Query optimization not using index - sql-server

I'm running into performance issues with Sql Server 2008 R2, which I've narrowed down to the query optimizer (I think!). I'm looking for a definitive "why does this happen, or is it a bug?".
For sake of discussion I'll use this example, but the same problem has been seen across multiple sprocs with the same scenario.
We have a table containing payment methods; key fields are PaymentMethodId and UserId.
PaymentMethodId is an int, and the PK; UserId is a nvarchar(255) with a non-clustered index.
The query is similar to the following:
Sproc params worth mentioning:
#id int = null
#userId nvarchar(255) = null
There is an if statement at the beginning of the sproc to disallow both parameters being null.
select * from PaymentMethods (nolock) pm
where (#userId is null or #userId = pm.UserId)
and (#id is null or #id = pm.PaymentMethodId)
In the case where #userId is null, I would expect the optimizer to detect the first where clause as always true; if #userId is NOT null, I would expect it to use the index on UserId.
I have the same expectations for #id.
What we're seeing, is that regardless of input values the database is electing to do a full table scan.
While this is concerning on its own, it gets more interesting.
When updating the query where clause to equivalent of below, it is using the indecies correctly.
select * from PaymentMethods (nolock) pm
where ((#userId is null and pm.UserId is null) OR #userId = pm.UserId)
and (#id is null or #id = pm.PaymentMethodId)
What is going on? Why is "#userId is null" being considered for every record, (or is it?) Or is the real issue sitting in front of they keyboard?!

There can be a number of reasons why your sp is slow. For instance, stored procedures create a plan depending on the values for the parameters when you first run that sp. This means that you get the same plan even when the new values may return a completely different result set, one that could benefit from another plan. You could try using dynamic SQL or run the sp with OPTION(RECOMPILE) so the optimizer can create another execution plan. This is one example:
CREATE STORED PROCEDURE dbo.Test #userid INT, #id INT
AS
DECLARE #sql NVARCHAR(4000)
SET #sql = N'SELECT *
FROM PaymentMethods pm
WHERE 1 = 1'
SET #sql = #sql +
CASE
WHEN #userid IS NOT NULL THEN N' AND pm.UserId = #userid '
ELSE N''
END +
CASE
WHEN #id IS NOT NULL THEN N' AND pm.PaymentMethodId = #id '
ELSE N''
END
EXEC sp_executesql #sql, N'#userid INT, #id INT', #userid, #id;

