Monthly Archives: February 2014

Extended Events in SQL Server 2012 – Part 2

Extended Events, SQL Server 2012 February 22, 2014 Leave a comment

In my earlier post on Extended events we discussed how we can use the SSMS GUI in SQL Server 2012 to create new extended events. In this article we will take a deeper dive into the SQL Server 2012 SSMS GUI and explore other extended events features.

How to add fields to a session

Step 1 -> Right click on the session we created. Click on properties
ee14Step 2 -> Click on Events -> Click on Configure
ee15Step 3 -> When we click on configure, the below window will appear
ee16Step 4 -> Now click on the first event ‘query_post_execution_showplan‘ and we will find a list of Actions on the right hand pane being displayed. These are the bunch of global fields from which we can choose and add to the events and the relevant data will be captured by the event trace. For this event we will choose ‘cpu_id’ and ‘database_name’.
ee17ee17Repeat the same for the next event
ee19Step 5 -> Now Click on the ‘Events Fields‘ tab and select the below as depicted. Click OK.
ee20ee21Now lets start the session and examine the Live data. For generating activity on the SQL Server we will run the below queries

USE AdventureWorks2012
go
SELECT * FROM Production.Product pp
WHERE pp.ProductID > 40
go
SELECT * FROM Production.BillOfMaterials Pb
WHERE pb.BillOfMaterialsID > 100
go

Now lets watch the Live data
ee22

How to add filters to a session

In this section we will add filters to the session we created. Filters allow you to fetch events based on the criteria provided.
Step 1 -> Right click on the session -> Click on Properties -> Click on Events -> Choose an event -> Click on the ‘Filter(Predicate)’ tab
ee23Step 2 -> From the Field tab choose a filter from the drop down. In our case we will choose duration and set a value in the Value field. Click on OK.
ee24
Step 3 -> Start the session and fire some queries and observe the Live data in action.

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How to troubleshoot error – Msg 195, Level 15, State 10, Line 1 ‘TRY_CONVERT’ is not a recognized built-in function name

SQL Server 2012, Troubleshooting February 19, 2014 Leave a comment

While running the following code on a database on my SQL Server 2012 instance I got the following error message

USE BB
go
SELECT TRY_CONVERT(xml, 'MyClub')

TCerr1The reason for this error is that this function TRY_CONVERT is 110 compatible. Which means it will only run on a database with 110 compatibility. Upon checking the compatibility level, I found the database to be on 90 or SQL Server 2005 compatible.
TCerr2Resolution:
I had to change the compatibility level to 110 and then ran the code with success.

TCerr3

TRY_CONVERT function in SQL Server 2012

SQL Server 2012 February 18, 2014 Leave a comment

TRY_CONVERT is one of the new conversion function introduced in SQL SERVER 2012. It returns a value converted to the specified data type if the conversion succeeds. Otherwise,it returns returns NULL value when it fails to convert to a requested data type. TRY_CONVERT function raises an exception if we try to an convert expression to a type which is not explicitly permitted

The syntax for TRY_CONVERT is as follows

TRY_CONVERT ( data_type [ ( length ) ], expression [, style ] )

Let us now implement this function and see how it works with different examples

SELECT TRY_CONVERT(xml, 'Manchester United')
SELECT TRY_CONVERT(DATETIME, '02/18/2014 05:30',111)
SELECT TRY_CONVERT(INT, '40')

The output of the above as follows
TryCon1

Now let us see examples where this function might fail or throw an exception

SELECT TRY_CONVERT(xml, 40)

And the output is
TryCon2

SELECT TRY_CONVERT(DATETIME, '22/18/2014 05:30',111)

And the output is
TryCon3The first error is self explanatory. The second code gives an output of NULL because the date is an invalid date.

Now the question is how is TRY_CONVERT different from CONVERT function?

Lets understand with this example

SELECT CONVERT(DATETIME, 'ABC')

TryCon4CONVERT will give an error message stating the conversion failed.

SELECT TRY_CONVERT(DATETIME, 'ABC')
AS 'Result'

TryCon5TRY_CONVERT will give a NULL.

 

CHOOSE – SQL Server 2012

SQL Server 2012 February 17, 2014 Leave a comment

In this article we will understand this new logical function named CHOOSE in SQL Server 2012.

So here is how the syntax of CHOOSE looks like

 CHOOSE ( index, val_1, val_2 [, val_n ] )

Now let us use this in the below code and understand the output.

declare @MyFavouriteClub as int = 5
SELECT choose(@MyFavouriteClub, 'Arsenal', 'Chelsea',
'Liverpool', 'Everton', 'Manchester United',
'Sunderland', 'Fulham')

Now lets see the output of the above
choose1So what the function does is pulls out the 5th value from the data set and dispalys as a result set. CHOOSE works like an index into an array, where the array contains values or arguments. The index value\argument determines which of the containing values will be returned. If no match is found then a NULL is returned.

