indeed but the problem is that i have several other values to pull from the row with the max seq.

what i seem to be getting is a mix of the...

is a left outer join faster than NOT EXISTS then ?

i'd still stick with the where clause for readability

i guess it might depend on your data somewhat

But. The where clause is where sql server would expect to find it.

I've always done joins on the values of one column...

Inded.

Although i WAS on the beta and am now not. I've moved companies.

Ironically the company i worked for were really lucky to be on the ascend program and they're not...

The learning curve will be steep, but I must admit this is the first time Microsoft has involved developers from ISVs from all over the world in beta testing and...

I agree with the post above but this issue about normalisation comes up again  and again.

a 284 col table is plainly not normalised. databases seldom seem to be modelled and...

thanks

found the same solution elswhere.

indeed - you really need to look at the design.

get someone who knows something about databases, lok at your data flow, create a design and implement it.

<snip>REMEMBER TO NORMALIZE YOUR DATA (IN TABLES)</snip>

Normalisation is a structure thing, not a data thing.

The use of cursors...

AFAIK no.

I think the viewing the execution plan of your query would tell you for certain. The restriction of the data (WHERE) should be done before the join but to...

It would be easier if we had an idea of the structure of your tables. Cursors can often be replaced with set based operations but it's difficult to say without...

There is some info on pivot tables in BOL.

Yukon will support pivot tables natively in the syntax but I think SS2K would need a stepped approach

Actually - a better rip from BOL is :

Selecting a Recovery Model

Microsoft® SQL Server™ provides three recovery models to:

• Simplify recovery planning.
• Simplify backup and recovery procedures.
• Clarify tradeoffs...

this was ripped from BOL

With the Simple Recovery model, the database can be recovered to the point of the last backup. However, you cannot restore the database to the point...