T-SQL - Trying to query something across all databases on my server - tsql

I've got an environment where my server is hosting a variable number of databases, all of which utilize the same table structures/schemas. I need to pull a sum of customers that meet a certain series of constraints with say, the user table. I also need to show which database I am showing the sum for.
I already know all I need to get the sum in a db by db query, but what I'm really looking to do is have one script that hits all of the non-system DBs currently on my server to grab this info.
Please forgive my ignorance in this, just starting out.
Update-
So, to clarify things somewhat; I'm using MS SQL 2014. I know how to pull a listing of the dbs I want to hit by using:
SELECT name
FROM sys.databases
WHERE name not in ('master', 'model', 'msdb', 'tempdb')
AND state = 0
And for the purposes of gathering the data I need from each, let's just say I've got something like:
select count(u.userid)
from users n
join UserAttributes ua on u.userid = ua.userid
where ua.status = 2
New Update:
So, I went ahead and added the ps sp_foreachdb as suggested by #Philip Kelley, and I'm now running into a problem when trying to run this (admittedly, I can tell I'm closer to a solution). So, this is what I'm using to call the sp:
USE [master]
GO
DECLARE #return_value int
EXEC #return_value = [dbo].[sp_foreachdb]
#command = N'select count(userid) as number from ?..users',
#print_dbname = 1,
#user_only = 1
SELECT 'Return Value' = #return_value
GO
This provides a nice and clean output showing a count, but what I'd like to see is the db name in addition to the count, something like this:
|[DB_NAME]|[COUNT]|
But for each DB
Is this even possible?

Source Code: https://codereview.stackexchange.com/questions/113063/executing-dynamic-sql-programmatically
Example Usage:
declare #options int = (
select a.ExcludeSystemDatabases
from dbo.ForEachDatabaseOptions() as a
);
execute dbo.usp_ForEachDatabase
#Command = N'print Db_Name();'
, #Options = #options;
#Command can be anything you want but obviously it needs to be a query that every single database can understand. #Options currently has 3 built-in settings but can be expanded however you see fit.
I wrote this to mimic/expand upon the master.sys.sp_MSforeachdb procedure but it could still use a little bit of polish (especially around the "logic" that replaces ? with the current database name).

Enumerate the databases from schema / sysdatabases. At least in situations without replication, excluding db_ids 1 to 4 as system databases should be reasonably robust:
SELECT [name] FROM master.dbo.sysdatabases WHERE dbid NOT IN (1,2,3,4)
Other methods exist, see here: Get list of databases from SQL Server and here: SQL Server: How to tell if a database is a system database?
Then prefix the query or stored procedure call with the database name, and in a cursor loop over the resultset of the first query, store that in a sysname variable to construct a series of statements like that:
SELECT column FROM databasename.schema.Viewname WHERE ...
and call that using the string execute function
EXECUTE('SELECT ... FROM '+##fully_qualified_table_name+' WHERE ...')

There’s the undocumented sytem procedure, sp_msForEachDB, as found in the master database. Many pundits on the internet recommend not using this, as under obscure fringe cases it can be unreliable and somehow skip random databases. Count me as one of them, this caused me serious grief a few months back.
You can write your own routine to provide this kind of functionality. This is a common task, however, and many people have already done it and posted their code online… so why re-invent the wheel?
#kittoes0124 posted a link to “usp_ForEachDatabse”. This probably works, though pro forma I hate any stored procedures that beings with usp_. I ended up with Aaron Bertrand’s utility, which can be found at http://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertip/2201/making-a-more-reliable-and-flexible-spmsforeachdb/.
Install a version of this routine, figure out how it works, plug in your script, and go!