Related

INSERT INTO with exec with multiple result sets

SQL Server allows me to insert the returned result set of a stored procedure as:
DECLARE #T TABLE (
ID int,
Name varchar(255),
Amount money)
INSERT INTO #T
exec dbo.pVendorBalance
This works as long as the stored procedure only returns 1 result set.
Is there a way to make this work if the stored procedure returns several result sets?
E.g.
DECLARE #T1 (...)
DECLARE #T2 (...)
INSERT INTO #T1 THEN INTO #T2
exec dbo.pVendorBalance
One workaround to this problem is using OUTPUT parameters (JSON/XML) instead of resultsets.
CREATE TABLE tab1(ID INT, Name NVARCHAR(10), Amount MONEY);
INSERT INTO tab1(ID, Name, Amount)
VALUES (1, 'Alexander', 10),(2, 'Jimmy', 100), (6, 'Billy', 20);
CREATE PROCEDURE dbo.pVendorBalance
AS
BEGIN
-- first resultset
SELECT * FROM tab1 WHERE ID <=2;
-- second resultset
SELECT * FROM tab1 WHERE ID > 5;
END;
Version with OUT params:
CREATE PROCEDURE dbo.pVendorBalance2
#resultSet1 NVARCHAR(MAX) OUT,
#resultSet2 NVARCHAR(MAX) OUT
AS
BEGIN
SELECT #resultSet1 = (SELECT * FROM tab1 WHERE ID <=2 FOR JSON AUTO),
#resultSet2 = (SELECT * FROM tab1 WHERE ID > 5 FOR JSON AUTO);
END;
And final call:
DECLARE #r1 NVARCHAR(MAX), #r2 NVARCHAR(MAX);
EXEC dbo.pVendorBalance2 #r1 OUT, #r2 OUT;
-- first resultset as table
SELECT *
INTO #t1
FROM OpenJson(#r1)
WITH (ID int '$.ID', [Name] NVARCHAR(50) '$.Name',Amount money '$.Amount');
-- second resultset as table
SELECT *
INTO #t2
FROM OpenJson(#r2)
WITH (ID int '$.ID', [Name] NVARCHAR(50) '$.Name',Amount money '$.Amount');
SELECT * FROM #t1;
SELECT * FROM #t2;
DBFiddle Demo
EDIT:
Second approach is to use tSQLt.ResultSetFilter CLR function (part of tSQLt testing framework):
The ResultSetFilter procedure provides the ability to retrieve a single result set from a statement which produces multiple result sets.
CREATE TABLE #DatabaseSize (
database_name nvarchar(128),
database_size varchar(18),
unallocated_space varchar(18)
);
CREATE TABLE #ReservedSpaceUsed (
reserved VARCHAR(18),
data VARCHAR(18),
index_size VARCHAR(18),
unused VARCHAR(18)
);
INSERT INTO #DatabaseSize
EXEC tSQLt.ResultSetFilter 1, 'EXEC sp_spaceused';
INSERT INTO #ReservedSpaceUsed
EXEC tSQLt.ResultSetFilter 2, 'EXEC sp_spaceused';
SELECT * FROM #DatabaseSize;
SELECT * FROM #ReservedSpaceUsed;
No. But there is more of a work around since you cannot do an insert into with a procedure that returns multiple results with a different number of columns.
If you are allowed to modify the stored procedure, then you can declare temp tables outside of the procedure and populate them within the stored procedure. Then you can do whatever you need with them outside of the stored procedure.
CREATE TABLE #result1(Each column followed by data type of first result.);
----Example: CREATE TABLE #result1(Column1 int, Column2 varchar(10))
CREATE TABLE #result2(Each column followed by data type of second result.);
EXEC pVendorBalance;
SELECT * FROM #result1;
SELECT * FROM #result2;
I had a similar requirement, and ended up using the a CLR function which you can read about here (it's the answer with the InsertResultSetsToTables method, by user Dan Guzman):
https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/sqlserver/en-US/da5328a7-5dab-44b3-b2b1-4a8d6d7798b2/insert-into-table-one-or-multiple-result-sets-from-stored-procedure?forum=transactsql
You need to create a SQL Server CLR project in Visual Studio to get going. I had a project already written by a co-worker that I could just expand, but if you're starting from scratch, try reading this guide:
http://www.emoreau.com/Entries/Articles/2015/04/SQL-CLR-Integration-in-2015-year-not-product-version.aspx
