I am a little stuck on a situation that I have been trying to fight through. I have a page that allows a user to select all the filter options they want to search by and then it runs the query on that data.
Every field requires something to be picked but on a new field I am introducing, it's going to be optional.
It allows you to provide a list of supervisors and it will then provide all records where the agents supervisor is in the list provided; pretty straight forward. However, I am trying to make this optional as I don't want to always search by users. If I don't provide a name in the UI to pass to the stored procedure, then I want to ignore this part of the statement and get me everything regardless of the manager.
Here is the query I am working with:
SELECT a.[escID],
a.[escReasonID],
b.[ArchibusLocationName],
c.[ArchibusLocationName],
b.[DepartmentDesc],
c.[DepartmentDesc],
a.[escCreatedBy],
a.[escWorkedBy],
a.[escNotes],
a.[preventable],
a.[escalationCreated],
a.[escalationTracked],
a.[feedbackID],
typ.[EscalationType],
typ.[EscalationTypeText] AS escalationType,
d.reasonText AS reasonText
FROM [red].[dbo].[TFS_Escalations] AS a
LEFT OUTER JOIN
red.dbo.EmployeeTable AS b
ON a.escCreatedBy = b.QID
LEFT OUTER JOIN
red.dbo.EmployeeTable AS c
ON a.escWorkedBy = c.QID
LEFT OUTER JOIN
red.dbo.TFS_Escalation_Reasons AS d
ON a.escReasonID = d.ReasonID
INNER JOIN
dbo.TFS_EscalationTypes AS typ
ON d.escType = typ.EscalationType
WHERE B.[ArchibusLocationName] IN (SELECT location
FROM #tmLocations)
AND C.[ArchibusLocationName] IN (SELECT location
FROM #subLocations)
AND B.[DepartmentDesc] IN (SELECT department
FROM #tmDepartments)
AND C.[DepartmentDesc] IN (SELECT department
FROM #subDepartments)
AND DATEDIFF(second, '19700101', CAST (CONVERT (DATETIME, A.[escalationCreated], 121) AS INT)) >= #startDate
AND DATEDIFF(second, '19700101', CAST (CONVERT (DATETIME, A.[escalationCreated], 121) AS INT)) <= #endDate
AND a.[PREVENTABLE] IN (SELECT PREVENTABLE FROM #preventable)
AND b.MgrQID IN (SELECT leaderQID FROM #sourceLeaders)
The part that I am trying to make option is the very last line of the query:
AND b.MgrQID IN (SELECT leaderQID FROM #sourceLeaders)
Essentially, if there is no data in the temp table #sourceLeaders then it should ignore that piece of the query.
In all of the other instances of the WHERE clause, something is always required for those fields which is why that all works fine. I just cant figure out the best way to make this piece optional depending on if the temp table has data in it (the temp table is populated by the names entered in the UI that a user COULD search by).
So this line should be TRUE if something matches data in the table variable OR there is nothing in the table variable
AND
(
b.MgrQID IN (SELECT leaderQID FROM #sourceLeaders)
OR
NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM #sourceLeaders)
)
Similar to Nick.McDermaid's, but uses a case statement instead :
AND
(
1 = CASE WHEN NOT EXISTS(SELECT 1 FROM #sourceLeaders) THEN 1
WHEN b.MgrQID IN (SELECT leaderQID FROM #sourceLeaders) THEN 1
ELSE 0
END
)
Maybe at the top so you have a single check
DECLARE #EmptySourceLeaders CHAR(1)
IF EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM #sourceLeaders)
SET #EmptySourceLeaders = 'N'
ELSE
SET #EmptySourceLeaders = 'Y'
Then in the joins
LEFT OUTER JOIN #SourceLeaders SL
ON b.MgrQID = SL.leaderQID
Then in the WHERE
AND (#EmptySourceLeaders = 'Y' OR SL.leaderQID IS NOT NULL)
lots of ways to do it.
Related
I am trying to create a stored procedure whereupon I input a (simple for now) query into a temp table, and then replace some of the data with data from a different table based on a key.
