The WHILE loop in SQL Server is a control-flow statement that allows us to repeatedly execute a block of code as long as a specified condition is true. It’s useful for iterative tasks and processing data in batches.
Category: SQL Server
Boost Your Data Analysis with These SQL Rank Functions
Most SQL databases have a handful of “ranking” functions that allow us to rank data. By “handful”, I mean there’s a common set of around six SQL rank functions that most of the major RDBMSs appear to support.
SQL rank functions allow us to assign ranks or row numbers to result sets.
Continue readingAdvanced T-SQL Join Techniques: Beyond INNER and LEFT Joins
While INNER and LEFT JOINs are the workhorses of SQL queries, T-SQL offers several more advanced join techniques that can be invaluable for complex data analysis and manipulation. This article explores some of these powerful join methods and how they can enhance our queries.
Date Formats Accepted by SQL Server’s datetime2 Type
Below are the string literal date formats that SQL Server supports for the datetime2 data type. These are the formats that we can provide when setting a datetime2 date from a string literal.
Continue readingFix Error “The function ‘RANK’ must have an OVER clause” in SQL Server
If you’re getting an error that reads “The function ‘RANK’ must have an OVER clause” in SQL Server, it’s probably because you’re calling the RANK() function without an OVER clause.
The RANK() function requires an OVER clause (and that clause must have an ORDER BY clause).
To fix this issue, add an OVER clause when calling the RANK() function.
How to Fix “The function ‘NTILE’ must have an OVER clause with ORDER BY” Error in SQL Server
When using the NTILE() function in SQL Server, we must include an OVER clause clause with an ORDER BY clause.
If you’re getting error msg 4112 that reads “The function ‘NTILE’ must have an OVER clause with ORDER BY” when using the NTILE() function, it’s because, although you’re (correctly) including an OVER clause, you’re omitting the ORDER BY clause.
To fix this error, add an ORDER BY clause to the OVER clause.
Fix “Invalid object name ‘GENERATE_SERIES'” in SQL Server
If you’re getting SQL Server error 208 that reads “Invalid object name ‘GENERATE_SERIES’“, it could be that you’re calling GENERATE_SERIES() in a version of SQL Server that doesn’t support this function.
The GENERATE_SERIES() function was introduced in SQL Server 2022 (16.x), and so if we try to call it in an earlier version of SQL Server, we’ll get the above error.
So if you’re running this on an earlier version, you’ll need to upgrade before you can run it successfully. You’ll also need to run it on a database with a compatibility level of at least 160.
Continue readingFix Error “The function ‘DENSE_RANK’ must have an OVER clause” in SQL Server
If you’re getting error 10753 when using a window function in SQL Server, it’s probably because you’re calling the function without an OVER clause.
When using the DENSE_RANK() function, the error message reads “The function ‘DENSE_RANK’ must have an OVER clause”.
The DENSE_RANK() function requires an OVER clause (and that clause must have an ORDER BY clause).
To fix this issue, add an OVER clause to the DENSE_RANK() function.
Fix “‘GENERATE_SERIES’ is not a recognized built-in function name” in SQL Server
If you’re getting an error that reads “‘GENERATE_SERIES’ is not a recognized built-in function name” in SQL Server, it could be that you’re calling GENERATE_SERIES() in the wrong context.
In SQL Server, GENERATE_SERIES() is a relational operator that returns a series of values from a given start and stop point.
When we call GENERATE_SERIES() in a SQL query, we don’t include it in the SELECT list, like we would with many SQL functions. Instead, we reference it in the FROM clause, like we would reference a table.
So if you’re getting the above error, it could be that you’re inadvertently making this mistake. To fix, be sure to call GENERATE_SERIES() in the correct context.
Understanding the Right Shift and Left Shift Operators in SQL Server
SQL Server 2022 introduced a bunch of new bit manipulation functions and operators. Amongst these are the right shift and left shift operators.
The right shift and left shift operators can be used to shift bits to the left or right. Given an integer or binary expression, these operators can shift bits by the amount that we specify.
Continue reading