The Duplicate Cursor

A Case FOR Cursors...

We've all heard that definitive statement: "Avoid using cursors." But, in my opinion, what really should be conveyed is: "Avoid using row-by-row operations when possible."

Performance Improvement for Cursors in Stored Procedures

Exploring some differences between using cursors, local fast forward cursors and using set logic.

Cursor-Killing: Retrieving Recently Modified Data

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? In the next part of an ongoing series, we look at ways to efficiently retrieve recently modified data.

A simple T-SQL statement to create a list of lookup values

In this article, we provide a simple way to get a comma delimited list from a table of entries without having to use a CURSOR or a WHILE loop to read through the table.

What Every DBA Ought to Know About SQL Server Cursors (and Their Alternatives)

Cursors provide a means of processing through a set of records row-by-row. However, many companies have a policy against using cursors in their SQL Server standards. This article examines the problem with cursors and alternatives to using them.

4 Ways to Increase Your Salary (Using UPDATE)

This article depicts how to approach row by row updates needed in a salary table. It might not directly let you increase your salary, but it could help you at review time.

Avoiding cursors with SQL Server 2005

Sometimes cursors are necessary when executing queries in SQL Server, but most of the time they can be avoided entirely. This article shows where cursors can traditionally be used, and how you can use features packaged in SQL Server 2005 to avoid them.

Cursors for T-SQL Beginners

Should we really avoid cursors? See how to rewrite code to avoid cursors and also analyze the implications.

Cursors Be Gone!

A short tutorial on converting cursors to more conventional loops.