Here is the complete code:
CREATE PROCEDURE GetInquiryList
AS
BEGIN
SET NOCOUNT ON
IF OBJECT_ID('tempdb..#Inq ') IS NOT NULL
DROP TABLE #Inq
SELECT i.*,q.QuoteID INTO #Inq FROM Inquiries i left join Quotes q on i.InquiryId = q.InquiryId
WHERE i.YNDeleted = 0
--SELECT * FROM #Inq
UPDATE #Inq
SET j.InquiryCustomerName = c.CustomerName,
j.InquiryCustomerEmail = c.CustomerEmail,
j.InquiryCustomerPhone = c.CustomerPhone1,
j.InquiryBestTimetoCall = c.CustomerBestTimetoCall,
j.InquiryDay = c.customerDay,
j.InquiryNight = c.CustomerNight
SELECT c.CustomerName,
c.CustomerEmail,
c.CustomerPhone1,
c.CustomerBestTimetoCall,
c.customerDay,
c.CustomerNight
FROM Customers c
INNER JOIN #Inq j ON
j.InquiryCustomerID = c.CustomerID
SELECT * FROM #Inq
END
I get the following error:
Msg 4104, Level 16, State 1, Line 15 The multi-part identifier "j.InquiryCustomerName" could not be bound
I get this error for whatever column is placed first after the SET command.
Both query pieces of this work independently (the first select creating the temp table and the joined query at the bottom). The data returned is correct. I have tried using aliases (SELECT c.CustomerName AS Name, ...).
Originally, I used "#Inq i" in the second command, but changed to "j" out of an abundance of caution.
I have also run the command against the original table (substituting the Inquiry table for the temp table #Inq, and that fails as well).
Shortening it to this:
UPDATE #Inq
SET j.InquiryCustomerName = c.CustomerName,
j.InquiryCustomerEmail = c.CustomerEmail,
j.InquiryCustomerPhone = c.CustomerPhone1,
j.InquiryBestTimetoCall = c.CustomerBestTimetoCall,
j.InquiryDay = c.customerDay,
j.InquiryNight = c.CustomerNight
FROM Customers c
INNER JOIN #Inq j ON
j.InquiryCustomerID = c.CustomerID
I get a different error:
Msg 4104, Level 16, State 1, Line 15 The multi-part identifier "j.InquiryCustomerName" could not be bound
I'm sure it's probably something simple,(so simple that I can't find any references in any of my searches).
I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that you can't update the same instance of the table used in the join (I'm going to have to re-join again with a "k" alias). How do I do this?
data from the first query
data from the first query
data from the second select statement on the actual temp table
Here is what I updated the stored procedure to, which works exactly how I need it to:
SET NOCOUNT ON
IF OBJECT_ID('tempdb..#Inq ') IS NOT NULL
DROP TABLE #Inq
SELECT i.* INTO #Inq FROM (
select inquiries.InquiryId,
inquiries.InquiryDateReceived,
inquiries.InquiryCustomerID,
cust.CustomerName as InquiryCustomerName,
cust.CustomerEmail as InquiryCustomerEmail,
cust.CustomerPhone1 as InquiryCustomerPhone,
cust.CustomerBestTimeToCall as InquiryBestTimeToCall,
cust.CustomerDay as InquiryDay,
cust.CustomerNight as InquiryNight,
inquiries.InquiryServiceType,
inquiries.InquiryServiceID,
inquiries.InquiryTimeframe,
inquiries.InquiryProjectDescription,
inquiries.InquiryDateResponded,
inquiries.InquiryCustomerReply,
inquiries.YNMigrated,
inquiries.InquiryDateClosed,
inquiries.YNClosed,
inquiries.YNDeleted
from inquiries inner join dbo.Customers as cust
on inquiries.InquiryCustomerID = cust.CustomerID and inquiries.InquiryCustomerID > 0
UNION ALL
select inquiries.InquiryId,
inquiries.InquiryDateReceived,
inquiries.InquiryCustomerID,
InquiryCustomerName,
InquiryCustomerEmail,
InquiryCustomerPhone,
InquiryBestTimeToCall,
InquiryDay,
InquiryNight,
inquiries.InquiryServiceType,
inquiries.InquiryServiceID,
inquiries.InquiryTimeframe,
inquiries.InquiryProjectDescription,
inquiries.InquiryDateResponded,
inquiries.InquiryCustomerReply,
inquiries.YNMigrated,
inquiries.InquiryDateClosed,
inquiries.YNClosed,
inquiries.YNDeleted
from inquiries WHERE inquiries.InquiryCustomerID = 0
) i
select i.*, q.QuoteID
FROM #Inq i left join dbo.Quotes as q
on i.InquiryId = q.InquiryId
WHERE i.YNDeleted = 0
END
Just stop using this pattern without a really good reason. Here it only appears to create more work for the database engine with no obvious benefit. Your procedure - as posted - has trivially simple queries so why bother with the temp table and the update?
