Skilled SQL developers know that the SQL Server query optimizer uses a multi-step process to produce execution plans. But what about deeper components like the parser, the binder, the algebrizer, as well as the optimizer itself? This session will teach you advanced techniques for query tuning as well as surprising behaviors of the query optimization process that can have a dramatic impact on performance, with special attention paid to the processes controlled by the algebrizer, including associative, commutative, and transitive transformations. We will examine a variety of everyday queries whose performance can be greatly improved by apply a deeper understanding of these internal behaviors. Lots of examples and demos!

• Goal 1: Learn advanced and undocumented methods to see the steps of parsing, binding, algebrizing, and query optimization.

• Goal 2: Explore the SQL Server internal memo structure to see how SQL Server uses the heuristics of the algebrizer and query optimizer.

• Goal 3: Walk through several examples of SQL queries whose behavior can be greatly improved when you apply what you’ve learned about the algebrizer and query optimizer.