CHARINDEX start position finds the next delimiter. Guard a missing first match, preserve NULL, and extract empty fields without negative lengths.
SQL Server emergency? Email pinal@sqlauthority.com with URGENT in the subject line.
SQL SERVER – Optimization Rules of Thumb – Best Practices – Reader’s Article
Reader Praveen Barath adds his own query optimization tips to my rules of thumb: tune only working code, write repeated statements identically and more.
SQL SERVER – Optimization Rules of Thumb – Best Practices
My optimization rules of thumb for a slow running query: read the query plan first, turn scans into seeks, fix bookmark lookups with a covering index and more.
Using Synonyms to Simplify Cross-Database Queries
Using synonyms can hide a cross-database object name from callers, but permissions, dependency checks, and deployment still need care.
Drawing a Diagram of an Existing Database
A diagram of an existing database starts with real foreign keys, uses SSMS to reveal relationships, and records the important paths a picture misses.
SQL SERVER – Converting Subqueries to Joins
Developers often write subqueries where Joins would do, or the other way around. A short note on converting between the two, with links to my earlier examples.
SQL SERVER – Join Better Performance – LEFT JOIN or NOT IN?
LEFT JOIN or NOT IN: which one gives Join Better Performance? It depends on the data. Compare the two queries and their execution plans on AdventureWorks.
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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.