It is also time to start learning and using best practices. Terminate EVERY statement - eventually it will be required. Does order of the rows in your resultset matter? Usually it does and that is only guaranteed when that resultset is produced by a query that includes an ORDER BY clause.
As a developing/debugging short cut, you can harness the power of CTEs to help you build a working query. In this case, you can "stuff" your first query into a CTE and then simply join the CTE to Customers and "adjust" the columns you need in that resultset.
WITH inquiries as (
select inq.*, qt.QuoteID
FROM dbo.Inquiries as inq left join dbo.Quotes as qt
on inq.InquiryId = qt.InquiryId
WHERE inq.YNDeleted = 0
)
select inquiries.<col>,
...,
cust.CustomerName as "InquiryCustomerName",
...
from inquiries inner (? guessing) dbo.Customers as cust
on inquiries.InquiryCustomerID = cust.CustomerID
order by ...
;
Schema names added as best practice. Listing the columns you actually need in your resultset is another best practice. Note I did not do that for the query in the CTE but you should. You can choose to create aliases for your resultset columns as needed. I listed one example that corresponds to your UPDATE attempt.
It is odd and very suspicious that all of the columns you intended to UPDATE exist in the Inquiries table. Are you certain you need to do that at all? Do they actually differ from the related columns in the Customer table? Also odd that the value 0 exists in InquiryCustomerID - suggesting you might have not a FK to enforce the relationship. Perhaps that means you need to outer join rather than inner join (as I wrote). If an outer join is needed, then you will need to use CASE expressions to "choose" which value (the CTE value or the Customer value) to use for those columns.
After learning a lot more about how things get bound to models, and how to further use sql, here is what my stored procedure looks like:
ALTER PROCEDURE [dbo].[GetInquiryList]
#InquiryID int = 0
AS
BEGIN
SET NOCOUNT ON
select i.InquiryId,
i.InquiryDateReceived,
i.InquiryCustomerID,
InquiryCustomerName =
CASE i.InquiryCustomerID
WHEN 0 THEN i.InquiryCustomerName
ELSE c.CustomerName
END,
InquiryCustomerEmail =
CASE i.InquiryCustomerID
WHEN 0 THEN i.InquiryCustomerEmail
ELSE c.CustomerEmail
END,
InquiryCustomerPhone =
CASE i.InquiryCustomerID
WHEN 0 THEN i.InquiryCustomerPhone
ELSE c.CustomerPhone1
END,
InquiryBestTimetoCall =
CASE i.InquiryCustomerID
WHEN 0 THEN i.InquiryBestTimetoCall
ELSE c.CustomerBestTimetoCall
END,
InquiryDay =
CASE i.InquiryCustomerID
WHEN 0 THEN i.InquiryDay
ELSE c.CustomerDay
END,
InquiryNight =
CASE i.InquiryCustomerID
WHEN 0 THEN i.InquiryNight
ELSE c.CustomerNight
END,
i.InquiryServiceType,
i.InquiryServiceID,
i.InquiryTimeframe,
i.InquiryProjectDescription,
i.InquiryDateResponded,
i.InquiryCustomerReply,
i.YNMigrated,
i.InquiryDateClosed,
i.YNClosed,
i.YNDeleted, ISNULL(q.QuoteId,0) AS Quoteid
FROM dbo.Inquiries i
LEFT JOIN dbo.Quotes q ON i.InquiryId = q.InquiryId
LEFT JOIN dbo.Customers c ON i.InquiryCustomerID = c.CustomerId
WHERE i.YNDeleted = 0
END
I'm sure there are additional enhancements that could be made, but avoiding the union is a big savings. Thanks, everyone.
Here is my query
select order_no, pkg_no, zone_no
from T_DETAIL_ITEM a
where order_no = 495
order by order_no, pkg_no
For a given package I have zone number = 0
What I need to do is return all the lines with the pkg_no = 1597. Because one where exists with a zero zone.
I tried a few different 'where exists' lines and it isn't working.
Try to self join.
This way you can put your requirement in the second table "instance" but retrieve everything from that table matches based on another common field.
select distinct a.order_no, a.pkg_no, a.zone_no
from T_DETAIL_ITEM a
join T_DETAIL_ITEM b on b.pkg_no = a.pkg_no
where b.zone_no = 0
order by a.order_no, a.pkg_no
The accepted answer is good, but I had saw that you noted you tried EXISTS, so I wrote this example up using that method.
