Optimize Your SQL by Reformulating the Spec

As SQL developers, we tend to think of performance tuning in terms of crafting the best table indices, avoiding scalar and table valued functions, and analyzing query plans (among other things). But sometimes going back to the spec and applying some properties of elementary math can be the best way to begin to improve performance of SQL queries which implement mathematical formulas. This article is a case study of how I used this technique to optimize my SQL implementation of the Inverse Simpson Index.

Files with larger disk consumption

This script features as we can through the CTE Top10FilesWithLargerDiskConsumption the top ten data files that are showing greater consumption of hard drive related data-reading activities.

Starting a CTE

Implementing John Conway's Game of Life in Microsoft SQL Server

A fun exercise, using CTEs to implement John Conway's Game of Life cellular automata simulation

CTE Problem Redux

Cursor-Killing: Accessing Data in the Next Row

Cursors are considered by many to be the bane of good T-SQL. What are the best ways to avoid iterative T-SQL and to write queries that look and perform beautifully? This first part in an ongoing series of cursor-killing handles inter-row analysis.

CTE

Sales Report on a View

Sales Report based on a single view

Common table expressions and circular references

Finding circular references that are stopping your CTE from working.

How to Compare Rows within Partitioned Sets to Find Overlapping Dates

How to Compare Rows within Partitioned Sets to Find Overlapping, Contiguous, or Gap dates