Are the posted questions getting worse?

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Are the posted questions getting worse?

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Koen Verbeeck SSC Guru Points: 259105 More actions · Answer 1

GilaMonster (7/9/2014)
WHERE Coalesce(NotNullableColumn,-1) = 0 and CategoryID = @CategoryID
Group By CategoryID
......

Imo there is not necessarily something wrong with the group by.

The coalesce on the other hand is for people who have never heard of IS NOT NULL 😀

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Eirikur Eiriksson SSC Guru Points: 182912 More actions · Answer 2

Koen Verbeeck (7/9/2014)
GilaMonster (7/9/2014)
WHERE Coalesce(NotNullableColumn,-1) = 0 and CategoryID = @CategoryID
Group By CategoryID
......
Imo there is not necessarily something wrong with the group by.
The coalesce on the other hand is for people who have never heard of IS NOT NULL 😀

In TSQL that would be

WHERE COMPREHEND(NULL) IS NULL

😎

SQLRNNR SSC Guru Points: 281334 More actions · Answer 3

Koen Verbeeck (7/9/2014)
GilaMonster (7/9/2014)
WHERE Coalesce(NotNullableColumn,-1) = 0 and CategoryID = @CategoryID
Group By CategoryID
......
Imo there is not necessarily something wrong with the group by.
The coalesce on the other hand is for people who have never heard of IS NOT NULL 😀

Nevermind the column can't be null.:-D:-D

Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
Learn Extended Events

Luis Cazares SSC Guru Points: 183706 More actions · Answer 4

SQLRNNR (7/9/2014)
Koen Verbeeck (7/9/2014)
GilaMonster (7/9/2014)
WHERE Coalesce(NotNullableColumn,-1) = 0 and CategoryID = @CategoryID
Group By CategoryID
......
Imo there is not necessarily something wrong with the group by.
The coalesce on the other hand is for people who have never heard of IS NOT NULL 😀
Nevermind the column can't be null.:-D:-D

You never know, you might find something like this:

CREATE TABLE Categories(

CategoryID NVARCHAR(MAX) NULL,

NotNullableColumn NVARCHAR(MAX) NULL)

I'm sure that someone is capable of doing something like that. :w00t:

Luis C.
General Disclaimer:
Are you seriously taking the advice and code from someone from the internet without testing it? Do you at least understand it? Or can it easily kill your server?

How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help: Option 1 / Option 2

SQLRNNR SSC Guru Points: 281334 More actions · Answer 5

Luis Cazares (7/9/2014)
SQLRNNR (7/9/2014)
Koen Verbeeck (7/9/2014)
GilaMonster (7/9/2014)
WHERE Coalesce(NotNullableColumn,-1) = 0 and CategoryID = @CategoryID
Group By CategoryID
......
Imo there is not necessarily something wrong with the group by.
The coalesce on the other hand is for people who have never heard of IS NOT NULL 😀
Nevermind the column can't be null.:-D:-D
You never know, you might find something like this:
CREATE TABLE Categories(
CategoryID NVARCHAR(MAX) NULL,
NotNullableColumn NVARCHAR(MAX) NULL)
I'm sure that someone is capable of doing something like that. :w00t:

U U U UGLY

Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
Learn Extended Events

Gail Shaw SSC Guru Points: 1004504 More actions · Answer 6

Koen Verbeeck (7/9/2014)
GilaMonster (7/9/2014)
WHERE Coalesce(NotNullableColumn,-1) = 0 and CategoryID = @CategoryID
Group By CategoryID
......
Imo there is not necessarily something wrong with the group by.

The actual query was a little (lot) more complex and the group by was completely unnecessary. Whether the optimiser couldn't figure that out or what I don't know, but it was resulting in a sort being added to the plan.

Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

We walk in the dark places no others will enter
We stand on the bridge and no one may pass

Koen Verbeeck SSC Guru Points: 259105 More actions · Answer 7

SQLRNNR (7/9/2014)
Koen Verbeeck (7/9/2014)
GilaMonster (7/9/2014)
WHERE Coalesce(NotNullableColumn,-1) = 0 and CategoryID = @CategoryID
Group By CategoryID
......
Imo there is not necessarily something wrong with the group by.
The coalesce on the other hand is for people who have never heard of IS NOT NULL 😀
Nevermind the column can't be null.:-D:-D

That doesn't matter. It might be used to filter out rows after a left outer join. (although I can imagine more efficient constructs)

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MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP

Koen Verbeeck SSC Guru Points: 259105 More actions · Answer 8

GilaMonster (7/9/2014)
Koen Verbeeck (7/9/2014)
GilaMonster (7/9/2014)
WHERE Coalesce(NotNullableColumn,-1) = 0 and CategoryID = @CategoryID
Group By CategoryID
......
Imo there is not necessarily something wrong with the group by.
The actual query was a little (lot) more complex and the group by was completely unnecessary.