Related

where column in (single value) performance

I am writing dynamic sql code and it would be easier to use a generic where column in (<comma-seperated values>) clause, even when the clause might have 1 term (it will never have 0).
So, does this query:
select * from table where column in (value1)
have any different performance than
select * from table where column=value1
?
All my test result in the same execution plans, but if there is some knowledge/documentation that sets it to stone, it would be helpful.
This might not hold true for each and any RDBMS as well as for each an any query with its specific circumstances.
The engine will translate WHERE id IN(1,2,3) to WHERE id=1 OR id=2 OR id=3.
So your two ways to articulate the predicate will (probably) lead to exactly the same interpretation.
As always: We should not really bother about the way the engine "thinks". This was done pretty well by the developers :-) We tell - through a statement - what we want to get and not how we want to get this.
Some more details here, especially the first part.
I Think this will depend on platform you are using (optimizer of the given SQL engine).
I did a little test using MySQL Server and:
When I query select * from table where id = 1; i get 1 total, Query took 0.0043 seconds
When I query select * from table where id IN (1); i get 1 total, Query took 0.0039 seconds
I know this depends on Server and PC and what.. But The results are very close.
But you have to remember that IN is non-sargable (non search argument able), it will not use the index to resolve the query, = is sargable and support the index..
If you want the best one to use, You should test them in your environment because they both work so good!!

SQL Server 2012 - Is use of cursor/dynamicSQL combo good practice?

Most common answers are: NO, don't use cursors, don't use dynamic SQL
But this question is to solicit feedback from a coding style that seems nifty but can be bad practice, heavier processing speeds, and SQL injections(?).
I learned this style due to an annoyance with copy-pasting set queries of which only one or two items change between each query. I find this style easier to perform code-reviews due to having only one code block, removing the need to scroll up and down.
An example use case is: a big slow table with historical data from 20 different insurance companies that is 1.7 billion rows by 200 columns. To do productive analysis, 10 columns are retrieved into separate tables for each of the 20 insurance companies.
Before the cursor/dynamic combination, a query was built and code-reviewed for one plan, then copied 19 times, each time retrieving a different plan.
After utilizing cursor/dynamic combo, there is one 20 item cursor and one dynamic SQL block. Review wise, it seems more consistent and less prone to human error.
A code example of the combo is below:
Declare #company_name varchar(10)
,#SQL_STATEMENT varchar(100)
Declare company_cursor cursor fast_forward for (
SELECT * FROM (VALUES('APPLE'),('GOOGLE'),('AMAZON')) AS TABLE_NAME(COLUMN_NAME)
)
open company_cursor
fetch next from company_cursor into #company_name
while ##fetch_status = 0
begin
set #SQL_STATEMENT = 'select * from database.schema.'+#company_name
print (#SQL_STATEMENT)
fetch next from company_cursor into #company_name
end
close company_cursor
deallocate company_cursor
I also noticed using a PRINT instead of EXEC instantaneously prints the query statement and acts as a code generator if the PRINT results are copied into the SQL editor.
Can somebody offer opinions, advice, or general practice rules surrounding this style of T-SQL coding? (bracing for downvotes...sniff)

Updating the text of a large number of stored procedures

The question pretty much sums it up. I've got to replace text in a large number for store procedures. Its not so many that doing it manually is impossible, but enough that I'm asking the question. I also prefer automation as it reduces the change of user error when we make the change in production.
I can Identify them like this:
select OBJECT_DEFINITION(object_id), *
from sys.procedures
where OBJECT_DEFINITION(object_id) like '%''MyExampleLiteral''%'
order by name
Is there any way to mass update them all to change 'MyExampleLiteral' to 'MyOtherExampleLiteral'?
I'd even settle for a way to open all the stored procs. Just Finding these store procs in a larger list will take some time.
I thought about generating alter statements using the above select statements, but then I lose line breaks.
Thanks in advance,
This is a Microsoft SQL Server.
There are different tools to use depending on the database in question. For example, Microsoft SQL Server Data Tools integrates with Visual Studio, and allows you to do these types of operations fairly easily. The database is stored in your solution as scripts, which you can then search and replace any keyword you wish. I'm assuming there would be similar tools available for other platforms.
You could do this with dynamic sql. Query the system tables to get all the SPs containing your "MyExampleLiteral":
SELECT [object_id] FROM sys.objects o
WHERE type_desc = 'SQL_STORED_PROCEDURE'
AND is_ms_shipped = 0
AND OBJECT_DEFINITION(o.[object_id]) LIKE '%<search string>%'
Then, write a while loop to go through those object_ids. In the while loop, get the OBJECT_DEFINITION() into a string and replace the "MyExampleLiteral", then replace CREATE PROCEDURE with ALTER PROCEDURE and execute the string using sp_executesql.
Doing something this crazy, make sure you backup the database first.