PERCENTILE_DISC function in SQL Server 2012

SQL Server 2012 February 16, 2014 Leave a comment

PERCENTILE_DISC is one the new analytical\statistical functions that we have in SQL Server 2012. In this article we will see how we can use this function. To begin with let us see the syntax of this function as stated in BOL.

Syntax of PERCENT_DISC

PERCENTILE_DISC ( numeric_literal ) WITHIN GROUP
( ORDER BY order_by_expression [ ASC | DESC ] )
OVER ( [ <partition_by_clause> ] )

Now let us implement PERCENT_DISC and understand how it works.We will be using the below script to create a database and insert some values in it before we call this function.

USE [Master]
GO
IF EXISTS(SELECT name FROM sys.databases
WHERE name = 'PERCENTRANK')
BEGIN
DROP DATABASE PERCENTRANK;
END
GO
CREATE DATABASE PERCENTRANK;
GO
USE PERCENTRANK
GO
CREATE TABLE PERCENTRANKDEMO
(
[ProductId] int,
[SalesQty] int,
[Year] int
);
insert into PERCENTRANKDEMO
VALUES
(10,1000,2005),(20,1215,2005),(30,3327,2005),
(10,2000,2006),(20,2415,2006),(30,3429,2006),
(10,3050,2007),(20,3216,2007),(30,3737,2007),
(10,3026,2008),(20,1618,2008),(30,3452,2008),
(10,2004,2009),(20,4315,2009),(30,5435,2009),
(10,3040,2010),(20,4015,2010),(30,4343,2010),
(10,3060,2011),(20,4345,2011),(30,3237,2011),
(10,3075,2012),(20,4035,2012),(30,7450,2012),
(10,3055,2013),(20,5012,2013),(30,3321,2013),
(10,3059,2014),(20,6019,2014),(30,3245,2014),
(10,3150,2015),(20,6815,2015),(30,4000,2015);

Noe let’s use the below code to implement this function. With this code we are trying to find the 50th percentile from table we created.

USE PERCENTRANK
GO
select ProductId, SalesQty, Year,
PERCENTILE_DISC(.5)
WITHIN GROUP(ORDER BY SalesQty)
OVER(PARTITION BY ProductID) as [50Percentile]
from PERCENTRANKDEMO
WHERE ProductId = 20
order by ProductId;

Snapshot of the output of the above code
Perc1So what is the inference that we draw from the output. The function PERCENTILE_DISC calculates the Nth percentile based on a discrete distribution of the column values. The result set would have the Nth percentile value which would equal to a specific value in the column. Any NULLS would be ignored.

PERCENT_RANK function in SQL Server 2012

SQL Server 2012 February 13, 2014 Leave a comment

PERCENT_RANK is a new function introduced in SQL Server 2012. The function calculates the relative rank of a row within a subset of rows or in simpler terms  it shows the percentage of values that are less than or equal to the current value.

The syntax for the function is as follows

 PERCENT_RANK( )
 OVER ( [ partition_by_clause ] order_by_clause )

Let us quickly implement PERCENT_RANK and understand how it works.

Use the following code to create a database with values in it.

USE [Master]
GO
IF EXISTS(SELECT name FROM sys.databases
WHERE name = 'PERCENTRANK')
BEGIN
DROP DATABASE PERCENTRANK;
END
GO
CREATE DATABASE PERCENTRANK;
GO
USE PERCENTRANK
GO
CREATE TABLE PERCENTRANKDEMO
(
[ProductId] int,
[SalesQty] int,
[Year] int
);
insert into PERCENTRANKDEMO
VALUES
(10,1000,2005),(20,1215,2005),(30,3327,2005),
(10,2000,2006),(20,2415,2006),(30,3429,2006),
(10,3050,2007),(20,3216,2007),(30,3737,2007),
(10,3026,2008),(20,1618,2008),(30,3452,2008),
(10,2004,2009),(20,4315,2009),(30,5435,2009),
(10,3040,2010),(20,4015,2010),(30,4343,2010),
(10,3060,2011),(20,4345,2011),(30,3237,2011),
(10,3075,2012),(20,4035,2012),(30,7450,2012),
(10,3055,2013),(20,5012,2013),(30,3321,2013),
(10,3059,2014),(20,6019,2014),(30,3245,2014),
(10,3150,2015),(20,6815,2015),(30,4000,2015);

Now lets use the PERCENT_RANK function on the above database created and view the outcome. We will use the following code below.

SELECT ProductId,SalesQty,Year,
PERCENT_RANK() OVER ( ORDER BY [SalesQty] )
AS PercentRank
FROM PERCENTRANKDEMO
WHERE productid = 30;

The outcome would be as below. The column PercentRank shows the percent of values that are less or equal to the current value of the SalesQty column. The first row in any set has a PERCENT_RANK of 0. That’s how it has been designed by default. In the result set 0.1 denotes 10 percent while 1 denotes 100 percent.
PR1

LAG and LEAD functions in SQL Server 2012

SQL Server 2012 February 12, 2014 1 Comment

LAG() and LEAD() are two of the new analytical functions that has been introduced in SQL Server 2012. These functions helps in accessing a value from a  previous row (lag) and subsequent row (lead) in the same result set without joining the result set to itself . Let us quickly understand this with an example.

