In SQL Server, we can use the T-SQL LTRIM() function to remove leading blanks from a given string.
Also, as from SQL Server 2022, we can specify other leading characters to remove from the string.
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Fixing the “data types” are “incompatible in the approx_percentile_cont operator” in SQL Server
If you’re getting SQL Server error msg 402 that tells you the “data types” are “incompatible in the approx_percentile_cont operator“, it’s probably because you’re trying to apply the APPROX_PERCENTILE_CONT() function against a non-numeric column (or one that doesn’t evaluate to a numeric type).
When using the APPROX_PERCENTILE_CONT() function, the ORDER BY expression in the WITHIN GROUP clause must evaluate to an exact or approximate numeric type. Other data types are not allowed, and will result in the above error.
To fix this issue, be sure to apply the function against a numeric column/expression.
Continue readingUnderstanding the STRING_SPLIT() Function in SQL Server
In SQL Server STRING_SPLIT() is a table-valued function that splits a string into rows of substrings, based on a specified separator character.
Each substring is returned on its own row, in a column called value.
How the CHOOSE() Function Works in SQL Server
In SQL Server the CHOOSE() function returns the item at the specified index from a list of values.
Fix SQL Server Error: “The function ‘APPROX_PERCENTILE_CONT’ must have a WITHIN GROUP clause”
If you’re getting SQL Server error 10754 that reads “The function ‘APPROX_PERCENTILE_CONT’ must have a WITHIN GROUP clause” it’s probably because you’re calling the APPROX_PERCENTILE_CONT() function, but you’ve omitted the WITHIN GROUP clause.
To fix this issue, add a WITHIN GROUP clause to the function (and make sure it has an ORDER BY clause).
The Difference Between LEAST() and MIN() in SQL Server
SQL Server 2022 introduced the LEAST() function, which at first glance, may seem to do the same thing as the already existing MIN() function.
However, these are two separate functions with two separate purposes.
Continue readingOverview of the VARP() Function in SQL Server
In SQL Server the VARP() function returns the statistical variance for the population for all values in the specified expression.
Understanding the VAR() Function in SQL Server
In SQL Server the VAR() function returns the statistical variance of all values in the specified expression.
A Quick Overview of SQL Server’s STDEVP() Function
In SQL Server the STDEVP() function returns the statistical standard deviation for the population for all values in the specified expression.
How to Select the Date Column with the Latest Date in SQL Server
Suppose you have a query that returns multiple date columns, and suppose you want to return the latest date, regardless of which column it came from.
As from SQL Server 2022 we can use the GREATEST() function to easily achieve this outcome.