Why does SQL Server 2000 treat SELECT test.* and SELECT t.est.* the same?

I butter-fingered a query in SQL Server 2000 and added a period in the middle of the table name:
SELECT t.est.* FROM test
Instead of:
SELECT test.* FROM test
And the query still executed perfectly. Even SELECT t.e.st.* FROM test executes without issue.
I've tried the same query in SQL Server 2008 where the query fails (error: the column prefix does not match with a table name or alias used in the query). For reasons of pure curiosity I have been trying to figure out how SQL Server 2000 handles the table names in a way that would allow the butter-fingered query to run, but I haven't had much luck so far.
Any sql gurus know why SQL Server 2000 ran the query without issue?
Update: The query appears to work regardless of the interface used (e.g. Enterprise Manager, SSMS, OSQL) and as Jhonny pointed out below it bizarrely even works when you try:
SELECT TOP 1000 dbota.ble.* FROM dbo.table
Maybe table names are constructed from a naive concatenation of prefix and base name.
't' + 'est' == 'test'
And maybe in the later versions of SQL Server, the distinction was made more semantic/more rigorously.
{ owner = t, table = est } != { table = test }
SQL Server 2005 and up has a "proper" implementation of schemas. SQL 2000 and earlier did not. The details escape me (its been years since I used SQL 2000), all I recall clearly is that you'd be nuts to create anything that wasn't owned by "dbo". It all ties into users and object ownership, but the 2000 and earlier model was pretty confusticated. Hopefully someone will read up on BOL, do some experimentation, and post their results here.
S-SQL reference manual:
"[dot] Can be used to combine multiple names into a name of the form A.B to refer to a column in a table, or a table in a schema. Note that you calso just use a symbol with a dot in it."
So I think if you referenced tblTest as tblT.est it would work OK as long as there isn't a column called 'est' in tblTest.
If it can't find a column name referenced with the dot I imagine it checks the parent of the object.
I found a reference to it being a bug
Note: as a result of a comparison
algorithm bug in SQL Server 2000, dot
symbols themselves have no effect on
matching, so "dbo.t" will successfully
match with tables "dbot", "d.b.o.t",
etc
from Link
It's been fixed in SQL Server 2005. Same link > Changes introduced in SQL Server 2005
Dot-related comparison bug has been fixed.
Is it in the "Open table" view of SSMS or via Enterprise Manager or via an SSMS Query Window?
There is/was a SQL Server 2005 issue with SSMS so how you run the query affects how it behaves.
This is a bug.
It has to do with internal representation of column names in SQL server 2000 that leaked out.
You will also not be able to create tablecolumn with a name which collides with table+column concatenation with another column, like, if you have tables User and UserDetail, you won't be able to have columns DetailAge and Age in these tables, respectively.

What is a "batch", and why is GO used?

