SQL Server Functions - Practical Examples Tutorial

Use String Functions

Write a query that returns the first 5 characters of a product name in uppercase.

Expected output: A column showing uppercase first 5 characters of product names.

Hint: Use LEFT() and UPPER() functions.

Aggregate Sales by Year

Write a query to calculate total sales per year from an Orders table with an OrderDate column.

Expected output: A result set with years and total sales per year.

Hint: Use YEAR() and SUM() functions with GROUP BY.

Calculate Age from Birthdate

Write a query to calculate the age of customers based on their BirthDate column.

Expected output: A column showing customer ages.

Hint: Use DATEDIFF() with year and current date.

Scalar functions operate on a single value and return a single value, while aggregate functions perform calculations on a set of values and return a single summarized value.

Yes, but using functions on columns in WHERE clauses can prevent the use of indexes and degrade performance. It's better to avoid wrapping indexed columns in functions.

GETDATE() returns the current system date and time from the SQL Server instance.