SQL unleashed: 9 ways to speed up your SQL queries

SQL is the leading language for developing and querying databases, but it has a few quirks. In my last article, I shared 7 SQL mistakes to avoid. Now, let's take a look at 9 best practices for writing faster SQL queries. 

9 best practices for faster SQL queries

1. Retrieve only the columns you need
2. Use CASE instead of UPDATE for conditional column updates
3. Keep large-table queries to a minimum
4. Pre-stage your data
5. Perform deletes and updates in batches
6. Use temp tables to improve cursor performance
7. Use table-valued functions over scalar functions
8. Use partitioning to avoid large data moves
9. Use stored procedures for performance, use ORMs for convenience

Retrieve only the columns you need

A common SQL habit is to use SELECT * on a query, because it's tedious to list all the columns you need. Plus, sometimes those columns may change over time, so why not just do things the easy way?

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