Tag: t-sql

COUNT() vs COUNT_BIG() in SQL Server: What’s the Difference?

Posted on by Ian

In SQL Server, the COUNT_BIG() function and the COUNT() do essentially the same thing: return the number of items found in a group. Basically, you can use these functions to find out how many rows are in a table or result set.

In many cases, you’ll be able to choose whichever one you prefer. However, there’s a difference between these two functions that might dictate that you to use one over the other.

The difference is that COUNT() returns its result as an int, whereas COUNT_BIG() returns its result as a bigint.

In other words, you’ll need to use COUNT_BIG() if you expect its results to be larger than 2,147,483,647 (i.e. if the query returns more than 2,147,483,647 rows).

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How COUNT_BIG() Works in SQL Server

Posted on by Ian

In SQL Server, the COUNT_BIG() function returns the number of items found in a group. You can use it to find out how many rows are in a table or result set.

This function works similar to the COUNT() function. The difference is that COUNT() returns its result as an int, whereas COUNT_BIG() returns its result as a bigint.

Therefore COUNT_BIG() could come in handy if you expect your result set to have a very large number of rows (i.e. larger than 2,147,483,647).

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How to Include Results that Tie for Last Place when Using the TOP Clause in SQL Server

Posted on by Ian

When using the TOP clause in a query in SQL Server, you may encounter occasions where two or more results tie for last place. You probably wouldn’t even know when this happens, because the default behavior of TOP is to return no more than the number of rows you specify.

The TOP clause accepts a WITH TIES argument that allows you to specify whether or not to include all results that tie for last place. Rows can tie for last place due to their ORDER BY column containing the same value. Using this argument may therefore result in more rows being returned than you actually specified.

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Pagination in SQL Server using OFFSET/FETCH

Posted on by Ian

Pagination is often used in applications where the user can click Previous/Next to navigate the pages that make up the results, or click on a page number to go directly to a specific page.

When running queries in SQL Server, you can paginate the results by using the OFFSET and FETCH arguments of the ORDER BY clause. These arguments were introduced in SQL Server 2012, therefore you can use this technique if you have SQL Server 2012 or higher.

In this context, pagination is where you divide the query results into smaller chunks, each chunk continuing where the previous finished. For example, if a query returns 1000 rows, you could paginate them so that they’re returned in groups of 100. An application can pass the page number and page size to SQL Server, and SQL Server can then use it to return just the data for the requested page.

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