Popular Articles

Using REPLACE in an UPDATE statement

This article covers using the REPLACE function to selectively replace text inside a string in SQL Server. The REPLACE function is easy to use and very handy with an UPDATE statment.

31 March 2010 - Bill Graziano - 12 Comments

Temporary Tables

Sophie writes "Can you use a Stored Procedure to open a table and copy data to a sort of virtual table (or a records set) so that you can change the values with and not affect the actual data in the actual table. And then return the results of the virtual table? Thanks!" This article covers temporary tables and tables variables and is updated for SQL Server 2005.

17 January 2001 - Bill Graziano - 15 Comments

An Introduction to Triggers -- Part I

This article, submitted by Garth , covers the basics of using triggers. "A trigger is a database object that is attached to a table. In many aspects it is similar to a stored procedure." If you're a developer and not familiar with triggers this article is a great starting point.

30 April 2001 - Garth Wells - 12 Comments

User Defined Functions

This article covers all the basics of User Defined Functions. It discusses how (and why) to create them and when to use them. It talks about scalar, inline table-valued and multi-statement table-valued functions. (This article has been updated through SQL Server 2005.)

12 October 2000 - Doug Carpenter - 6 Comments

Using SELECT to INSERT records

Edwin writes "Ok, this may be simple to some, but it sure is a puzzle to me. I want to move a set of data from one table to another table with a similar structure. What I figure was a shady solution: Selecting the data from the source table, then opening the other table and using a loop to populate the destination table. Question: Is there a way I can use just ONE insert statement to do all this? Sort of like incorporating the select statement into the insert statement? If there is one, then please give me some example code." I certainly can do this in one statement (but looks like two). (This article has been updated through SQL Server 2005.)

15 August 2000 - Bill Graziano - 28 Comments

How to Insert Values into an Identity Column in SQL Server

Identity columns are commonly used as primary keys in database tables.  These columns automatically assign a value for each new row inserted.  But what if you want to insert your own value into the column?  It's actually very easy to do.

6 August 2007 - Bill Graziano - 6 Comments

Stored Procedures: Returning Data

This article discusses three common ways to return data from stored procedures: returning result sets (SELECT statements), using output variables and using the RETURN statement.  Each example includes client-side code (ASP.NET) and server-side code (T-SQL) to read the results. (This article has been updated through SQL Server 2005.)

9 April 2001 - Bill Graziano - 9 Comments

Using BULK INSERT to Load a Text File

This example combines dynamic SQL, BULK INSERT and the proper handling of double-quotes to solve a client's problem with loading various text file formats into a database. (This article has been updated through SQL Server 2005.)

19 March 2001 - Garth Wells - 63 Comments

How to Use GROUP BY in SQL Server

Summarizing data in a SELECT statement using a GROUP BY clause is a very common area of difficulty for beginning SQL programmers. In Part I of this two part series, we'll use a simple schema and a typical report request to cover the effect of JOINS on grouping and aggregate calculations, and how to use COUNT(Distinct) to overcome this. In Part II, we'll finish up our report while examining the problem with SUM(Distinct) and discussing how useful derived tables can be when grouping complicated data. (This article has been updated through SQL Server 2005.)

30 July 2007 - Jeff Smith - 7 Comments

Using TABLE Variables

Srinivas R writes "hi all, How do i use table data type and what is the use ??? Let me know with a good sample. Wallops!!!!"

7 June 2002 - Bill Graziano - 23 Comments