Conditional OR in the SQL Server Join – Multi-Value Parameters - sql-server-2008-r2

Question

I have an SSRS report with 4 parameters, two of which are multi-value parameters (#material and #color using VARCHAR(MAX) datatype in SQL Server 2008 R2). I am using a split function to return the value as a comma separated:
SELECT *
FROM MyView
WHERE height > 200
AND width > 100
AND (
material IN (SELECT Item FROM [dbo].[MySplitFunction] (#material, ',')) OR
color IN (SELECT Item FROM [dbo].[MySplitFunction] (#color, ','))
)
(The code above would return 50 records)
The problem with this approach is that these two multi-value parameters have around of 1,500 different colors and materials and degrade the performance. Sometimes, it takes more than 40 minutes to return the results (row count in the view around 600,000).
I tried a different approach where I used a temp table and used it in the JOIN instead of the WHERE clause:
SELECT Item
INTO #TempTable
FROM [dbo].[MySplitFunction] (#material, ',')
SELECT *
FROM MyView
INNER JOIN ON MyView.Item = #TempTable.Item
WHERE height > 200
AND width > 100
AND material IN (SELECT Item FROM [dbo].[MySplitFunction] (#material, ','))
(The code above would return 7 records only, but the performance is much better)
My question is how can I return the same number of records (50 rows) using the second approach by adding the other #color parameter and allowing the OR condition? So in the SSRS report, the user can multi select these two parameters and the query will return #material = values OR #color = Values.
I am open to any other approach as long as it speeds up the query and allows the OR condition for the two multi-value parameters (#material, #color).
Thanks!

Answer 1

Something like the following might do the trick. I'm not sure I have the syntax precisely right, and it wants further testing and analysis that I can't do without the proper structures and data...
SELECT
from MyVeiew
where height > 200
and width > 100
and (exists (select Item
from dbo.MySplitFunction(#material, ',')
where Item = material)
or exists (select Item
from dbo.MySplitFunction(#color, ',')
where Item = color)
)
This performs two correlated subqueries on nested function calls. Exists checks are generally faster than in lookups in these situations. The syntax bit that worries me is the "and (exists" bit -- that's the parenthesis for the OR clause, and combined with exists it looks a bit wonky.
I think it should do what you want, but testing is definitely called for.
I mistrust that or clause. To get rid of it, try this and see what happens:
SELECT * -- Better with specific columns
from MyView
where height > 200
and width > 100
and exists (select Item
from dbo.MySplitFunction(#material, ',')
where Item = material)
UNION select *
from MyView
where height > 200
and width > 100
and exists (select Item
from dbo.MySplitFunction(#color, ',')
where Item = color)
This runs and combines two queries, removing all duplicates -- pretty much the same as the OR clause would.
Next thing to check would be reviewing table sizes and checking indexes. You're filtering results on (only!) columns height, width, material, and color; if the table is huge, appropriate index would help here.