DATETRUNC can give an ISO week its Monday boundary without changing session settings. I also keep the input date type explicit. A boundary calculation should reveal both its calendar rule and its return type.
SQL Server emergency? Email pinal@sqlauthority.com with URGENT in the subject line.
STRING_AGG Order: Keep NULLs and Type Width Visible
STRING_AGG order belongs inside WITHIN GROUP. This example preserves duplicate labels, shows how NULL differs from empty text and casts to nvarchar(max) before aggregation.
HAVING Without GROUP BY: Filter One Implicit Aggregate Group
HAVING without GROUP BY filters the single implicit aggregate group produced by the query. I use that distinction when a summary should appear only if its aggregate condition passes. A false condition can remove the summary row entirely.
When to Upgrade: RTM, First CU or Later
Decide When to Upgrade SQL Server by weighing new features, early defects, support needs, and evidence from your own workload.
SQL SERVER – Order of Conditions in WHERE Clause
Conditions in a WHERE clause don’t define a short-circuit evaluation sequence. I inspect actual behavior instead of relying on text order.
SQL SERVER – PIVOT and UNPIVOT Table Examples
If you PIVOT a table and then UNPIVOT it, do you get the original back? Not always. My PIVOT and UNPIVOT table examples show why aggregation loses data.
Three Scripts for a First Look at Any Server
A first look at any server needs three read-only T-SQL checks: configuration, databases and backups, and current activity.
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Who We Are
Pinal Dave is an SQL Server Performance Tuning Expert and independent consultant with over 24 years of hands-on experience. He holds a Masters of Science degree and numerous database certifications.
Pinal has authored 19 books and 125 Pluralsight courses. To freely share his knowledge and help others build their expertise, Pinal has also written more than 5,800 database tech articles on his blog at https://blog.sqlauthority.com.
Pinal is also a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer (CF-L1) and CrossFit Level 2 Trainer (CF-L2).
Nupur Dave is a social media enthusiast and an independent consultant. She primarily focuses on the database domain, helping clients build short and long-term multi-channel campaigns to drive leads for their sales pipeline.
Shaivi Pinalkumar Dave is a book author and a women’s artistic gymnast.

