Last week’s quiz was on Table Value Constructors in TSQL.
Table value constructors let you create a dataset on the fly. These can occasionally be useful in writing queries, but I think playing with them has another benefit: they provide a simple, lightweight framework to let you develop your ability to think in sets.
Last week I posted a quiz on SQL Operations Studio,Ā a free, multi-platform tool from Microsoft..
This tool is under active development and the features are improving by the day – which makes it a great time to start trying out the tool and see what you like: because you can suggest changes!
Michelle asked a great question:
In your own words, why would one want to use a cross apply operator rather than a join operator? Iām old school, and Iām just not getting why a cross apply would be so much better to use than a join.
BREAK is a useful piece of control-of-flow language in SQL Server, but it only works in specific situations.
RETURN is a “control of flow” language keyword in Transact-SQL. It’s very useful for managing when code does – and does NOT – get executed in procedural code, and it can also be used to communicate the status from procedural code.
But not everyone knows how to use RETURN, and learning about it can be awkward because of some quirks of SQL Server Management Studio. It is well worth taking the time to get used to it, though!
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