If you've succeeded in writing and publishing the CLR project to the database, here is an example of using it I wrote:
-- declare a string with the SQL you want to execute (typically an SP call that returns multiple result sets)
DECLARE #sql NVARCHAR(MAX)
SET #sql = 'exec usp_SomeProcedure #variable1 = ' + #variable1 + '...' -- piece together a long SQL string from various parameters
-- create temp tables (one per result set) to hold the output; could also be actual tables (non-temp) if you want
CREATE TABLE #results_1(
[CustomerId] INT, [Name] varchar(500), [Address] varchar(500)
);
CREATE TABLE #results_2(
[SomeId] UNIQUEIDENTIFIER, [SomeData] INT, [SomethingElse] DateTime
);
-- on the exemplary 'CustomerDatabase' database, there is an SP (created automatically by the SQL CLR project deployment process in Visual Studio) which performs the actual call to the .NET assembly, and executes the .NET code
-- the CLR stored procedure CLR_InsertResultSetsToTables executes the SQL defined in the parameter #sourceQuery, and outputs multiple result sets into the specified list of tables (#targetTableList)
EXEC CustomerDatabase.dbo.CLR_InsertResultSetsToTables #sourceQuery = #sql, #targetTableList = N'#results_1,#results_2';
-- The output of the SP called in #sql is now dumped in the two temp tables and can be used for whatever in regular SQL
SELECT * FROM #results_1;
SELECT * FROM #results_2;
We can do it in the following way
Consider the input SP (which returns 2 tables as output) as usp_SourceData
Alter the usp_SourceData to accept a parameter as 1 and 2
Adjust the SP in a way that when
usp_SourceData '1' is executed it will return first table
and when
usp_SourceData '2' is executed it will return second table.
Actually stored procedures can return multiple result sets, or no result sets, it's pretty arbitrary. Because of this, I don't know of any way to navigate those results from other SQL code calling a stored procedure.
However, you CAN use the returned result set from a table-valued user defined function. It's just like a regular UDF, but instead of returning a scalar value you return a query result. Then you can use that UDF like any other table.
INSERT INTO #T SELECT * FROM dbp.pVendorBalanceUDF()
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms191165(v=sql.105).aspx
DROP TABLE ##Temp
DECLARE #dtmFrom VARCHAR(60) = '2020-12-01 00:00:00', #dtmTo VARCHAR(60) = '2020-12-02 23:59:59.997',#numAdmDscTransID VARCHAR(60) =247054
declare #procname nvarchar(255) = 'spGetCashUnpaidBills',
#procWithParam nvarchar(255) = '[dbo].[spGetCashUnpaidBills] #dtmFromDate= ''' +#dtmFrom+ ''' ,#dtmToDate= ''' +#dtmTo+''',#numCompanyID=1,#numAdmDscTransID='+ #numAdmDscTransID +',#tnyShowIPCashSchemeBills=1',
#sql nvarchar(max),
#tableName Varchar(60) = 'Temp'
set #sql = 'create table ##' + #tableName + ' ('
begin
select #sql = #sql + '[' + r.name + '] ' + r.system_type_name + ','
from sys.procedures AS p
cross apply sys.dm_exec_describe_first_result_set_for_object(p.object_id, 0) AS r
where p.name = #procname
set #sql = substring(#sql,1,len(#sql)-1) + ')'
execute (#sql)
execute('insert ##' + #tableName + ' exec ' + #procWithParam)
end
SELECT *FROM ##Temp
If the both result sets have same number of columns then
insert into #T1 exec dbo.pVendorBalance
will insert the union of both data set into #T1.
If not
Then edit dbo.pVendorBalance and insert results into temporary tables and in outer stored proc, select from those temporary tables.
Another way(If you need it), you can try
SELECT * into #temp
from OPENROWSET('SQLNCLI', 'Server=(local)\\(instance);Trusted_Connection=yes;',
'EXEC dbo.pVendorBalance')
it will take first dataset.