Let us create a database for the same and insert some values. Use the following code to achieve the same on a SQL Server 2012 instance

USE [Master]
GO
IF EXISTS(SELECT name FROM sys.databases
WHERE name = 'LagAndLeadDemo')
BEGIN
 DROP DATABASE LagAndLeadDemo;
END
GO
CREATE DATABASE LagAndLeadDemo;
GO
USE LagAndLeadDemo
GO
CREATE TABLE LagLead
(
[ProductId] int,
[SalesQty] int,
[Year] int
);
insert into LagLead
VALUES
(10,1000,2005),(20,1215,2005),(30,3327,2005),
(10,2000,2006),(20,2415,2006),(30,3429,2006),
(10,3050,2007),(20,3216,2007),(30,3737,2007),
(10,3026,2008),(20,1618,2008),(30,3452,2008),
(10,2004,2009),(20,4315,2009),(30,5435,2009),
(10,3040,2010),(20,4015,2010),(30,4343,2010),
(10,3060,2011),(20,4345,2011),(30,3237,2011),
(10,3075,2012),(20,4035,2012),(30,3093,2012),
(10,3055,2013),(20,5012,2013),(30,3321,2013),
(10,3059,2014),(20,6019,2014),(30,3245,2014),
(10,3150,2015),(20,6815,2015),(30,4000,2015);

Now let us implement LAG with following query

select [ProductId], [SalesQty], Year,
LAG([SalesQty]) OVER
(ORDER BY Year) as SalesQtyLastYear
from LagLead
where [ProductId] = 10
order by Year;

ll2Now if we observe the data of the column ‘SalesQtylastYear’ then we will find that it reflects the value that belongs to the previous row of the SalesQty column.

Now let us implement Lead with the following query

select [ProductId], [SalesQty],
Year,
LAG([SalesQty]) OVER
(ORDER BY Year) as SalesQtyLastYear,
Lead([SalesQty]) OVER
(ORDER BY Year) as SalesQtyNextYear
from LagLead
where [ProductId] = 10
order by Year;

ll3What we observe now is that the data of the column ‘SalesQtylastYear’ reflects the next value that belongs to the SalesQty column.

So in a nutshell this is what LAG and LEAD does. Fetches the previous row and next row values respectively. Let us now calculate the difference between last years sales quantity and current year’s sales quantity

select [ProductId], [SalesQty], Year,
LAG([SalesQty]) OVER (ORDER BY Year)
as LastYearRevenue,
[SalesQty] - LAG([SalesQty]) OVER (ORDER BY Year)
as SalesQtyChange
from LagLead
where [ProductId] = 20
order by Year;

ll4

Implementing user-defined Server Roles in SQL Server 2012

Security, SQL Server 2012 February 6, 2014 Leave a comment

In SQL Server 2012 you can now create an user-defined server role and configure server level permissions for it. In previous versions this was not possible. If we had to delegate someone with administrative tasks we had no choice but to assign more rights and access than required. With SQL Server 2012, user-defined server roles can be created and configured with specific permissions for specific set of DBA’s.

Let us understand with an example how we can create an user defined server role.
Step 1: Right click on Server roles and select ‘New Server Role‘
udr1Step 2-> As the dialog box opens, type in a server role name -> set the owner to a preferred login. In our case we would choose sa.
udr2Step 3 -> Choose an option\s from Securables window. In our case we chose Servers. Under servers you will find the name of the server. Select the option. Below in the permissions window select the following as shown in the snapshot.
udr3Step 4 -> Click on OK. You will find the new server role under the server roles in SSMS
udr4Step 5 -> Now let us add a login to this new role. Right click on the ServerRole1 -> Click on Properties -> On the members tab click on Add
udr5udr6Step 6 -> Add a login that you want a to give membership to this role. Click on OK.
udr7So now you have successfully given a particular login few administrative rights that is required rather than granting it a privilege like sysadmin.However, one limitation of the user-defined server roles is that they cannot be granted permission on database level securables. Below is the script for the entire action we did.

USE [master]
GO
CREATE SERVER ROLE [ServerRole1]
AUTHORIZATION [sa]
GO
use [master]
GO
GRANT ALTER SERVER STATE TO [ServerRole1]
GO
use [master]
GO
GRANT ALTER TRACE TO [ServerRole1]
GO
use [master]
GO
GRANT CONNECT SQL TO [ServerRole1]
GO
ALTER SERVER ROLE [ServerRole1]
ADD MEMBER [testdb]
GO
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