I'm siding with the pedants on this one. I knew what was intended (and what the correct answer would be) but picked the error anyway, because that's how the...

Well I learned two things. One, be careful with those GO statements, they can bite you in the butt. Two, write a QotD that trips up a bunch...

Right answer, wrong reason. So I got the point and I learned something, cool!

david.wright-948385 (6/2/2010)

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Absolutely right - my bad. I'm afraid my brain is wired to never ever use '=' or '<>' where either side can be null, even if I'm trying to...

Yeah, I was kinda wishing for a "tldr" option. 😛

Wow, this was such a good question, I wish I'd written it! 😀 I learned at least three things from it, so I don't mind having gotten it wrong.

The key for me getting this right was starting at the end. I knew it had to end DISTINCT, ORDER BY, COUNT -- fortunately there was only one answer...

Oh, no need for an apology, my post was intended as a compliment! Most of the questions I see here are either things I...

I'm not ashamed to admit that I've read this problem and the solution several times, as well as the corresponding BOL topics, and I still can't make heads or tails...

Hugo, your explanation is excellent, thank you. I wouldn't have thought it was any of those answers; my first guess was 112. I forgot about type precedence in...

When your name is in the explanation, and you get it wrong, well that's just embarrassing. :unsure:

Ron Moses

I keep saying this to my lead developer. He doesn't really listen to me anymore, I'm not...

Wow, I never knew about this! I've got a few SPs to clean up this morning! 🙂

Really! My favorite part of QotD is the ensuing argument! "I ran the script on 2005 Express with...

An excellent question. The best questions get you thinking in new ways about tools you use all the time, and this certainly fits the bill.

Ultimately it came down to...