Store Procedure is working perfectly fine when executed from front end but is not working when I execute it in sql server

I have created a stored procedure which works perfectly fine when I execute it from from end i.e.C#.net or when I copy and past the query of stored procedure in separate SQL Query window but it neither give any result nor any error when I execute it in SQL server using EXEC sp_Name. I can not understand what is wrong in my code.
Below is my stored procedure
ALTER PROCEDURE sp_tbl_REQUEST_SelectAllByFilter_WithPagging
#PageIndex INT=NULL,
#PageRecord INT=NULL,
#SortExpression NVARCHAR (200)='int_Request_ID',
#SortDirection NVARCHAR (10)='ASC',
#int_Requester_ID INT=NULL,
#intProjectID INT=NULL
AS
BEGIN
SET NOCOUNT ON
DECLARE #StartRowIndex INT
SET #StartRowIndex=((#PageIndex-1)*#PageRecord)+1;
DECLARE #WhrClause VARCHAR(MAX)
SET #WhrClause= 'WHERE tr.int_Requester_ID = '+CONVERT(VARCHAR(MAX), #int_Requester_ID)
IF(#intProjectID>0)
BEGIN
SET #WhrClause=#WhrClause+' AND tr.int_Project_ID='+CONVERT(VARCHAR(MAX),#intProjectID)
END
DECLARE #SelectClause VARCHAR(MAX)
SET #SelectClause=';With AllRecords AS(SELECT Row_Number() OVER(ORDER BY '+CONVERT (VARCHAR (MAX), #SortExpression)+' '+CONVERT (VARCHAR (MAX), #SortDirection)+')AS ''RowNumber'',* FROM(SELECT tr.[int_Request_ID],
tr.[int_User_ID],
tr.[int_Project_ID],
tr.[str_Request_Type],
tr.[int_Account_ID],
tr.[int_Requester_ID],
tr.[int_User_Head_ID],
tr.[dt_Request_Date],
tr.[bln_IsApproved],
tr.[dt_Approval_Date],
tr.[str_Reject_Reason],
tr.[int_USER_ROLE],
tr.[int_AllocationType_ID],
tr.[int_NoofHourInMinute],
xyz.dbo.GetHourByMin(ISNULL(int_NoofHourInMinute,0)) as ''str_NoofHour'',
tr.[dt_StartDateToWork],
tr.[dt_EndDateToWork],
tr.[isAllowToAddTask],
tr.[isAllowToDeleteTask],
tr.[isAllowToAddCR],
tp.str_Project_Name,
tu.str_FullName AS str_User_Name,
tu1.str_FullName AS UserHeader,
tbl_Project_AllocationType.str_AllocationType,
tu2.str_FullName AS UserRequester,
tu2.str_EMAIL_ADDRESS as RequesterEmail
FROM [tbl_Requests] tr
INNER JOIN tbl_PROJECT tp ON tp.int_Project_ID = tr.int_Project_ID
INNER JOIN tbl_USER tu ON tu.int_USER_ID=tr.int_User_ID
LEFT JOIN tbl_USER tu1 ON tu1.int_USER_ID=tr.int_User_Head_ID
INNER JOIN tbl_USER tu2 ON tu2.int_USER_ID=tr.int_Requester_ID
inner join tbl_Project_AllocationType on tbl_Project_AllocationType.int_AllocationType_ID=tr.int_AllocationType_ID '+#WhrClause+'
)As Tmp)
SELECT * FROM
AllRecords WHERE RowNumber BETWEEN ' + CONVERT(VARCHAR(MAX), #StartRowIndex) + ' AND ' + CONVERT(VARCHAR(MAX), (#StartRowIndex + #PageRecord - 1)) + '
SELECT COUNT(TempTbl.int_Request_ID)As ''ReturnRecords'','+CONVERT(VARCHAR(MAX),#PageIndex)+'''PageIndex''
FROM (SELECT tr.[int_Request_ID]
FROM [tbl_Requests] tr '+#WhrClause+')as TempTbl;'
PRINT(#SelectClause)
DECLARE #SQL NVARCHAR(MAX)
SET #SQL=CONVERT(NVARCHAR(MAX),#SelectClause)
EXEC sp_executesql #SQL
END
I am executing it like this.
EXEC sp_tbl_REQUEST_SelectAllByFilter_WithPagging 1,20,NULL,NULL,74,591
You're passing NULL for #SortExpression and #SortDirection. NULL means that the defaults don't apply - they're null instead.
So the whole concatenation into #SelectClause becomes NULL (because concatenating strings and NULLs produces NULLs)
So nothing is executed.
Try:
EXEC sp_tbl_REQUEST_SelectAllByFilter_WithPagging
1,20,#int_Requester_ID = 74,#intProjectID=591
Incidentally, you should avoid using sp_ as a prefix for stored procedures. The sp_ prefix is reserved by MS for system stored procedures, and SQL Server will prefer a system stored procedure from master vs your own procedure, if there's a name clash.
(I'd generally recommend against using any prefixes in SQL Server, but that's more of a matter for debate, rather than a strong rule)
Hello You don't need to pass the parameter null
so you can execute store procedure this way
EXEC sp_tbl_REQUEST_SelectAllByFilter_WithPagging 1,20,#int_Requester_ID=74,#intProjectID=591
Try this
Regards
Amit Vyas

