If it is your application that is submitting the SQL then why not  have a simple If statement in your code so that when category is not zero then the...

It won't work in Enterprise Manager but it will in SQL Query Analyser.

If you are doing it within a stored procedure then it is easy, however if you want to  do it as a simple query then try

SELECT *

FROM dbo.Categories

WHERE CategoryId =...

SELECT SUM(CASE table1.ID1 WHEN NULL THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS counter, table2.ID2, table2.ID3 FROM

table2 LEFT JOIN table1

ON

table2.ID2 = table1.ID2

AND

table2.ID3 = table1.ID3

GROUP BY table2.ID2, table2.ID3

Is it possible that the subquery is doing a dirty read?

There are no indices on SysProcesses and therefore there is nothing in particular to prevent there being multiple entires within...

If you can do it using a single query then why bother with a cursor?

SQL Server is optimised for set based operations.  I tend to view cursors as an option...

A situation where I use dynamic SQL is in an "advanced search" type query where there are a large number of optional parameters.

Even then I use a stored procedure to...

Point 1

If you are a one man band working on small projects then the VB/Access route can be the fastest way to go.

If you are working in teams on larger...

Nancy,

You are really doing research as a script writer for Dilbert column aren't you

So the archive always contains a log of the changes that have been made to a record?

The trigger method does mean that the archiving is done at the database level...

In general I would keep SQL within stored procedures for umpteen billion reasons that have been discussed on this site.

• Stored procedures are compiled
• Are more secure
• Can be debugged on the SQL...

Without testing this I cannot say if my code below will be bug free but the first three queries simply don't need a cursor.

Your cursor simply selects all users for...

I've found that using string functions in WHERE clauses has a higher performance penalty than using LIKE with wildcards.

I'm not sure that I agree with non-maths numbers stored in text.

I would say that the rule of thumb would be that if a numerical value has to be displayed,...

The other thing to watch out for is the way in which SQL stores dates.

For example, the default SQL Server install gives you dates in US format  Month/Day/Year.

In Britain we...