SELECT *
FROM T_Detail_Item d
WHERE exists (SELECT * FROM T_Detail_Item dx WHERE dx.pkg_no = d.pkg_no AND dx.zone_no = 0)
One way is to self reference the table in a left join and only include those with a zone_no=0, within the join clause. The filter out non-matching records by excluding records that do not match from the left join, T2.pkg_no = NULL.
SELECT
T1.pkg_no, T1.zone_no
FROM
T_DETAIL_ITEM T1
LEFT OUTER JOIN T_DETAIL_ITEM T2 ON T2.pkg_no = T1.pkg_no AND T2.zone_no = 0
WHERE
NOT T2.pkg_no IS NULL
If I correctly understood the question, you need something like this
BEGIN
declare #str varchar(max);
set #str='';
SELECT #str=#str+ [YOURCOLUMB]
FROM [YOURTABLE]
SELECT #str
END
I am trying to combine two SQL queries the first is
SELECT
EAC.Person.FirstName,
EAC.Person.Id,
EAC.Person.LastName,
EAC.Person.EmployeeId,
EAC.Person.IsDeleted,
Controller.Cards.SiteCode,
Controller.Cards.CardCode,
Controller.Cards.ActivationDate,
Controller.Cards.ExpirationDate,
Controller.Cards.Status,
EAC.[Group].Name
FROM
EAC.Person
INNER JOIN
Controller.Cards ON EAC.Person.Id = Controller.Cards.PersonId
INNER JOIN
EAC.GroupPersonMap ON EAC.Person.Id = EAC.GroupPersonMap.PersonId
INNER JOIN
EAC.[Group] ON EAC.GroupPersonMap.GroupId = EAC.[Group].Id
And the second one is
SELECT
IsActive, ActivationDateUTC, ExpirationDateUTC,
Sitecode + '-' + Cardcode AS Credential, 'Badge' AS Type,
CASE
WHEN isActive = 0
THEN 'InActive'
WHEN ActivationDateUTC > GetUTCDate()
THEN 'Pending'
WHEN ExpirationDAteUTC < GetUTCDate()
THEN 'Expired'
ELSE 'Active'
END AS Status
FROM
EAC.Credential
JOIN
EAC.WiegandCredential ON Credential.ID = WiegandCredential.CredentialId
WHERE
PersonID = '32'
Where I would like to run the second query for each user of the first query using EAC.Person.Id instead of the '32'.
I would like all the data to be returned in one Dataset so I can use it in Report Builder.
I have been fighting with this all day and am hoping one of you smart guys can give me a hand. Thanks in advance.
Based on your description in the comments, I understand that the connection between the two datasets is actually the PersonID field, which exists in both EAC.Credential and EAC.Person; however, in EAC.Credential, duplicate values exist for PersonID, and you want only the most recent one for each PersonID.
There are a few ways to do this, and it will depend on the number of rows returned, the indexes, etc., but I think maybe you're looking for something like this...?
SELECT
EAC.Person.FirstName
,EAC.Person.Id
,EAC.Person.LastName
,EAC.Person.EmployeeId
,EAC.Person.IsDeleted
,Controller.Cards.SiteCode
,Controller.Cards.CardCode
,Controller.Cards.ActivationDate
,Controller.Cards.ExpirationDate
,Controller.Cards.Status
,EAC.[Group].Name
,X.IsActive
,X.ActivationDateUTC
,X.ExpirationDateUTC
,X.Credential
,X.Type
,X.Status
FROM EAC.Person
INNER JOIN Controller.Cards
ON EAC.Person.Id = Controller.Cards.PersonId
INNER JOIN EAC.GroupPersonMap
ON EAC.Person.Id = EAC.GroupPersonMap.PersonId
INNER JOIN EAC.[Group]
ON EAC.GroupPersonMap.GroupId = EAC.[Group].Id
CROSS APPLY
(
SELECT TOP 1
IsActive
,ActivationDateUTC
,ExpirationDateUTC
,Sitecode + '-' + Cardcode AS Credential
,'Badge' AS Type
,'Status' =
CASE
WHEN isActive = 0
THEN 'InActive'
WHEN ActivationDateUTC > GETUTCDATE()
THEN 'Pending'
WHEN ExpirationDateUTC < GETUTCDATE()
THEN 'Expired'
ELSE 'Active'
END
FROM EAC.Credential
INNER JOIN EAC.WiegandCredential
ON EAC.Credential.ID = EAC.WiegandCredential.CredentialId
WHERE EAC.Credential.PersonID = EAC.Person.PersonID
ORDER BY EAC.Credential.ID DESC
) AS X
-- Optionally, you can also add conditions to return specific rows, i.e.:
-- WHERE EAC.Person.PersonID = 32
This option uses a CROSS APPLY, which means that every row of the first dataset will return additional values from the second dataset, based on the criteria that you described. In this CROSS APPLY, I'm joining the two datasets based on the fact that PersonID exists in both EAC.Person (in your first dataset) as well as in EAC.Credential. I then specify that I want only the TOP 1 row for each PersonID, with an ORDER BY specifying that we want the most recent (highest) value of ID for each PersonID.