Duplicate Auto Numbers generated in SQL Server

Be gentle, I'm a SQL newbie. I have a table named autonumber_settings like this:
Prefix | AutoNumber
SO | 112320
CA | 3542
A whenever a new sales line is created, a stored procedure is called that reads the current autonumber value from the 'SO' row, then increments the number, updates that same row, and return the number back from the stored procedure. The stored procedure is below:
ALTER PROCEDURE [dbo].[GetAutoNumber]
(
#type nvarchar(50) ,
#out nvarchar(50) = '' OUTPUT
)
as
set nocount on
declare #currentvalue nvarchar(50)
declare #prefix nvarchar(10)
if exists (select * from autonumber_settings where lower(autonumber_type) = lower(#type))
begin
select #prefix = isnull(autonumber_prefix,''),#currentvalue=autonumber_currentvalue
from autonumber_settings
where lower(autonumber_type) = lower(#type)
set #currentvalue = #currentvalue + 1
update dbo.autonumber_settings set autonumber_currentvalue = #currentvalue where lower(autonumber_type) = lower(#type)
set #out = cast(#prefix as nvarchar(10)) + cast(#currentvalue as nvarchar(50))
select #out as value
end
else
select '' as value
Now, there is another procedure that accesses the same table that duplicates orders, copying both the header and the lines. On occasion, the duplication results in duplicate line numbers. Here is a piece of that procedure:
BEGIN TRAN
IF exists
(
SELECT *
FROM autonumber_settings
WHERE autonumber_type = 'SalesOrderDetail'
)
BEGIN
SELECT
#prefix = ISNULL(autonumber_prefix,'')
,#current_value=CAST (autonumber_currentvalue AS INTEGER)
FROM autonumber_settings
WHERE autonumber_type = 'SalesOrderDetail'
SET #new_auto_number = #current_value + #number_of_lines
UPDATE dbo.autonumber_settings
SET autonumber_currentvalue = #new_auto_number
WHERE autonumber_type = 'SalesOrderDetail'
END
COMMIT TRAN
Any ideas on why the two procedures don't seem to play well together, occasionally giving the same line numbers created from scratch as lines created by duplication.
This is a race condition or your autonumber assignment. Two executions have the potential to read out the same value before a new one is written back to the database.
The best way to fix this is to use an identity column and let SQL server handle the autonumber assignments.
Barring that you could use sp_getapplock to serialize your access to autonumber_settings.
You could use repeatable read on the selects. That will lock the row and block the other procedure's select until you update the value and commit.
Insert WITH (REPEATABLEREAD,ROWLOCK) after the from clause for each select.

