It takes more than “Select *” to make a great SQL query.  In this video excerpt from Vinod Kumar’s and Pinal Dave’s new course SQL Server Performance:  Introduction to Query Tuning you’ll see how to view the execution plans for your queries including the differences between estimated and actual plans as well as how your query hints can affect the execution plan in unforeseen ways.  In the full course, the two go on to cover topics such as indexing techniques, how order of tables and query hints affect execution, and how to use various tools to optimize queries.

Pinal Dave is a Microsoft Technology Evangelist (Database and BI). He has written over 2000 articles on the subject on his blog at http://blog.sqlauthority.com. He is the co-author of three SQL Server books – SQL Server Programming, SQL Wait Stats and SQL Server Interview Questions and Answers. Vinod Kumar has worked with SQL Server extensively since joining the industry over a decade ago. Before joining Microsoft, he was a Microsoft MVP for SQL Server for more than 3 years. He is a well-known speaker at all major Microsoft and third party technical conferences.

If you’d like to learn more about how to make your queries perform, this course is definitely for you.  Do you have any special tips and tricks of your own?  Click on the comment links and let us see your tuning voodoo.

You can watch the full HD version of this video along with the other 3 hr 54 min of video found in this professional course by subscribing to Pluralsight. Visit SQL Server Performance:  Introduction to Query Tuning to view the full course outline. Pluralsight subscribers also benefit from cool features like mobile apps, full library search, progress tracking, exercise files, assessments, and offline viewing. Happy learning!