How To Use SQL Archives

This archive contains slew of posts on how to use SQL to solve problem. If you have a question about a particular issue, or technique, you may find a solution here.

For instance, here is one of our more “fun” article on how to use SQL to create a bar chart: How to Create A Bar Chart Using SQL Server

If you’re studying for the 70-761 Querying Microsoft SQL Server certification, these two articles are a must read:

All the examples for this lesson are based on Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and the sample databases AdventureWorks and WideWorldImporters. You can get started using these free tools using my guide Getting Started Using SQL Server

70-761 Exam: Newly Added Topics

The 70-761 Exam covers SQL Server 2016. Since this exam covers querying data, most of the topics covered in the 70-461 Exam are also covered, so if you’re familiar with that exam you’re in luck. If not, I would recommend checking out our study guide, as it details every topic covered by the 70-761 exam. […]

Avoid the 5 Most Common SQL Mistakes Beginners Make

Over the years there I’ve seen students makes these common SQL mistakes. They are really easy to avoid, and once you know the solution, you’ll find you write SQL much faster and with less tears and frustration than before. All the examples for this lesson are based on Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and the […]

9 Best Study Tips for 70-761 Certification

Check out these 9 best study tips I came across in to help you with 70-761 certification. If you’re planning on studying for exam 70-761, the I would recommend that you put these good habits into practice today. You’ll see that cramming isn’t effective, so its best to plan ahead. 9 Best Study Tips Whether […]

EssentialSQL 70-761 Resource Page

To help you get the most out your studying time, I put together this 70-761 resource page to help you succeed in getting ready for your certification. These resources help you prepare to take the 70-761 Querying Microsoft SQL Server Certification exam. Microsoft’s Official 70-761 Resource Page When preparing for the 70-761, your first stop […]

How to Create a 70-761 Study Plan Today!

Getting ready to study for the 70-761 can be intimidating! There are some many topics to study and so little time to do so. It can be overwhelming! So why not create a 70-761 study plan and reduce that stress? The plan will help you understand what topics to study, the order to study them, […]

70-761 Certification and Study Guide

Recently Microsoft released “Exam 70-761: Querying Data with Transact-SQL – Microsoft.” To help you study for this certification, I put together my 70-761 study guide. This guide is an update from the prior, which covered the 70-461 certification. The study guide includes every topic you should study to pass the 70-761. The guide is also […]

Learn how to Work Joins and Messy Data

In this puzzle, we’re going to learn how to join dirty data using SQL Server. Many times you’re forced to use someone else’s data. Since it is their system and data, not yours, you can’t always fix the inconsistently formatted data before it is in the database. So how can you use it? Do this […]

How do I use OFFSET and FETCH NEXT?

In this video we’ll walk you though how to use OFFSET and FETCH NEXT. We’ll show you how you can use these clauses to return a portion of your query results, such as 10 rows starting 1000 rows down. OFFSET and FETCH NEXT are similar to TOP, but I believe they are more powerful. Once […]

How to Create A Bar Chart Using SQL Server

In this puzzle, we’re going to learn how to create a bar chart using SQL Server. Sometimes it’s fun to see what you can do with the humble SELECT statement. Today I figured it would be fun to see if I could create an “old fashioned” bar chart, much like we used to do with […]

How do I use the Like Clause in SQL Server?

In this video we’ll walk you though how to use the LIKE clause. We’ll show you how to you can perform partial matches, such as being able to match all names beginning with “B” or ending in “Y.” We’ll also show you how to use use ranges. For instance you may want select all […]

Return the first rows from your result.

In this video we’ll walk you though how to select top rows within a query. We’ll show you how to retrieve the top or bottom rows in the result. We’ll also show you how to use one sort to select the rows, and once completed, another sort to present them (tricky). For instance you […]

Calculate the Last Day of the Month using SQL

When working with SQL dates, sometimes you need to calculate the end of the month. Months are tricky! Some are 28 days, others 30 or 31, and now and then there’s a leap year! So, given a date, how do you calculate the number of days remaining in the month? The calculation is really a […]

How to Study for the 70-461 Exam

Preparing for the 70-461 Exam In order to be successful studying for the 70-461 exam, you’ll need a good strategy and plan. Before we get into how to study for the 70-461, I want to tell you a quick story. Back in 2002 I heard a piece on National Public Radio talking about normal people, […]

9 Best Tips for 70-461 Certification

You can do this! Pass exam 70-461. It may seem intimidating, but you can pass Exam 70-461 Querying SQL Server. All it takes is a bit of planning and basic study tips. AsapScience explains in less than four minutes study habits you can use today to get the most out of your exam prep time. […]

How can I find Duplicate Values in SQL Server?

In this article find out how to find duplicate values in a table or view using SQL. We’ll go step by step through the process. We’ll start with a simple problem, slowly build up the SQL, until we achieve the end result. By the end you’ll understand the pattern used to identify duplicate values and […]

Write Better SQL – Step 3 of 3

To write sql, we’ll take all the information we’ve compiled in the previous articles and map it to the appropriate SELECT clause. The series starts with this introductory article. All the examples for this lesson are based on Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and the AdventureWorks2012 database. You can get started using these free tools […]

Write SQL – Formulate your Question – Step 2

To write SQL it is important to understand the question you wish to ask the database. I know this seems pretty obvious, but you would be surprised how many people get tripped up on this step. Some queries get so complex that people loose sight of the original question or goal. This is the third of […]

How to Write SQL – Understand Database Table Meanings and Relationships – Step 1

The first step to write SQL is to understand the database tables meanings and relationships. This is important, as complex queries often span more than one table. Knowing the purpose of the table and how they relate to one another is key. The series starts with this introductory article. All the examples for this […]

Learn the Three Crucial Steps to Writing Better SQL

You can learn to write SQL. It isn’t hard. Yes, there are many details to mind, but none of it is impossible. In this series of articles I’ll show you the three steps I go through to write complex queries. All the examples for this lesson are based on Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and […]

How do I combine results from more than one table?

Many times in a relational database the information you want to show in your query is in more than one table. This begs the question “How do you combine results from more than one table?” All the examples for this lesson are based on Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and the AdventureWorks2012 database. You can […]

Use SQL Server to Sort Alphanumeric Values

Sort Alphanumeric Values with SQL Server Recently a reader asked me how to sort an alpha numeric field in SQL in natural order. Alphanumeric values are commonly found and don’t sort naturally using numeric methods. When we have a numeric fields we expect values to be sorted in ordinal order, for example: 1,2,5,7,10,11,15,20,21 However when […]

Use SQLBackupAndFTP to Backup your SQLExpress Databases

In this tutorial learn about a dead simple way to back up your SQL databases to the cloud. I’ll show you how to use SQLBackupandFTP to back up a database to OneDrive (SkyDrive). This tool is really great as provides a means to backup SQLExpress databases, which as you know, don’t have a built-in backup […]