I have read and read over MSDN, etc. Ok, so it signals the end of a batch.
What defines a batch? I don't see why I need go when I'm pasting in a bunch of scripts to be run all at the same time.
I've never understood GO. Can anyone explain this better and when I need to use it (after how many or what type of transactions)?
For example why would I need GO after each update here:
UPDATE [Country]
SET [CountryCode] = 'IL'
WHERE code = 'IL'
GO
UPDATE [Country]
SET [CountryCode] = 'PT'
WHERE code = 'PT'
GO is not properly a TSQL command.
Instead it's a command to the specific client program which connects to an SQL server (Sybase or Microsoft's - not sure about what Oracle does), signalling to the client program that the set of commands that were input into it up till the "go" need to be sent to the server to be executed.
Why/when do you need it?
GO in MS SQL server has a "count" parameter - so you can use it as a "repeat N times" shortcut.
Extremely large updates might fill up the SQL server's log. To avoid that, they might need to be separated into smaller batches via go.
In your example, if updating for a set of country codes has such a volume that it will run out of log space, the solution is to separate each country code into a separate transaction - which can be done by separating them on the client with go.
Some SQL statements MUST be separated by GO from the following ones in order to work.
For example, you can't drop a table and re-create the same-named table in a single transaction, at least in Sybase (ditto for creating procedures/triggers):
> drop table tempdb.guest.x1
> create table tempdb.guest.x1 (a int)
> go
Msg 2714, Level 16, State 1
Server 'SYBDEV', Line 2
There is already an object named 'x1' in the database.
> drop table tempdb.guest.x1
> go
> create table tempdb.guest.x1 (a int)
> go
>
GO is not a statement, it's a batch separator.
The blocks separated by GO are sent by the client to the server for processing and the client waits for their results.
For instance, if you write
DELETE FROM a
DELETE FROM b
DELETE FROM c
, this will be sent to the server as a single 3-line query.
If you write
DELETE FROM a
GO
DELETE FROM b
GO
DELETE FROM c
, this will be sent to the server as 3 one-line queries.
GO itself does not go to the server (no pun intended). It's a pure client-side reserved word and is only recognized by SSMS and osql.
If you will use a custom query tool to send it over the connection, the server won't even recognize it and issue an error.
Many command need to be in their own batch, like CREATE PROCEDURE
Or, if you add a column to a table, then it should be in its own batch.
If you try to SELECT the new column in the same batch it fails because at parse/compile time the column does not exist.
GO is used by the SQL tools to work this out from one script: it is not a SQL keyword and is not recognised by the engine.
These are 2 concrete examples of day to day usage of batches.
Edit: In your example, you don't need GO...
Edit 2, example. You can't drop, create and permission in one batch... not least, where is the end of the stored procedure?
IF OBJECT_ID ('dbo.uspDoStuff') IS NOT NULL
DROP PROCEDURE dbo.uspDoStuff
GO
CREATE PROCEDURE dbo.uspDoStuff
AS
SELECT Something From ATable
GO
GRANT EXECUTE ON dbo.uspDoStuff TO RoleSomeOne
GO
Sometimes there is a need to execute the same command or set of commands over and over again. This may be to insert or update test data or it may be to put a load on your server for performance testing. Whatever the need the easiest way to do this is to setup a while loop and execute your code, but in SQL 2005 there is an even easier way to do this.
Let's say you want to create a test table and load it with 1000 records. You could issue the following command and it will run the same command 1000 times:
CREATE TABLE dbo.TEST (ID INT IDENTITY (1,1), ROWID uniqueidentifier)
GO
INSERT INTO dbo.TEST (ROWID) VALUES (NEWID())
GO 1000
source:
http://www.mssqltips.com/tip.asp?tip=1216
Other than that it marks the "end" of an SQL block (e.g. in a stored procedure)... Meaning you're on a "clean" state again... e.G: Parameters used in the statement before the code are reset (not defined anymore)
As everyone already said, "GO" is not part of T-SQL. "GO" is a batch separator in SSMS, a client application used to submit queries to the database. This means that declared variables and table variables will not persist from code before the "GO" to code following it.
In fact, GO is simply the default word used by SSMS. This can be changed in the options if you want. For a bit of fun, change the option on someone else's system to use "SELECT" as a batch seperator instead of "GO". Forgive my cruel chuckle.
It is used to split logical blocks. Your code is interpreted into sql command line and this indicate next block of code.
But it could be used as recursive statement with specific number.
Try:
exec sp_who2
go 2
Some statement have to be delimited by GO:
use DB
create view thisViewCreationWillFail