I can imagine the actual query being more complex (also having a SELECT and stuff like that :-D).

I was thinking along the lines of aggregations, but then probably other columns should have been included in the GROUP BY as well.

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My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP

Koen Verbeeck SSC Guru Points: 259105 More actions · Answer 9

So I tried to endorse Jeff on LinkedIn for BCP, but somehow it doesn't work.

I saw Jeff was endorsed 9 times for SSIS. That was cruel. 😀

Need an answer? No, you need a question
My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP

Jack Corbett SSC Guru Points: 184394 More actions · Answer 10

Koen Verbeeck (7/10/2014)
So I tried to endorse Jeff on LinkedIn for BCP, but somehow it doesn't work.
I saw Jeff was endorsed 9 times for SSIS. That was cruel. 😀

I don't know, I bet Jeff would write better SSIS packages than a lot of people who do it full-time.:w00t:

Jack Corbett
Consultant - Straight Path Solutions
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Koen Verbeeck SSC Guru Points: 259105 More actions · Answer 11

Jack Corbett (7/10/2014)
Koen Verbeeck (7/10/2014)
So I tried to endorse Jeff on LinkedIn for BCP, but somehow it doesn't work.
I saw Jeff was endorsed 9 times for SSIS. That was cruel. 😀
I don't know, I bet Jeff would write better SSIS packages than a lot of people who do it full-time.:w00t:

I guess he would have just one Execute SQL Task that calls a stored procedure 😀

Need an answer? No, you need a question
My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP

ChrisM@Work SSC Guru Points: 186127 More actions · Answer 12

Koen Verbeeck (7/10/2014)
Jack Corbett (7/10/2014)
Koen Verbeeck (7/10/2014)
So I tried to endorse Jeff on LinkedIn for BCP, but somehow it doesn't work.
I saw Jeff was endorsed 9 times for SSIS. That was cruel. 😀
I don't know, I bet Jeff would write better SSIS packages than a lot of people who do it full-time.:w00t:
I guess he would have just one Execute SQL Task that calls a stored procedure 😀

So would I - you wouldn't believe the cr@p SSIS tasks I've seen in the last couple of years. Gazillions of DCT's just because some oaf couldn't write decent TSQL.

^{“Write the query the simplest way. If through testing it becomes clear that the performance is inadequate, consider alternative query forms.” - Gail Shaw}

For fast, accurate and documented assistance in answering your questions, please read this article.
Understanding and using APPLY, (I) and (II) Paul White
Hidden RBAR: Triangular Joins / The "Numbers" or "Tally" Table: What it is and how it replaces a loop Jeff Moden

Grant Fritchey SSC Guru Points: 398890 More actions · Answer 13

I get it. I'm not the brightest bulb in the box, but I can usually understand the logic of processing data most of the time. I'm utterly at a loss over here. Maybe this guy is making sense and I'm just too dense to understand. Maybe it's gibberish like it feels like. Maybe I'm tired. Could someone, nicely, try to help here?

"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt

Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning

SQLRNNR SSC Guru Points: 281334 More actions · Answer 14

Koen Verbeeck (7/10/2014)
Jack Corbett (7/10/2014)
Koen Verbeeck (7/10/2014)
So I tried to endorse Jeff on LinkedIn for BCP, but somehow it doesn't work.
I saw Jeff was endorsed 9 times for SSIS. That was cruel. 😀
I don't know, I bet Jeff would write better SSIS packages than a lot of people who do it full-time.:w00t:
I guess he would have just one Execute SQL Task that calls a stored procedure 😀

Reminds me of a package I recently fixed that had the following.

Execute SQL task that executed a stored procedure, that called xp_cmdshell, executed a bat file, that executed sqlcmd that queried a table for a single value.

Yeah go figure.

Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
Learn Extended Events

Sean Lange SSC Guru Points: 286590 More actions · Answer 15

Grant Fritchey (7/10/2014)
I get it. I'm not the brightest bulb in the box, but I can usually understand the logic of processing data most of the time. I'm utterly at a loss over here. Maybe this guy is making sense and I'm just too dense to understand. Maybe it's gibberish like it feels like. Maybe I'm tired. Could someone, nicely, try to help here?

Nope you are spot on. It is total gibberish and the poor person doesn't know enough to realize how screwed up their "structures" are. I would have answered but about all I would do is say much the same as you, except I might add that they should hire a consultant to help them unravel that mess.

_______________________________________________________________

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Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.

Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/