The CROSS APPLY is aliased as "X", so in your original SELECT you now have several values prefixed with the X. alias, which just means that you're taking these fields from the second query and attaching them to your original results.
CROSS APPLY requires that a matching entry exists in both subsets of data, much like an INNER JOIN, so you'll want to check and make sure that the relevant values exist and are returned correctly.
I think this is pretty close to the direction you're trying to go. If not, let me know and I'll update the answer. Good luck!
Try like this;
select Query1.*, Query2.* from (
SELECT
EAC.Person.FirstName,
EAC.Person.Id as PersonId,
EAC.Person.LastName,
EAC.Person.EmployeeId,
EAC.Person.IsDeleted,
Controller.Cards.SiteCode,
Controller.Cards.CardCode,
Controller.Cards.ActivationDate,
Controller.Cards.ExpirationDate,
Controller.Cards.Status,
EAC.[Group].Name
FROM
EAC.Person
INNER JOIN
Controller.Cards ON EAC.Person.Id = Controller.Cards.PersonId
INNER JOIN
EAC.GroupPersonMap ON EAC.Person.Id = EAC.GroupPersonMap.PersonId
INNER JOIN
EAC.[Group] ON EAC.GroupPersonMap.GroupId = EAC.[Group].Id)
Query1 inner join (SELECT top 100
IsActive, ActivationDateUTC, ExpirationDateUTC,
Sitecode + '-' + Cardcode AS Credential, 'Badge' AS Type,
CASE
WHEN isActive = 0
THEN 'InActive'
WHEN ActivationDateUTC > GetUTCDate()
THEN 'Pending'
WHEN ExpirationDAteUTC < GetUTCDate()
THEN 'Expired'
ELSE 'Active'
END AS Status
FROM
EAC.Credential
JOIN
EAC.WiegandCredential ON Credential.ID = WiegandCredential.CredentialId
ORDER BY EAC.Credential.ID DESC) Query2 ON Query1.PersonId = Query2.PersonID
Just select two queries to join them like Query1 and Query2 by equaling PersonId data.
I need to update one table with values from another table (msdb.dbo.sysjobhistory). Since I need to get the max values of the run_time and run_date, I kept getting 'aggregate function not allowed in set statement' error. As a workaround, I tried the following but something isn't right because ALL the values in every row are the same, indicating either an error in the join or something I can't figure out.This is what I have (which is not correct):
UPDATE inventory.dbo.books SET
auth_time = t1.at,
auth_date = t1.ad
FROM (SELECT MAX(run_time) AS at, MAX(run_date) AS ad
FROM msdb.dbo.sysjobhistory h
INNER JOIN inventory.dbo.books t
ON h.job_id = t.jobid) t1
ALSO, I need to be able to convert the run_time into decimal(10,2) format (as the auth_time field is that) and run_date into datetime (as auth_time is datetime format).
You're so close!
Just move your subquery reference from the From Clause to a subquery in the Set for each field.
Try this:
UPDATE inventory.dbo.books SET
auth_time = (SELECT MAX(run_time)
FROM msdb.dbo.sysjobhistory h
INNER JOIN inventory.dbo.books t
ON h.job_id = t.jobid)
, auth_date = (SELECT MAX(run_date)
FROM msdb.dbo.sysjobhistory h
INNER JOIN inventory.dbo.books t
ON h.job_id = t.jobid);
The subquery in the SET for each field essentially returns a single value when the subquery is executed. Therefore, the use of a subquery doesn't break any of the rules of the set operation.
If your logic starts getting too complicated and your set fields too numerous to want to repeat everything as a subquery for each field, then you can also use a CTE.
With CTE as (
Select MAX(run_time) as at
, MAX(run_date) as ad
FROM msdb.dbo.sysjobhistory h
INNER JOIN inventory.dbo.books t
ON h.job_id = t.jobid
)
Update #Temp
Set auth_time = CTE.at
, auth_date = CTE.ad
From CTE
Let me know if you have any questions!
