Oh, I agree... the suggestion of sorting at the client means that you're sorting only the desired result set and no extra/unwanted data. Don't wanna "pop the pipe". ...

If you can write an "IN" like that, then you can also write it as a JOIN to a derived table. A derived table is a query in parenthesis...

I have to agree with Jack on this one. My premise was based on only whether or not to use CASE or Dynamic SQL. The real key is...

Wait a minute, folks... does the table have a clustered index anywhere on it or not?

Yep... even if you don't know their age 😀

One of my favorite forms of torture for such idious-savantes is to simply take them out to dinner... sit them in a chair and feed them big ol' greasy-gravy pork-chops......

... and, just to drive that well made point home... several panic calls at 2 - 4 am should quickly demonstrate the merit of a DBA having the privs to...

Why would a null be the sole cause of duplicate rows? There are duplicate ages already. There's no difference there. You can have more than one person...

Personally, I'd opt for the Dynamic SQL. It's going to be easy to maintain and it's going to be just as fast or faster than anything else because there's...

Heh... the correct answer is that no one has yet defined what a NULL in the age column is actually supposed to represent. Therefore, the possibilities are endless until...

All of the methods...

I'm with Jack on this one, Chris... a rewrite should be an opportunity to do things much better. I'd look at the code you're getting to rewrite and bust...

It goes back to exactly what...

Man, I agree with that... personal choice on such things is rare indeed. If you do get to make the choice, despite what I or anyone else says, choose...

Well I'll be darned... you remembered that? 😀