTO tmp_tab VALUES
(1, 1),
(2, NULL),
(3, 3),
(4, 4),
(5, 5);
You want to order the rows ids by the following expression:
    ISNULL(val, id) + 1
Which of the following queries produces the expected ordering and why? (Select all correct)

See possible answers