You can join to a subquery.
And in that subquery you're allowed to use group by.
Then do the casts or converts when the destination fields are set.
For example:
UPDATE b
SET
auth_time = left(replace(cast(h.max_run_time as varchar),':',''),8),
auth_date = cast(h.max_run_date as datetime)
FROM inventory.dbo.books b
JOIN (
select
job_id,
max(run_time) as max_run_time,
max(run_date) as max_run_date
from msdb.dbo.sysjobhistory
group by job_id
) h
ON (b.job_id = h.job_id);
I didn't know what kind of number is expected in that auth_time.
So the max_run_time is just converted from a TIME to a VARCHAR.
The varchar is implicitly converted to the DECIMAL of the destination field.
For example: time '12:15:25.0000000' --> decimal(10,2) 121525.00
I'm pulling my hair out over a subquery that I'm using to avoid about 100 duplicates (out of about 40k records). The records that are duplicated are showing up because they have 2 dates in h2.datecreated for a valid reason, so I can't just scrub the data.
I'm trying to get only the earliest date to return. The first subquery (that starts with "select distinct address_id", with the MIN) works fine on it's own...no duplicates are returned. So it would seem that the left join (or just plain join...I've tried that too) couldn't possibly see the second h2.datecreated, since it doesn't even show up in the subquery. But when I run the whole query, it's returning 2 values for some ipc.mfgid's, one with the h2.datecreated that I want, and the other one that I don't want.
I know it's got to be something really simple, or something that just isn't possible. It really seems like it should work! This is MSSQL. Thanks!
select distinct ipc.mfgid as IPC, h2.datecreated,
case when ad.Address is null
then ad.buildingname end as Address, cast(trace.name as varchar)
+ '-' + cast(trace.Number as varchar) as ONT,
c.ACCOUNT_Id,
case when h.datecreated is not null then h.datecreated
else h2.datecreated end as Install
from equipmentjoin as ipc
left join historyjoin as h on ipc.id = h.EQUIPMENT_Id
and h.type like 'add'
left join circuitjoin as c on ipc.ADDRESS_Id = c.ADDRESS_Id
and c.GRADE_Code like '%hpna%'
join (select distinct address_id, equipment_id,
min(datecreated) as datecreated, comment
from history where comment like 'MAC: 5%' group by equipment_id, address_id, comment)
as h2 on c.address_id = h2.address_id
left join (select car.id, infport.name, carport.number, car.PCIRCUITGROUP_Id
from circuit as car (NOLOCK)
join port as carport (NOLOCK) on car.id = carport.CIRCUIT_Id
and carport.name like 'lead%'
and car.GRADE_Id = 29
join circuit as inf (NOLOCK) on car.CCIRCUITGROUP_Id = inf.PCIRCUITGROUP_Id
join port as infport (NOLOCK) on inf.id = infport.CIRCUIT_Id
and infport.name like '%olt%' )
as trace on c.ccircuitgroup_id = trace.pcircuitgroup_id
join addressjoin as ad (NOLOCK) on ipc.address_id = ad.id
The typical approach to only getting the lowest row is one of the following. You didn't bother to specify what version of SQL Server you're using, what you want to do with ties, and I have little interest to try to work this into your complex query, so I'll show you an abstract simplification for different versions.
SQL Server 2000
SELECT x.grouping_column, x.min_column, x.other_columns ...
FROM dbo.foo AS x
INNER JOIN
(
SELECT grouping_column, min_column = MIN(min_column)
FROM dbo.foo GROUP BY grouping_column
) AS y
ON x.grouping_column = y.grouping_column
AND x.min_column = y.min_column;
SQL Server 2005+
;WITH x AS
(
SELECT grouping_column, min_column, other_columns,
rn = ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY min_column)
FROM dbo.foo
)
SELECT grouping_column, min_column, other_columns
FROM x
WHERE rn = 1;
This subqery:
select distinct address_id, equipment_id,
min(datecreated) as datecreated, comment
from history where comment like 'MAC: 5%' group by equipment_id, address_id, comment
Probably will return multiple rows because the comment is not guaranteed to be the same.
Try this instead:
CROSS APPLY (
SELECT TOP 1 H2.DateCreated, H2.Comment -- H2.Equipment_id wasn't used
FROM History H2
WHERE
H2.Comment LIKE 'MAC: 5%'
AND C.Address_ID = H2.Address_ID
ORDER BY DateCreated
) H2
Switch that to OUTER APPLY in case you want rows that don't have a matching desired history entry.