Insert/Update/Delete with function in SQL Server

Can we perform Insert/Update/Delete statement with SQL Server Functions. I have tried with but SQL Server error is occured.
Error:
Invalid use of side-effecting or time-dependent operator in 'DELETE' within a function.
AnyBody have any Idea why we can not use Insert/Update/Delete statements with SQL Server functions.
Waiting for your good idea's
No, you cannot.
From SQL Server Books Online:
User-defined functions cannot be used
to perform actions that modify the
database state.
Ref.
Yes, you can!))
Disclaimer: This is not a solution, it is more of a hack to test out something. User-defined functions cannot be used to perform actions that modify the database state.
I found one way to make INSERT, UPDATE or DELETE in function using xp_cmdshell.
So you need just to replace the code inside #sql variable.
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[_tmp_func](#orderID NVARCHAR(50))
RETURNS INT
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #sql varchar(4000), #cmd varchar(4000)
SELECT #sql = 'INSERT INTO _ord (ord_Code) VALUES (''' + #orderID + ''') '
SELECT #cmd = 'sqlcmd -S ' + ##servername +
' -d ' + db_name() + ' -Q "' + #sql + '"'
EXEC master..xp_cmdshell #cmd, 'no_output'
RETURN 1
END
Functions in SQL Server, as in mathematics, can not be used to modify the database. They are intended to be read only and can help developer to implement command-query separation. In other words, asking a question should not change the answer. When your program needs to modify the database use a stored procedure instead.
You can't update tables from a function like you would a stored procedure, but you CAN update table variables.
So for example, you can't do this in your function:
create table MyTable
(
ID int,
column1 varchar(100)
)
update [MyTable]
set column1='My value'
but you can do:
declare #myTable table
(
ID int,
column1 varchar(100)
)
Update #myTable
set column1='My value'
Yes, you can.
However, it requires SQL CLR with EXTERNAL_ACCESS or UNSAFE permission and specifying a connection string. This is obviously not recommended.
For example, using Eval SQL.NET (a SQL CLR which allow to add C# syntax in SQL)
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[fn_modify_table_state]
(
#conn VARCHAR(8000) ,
#sql VARCHAR(8000)
)
RETURNS INT
AS
BEGIN
RETURN SQLNET::New('
using(var connection = new SqlConnection(conn))
{
connection.Open();
using(var command = new SqlCommand(sql, connection))
{
return command.ExecuteNonQuery();
}
}
').ValueString('conn', #conn).ValueString('sql', #sql).EvalReadAccessInt()
END
GO
DECLARE #conn VARCHAR(8000) = 'Data Source=XPS8700;Initial Catalog=SqlServerEval_Debug;Integrated Security=True'
DECLARE #sql VARCHAR(8000) = 'UPDATE [Table_1] SET Value = -1 WHERE Name = ''zzz'''
DECLARE #rowAffecteds INT = dbo.fn_modify_table_state(#conn, #sql)
Documentation: Modify table state within a SQL Function
Disclaimer: I'm the owner of the project Eval SQL.NET
You can have a table variable as a return type and then update or insert on a table based on that output.
In other words, you can set the variable output as the original table, make the modifications and then do an insert to the original table from function output.
It is a little hack but if you insert the #output_table from the original table and then say for example:
Insert into my_table
select * from my_function
then you can achieve the result.
We can't say that it is possible of not their is some other way exist to perform update operation in user-defined Function. Directly DML is not possible in UDF it is for sure.
Below Query is working perfectly:
create table testTbl
(
id int identity(1,1) Not null,
name nvarchar(100)
)
GO
insert into testTbl values('ajay'),('amit'),('akhil')
Go
create function tblValued()
returns Table
as
return (select * from testTbl where id = 1)
Go
update tblValued() set name ='ajay sharma' where id = 1
Go
select * from testTbl
Go
"Functions have only READ-ONLY Database Access"
If DML operations would be allowed in functions then function would be prety similar to stored Procedure.
No, you can not do Insert/Update/Delete.
Functions only work with select statements. And it has only READ-ONLY Database Access.
In addition:
Functions compile every time.
Functions must return a value or result.
Functions only work with input parameters.
Try and catch statements are not used in functions.
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.UdfGetProductsScrapStatus
(
#ScrapComLevel INT
)
RETURNS #ResultTable TABLE
(
ProductName VARCHAR(50), ScrapQty FLOAT, ScrapReasonDef VARCHAR(100), ScrapStatus VARCHAR(50)
) AS BEGIN
INSERT INTO #ResultTable
SELECT PR.Name, SUM([ScrappedQty]), SC.Name, NULL
FROM [Production].[WorkOrder] AS WO
INNER JOIN
Production.Product AS PR
ON Pr.ProductID = WO.ProductID
INNER JOIN Production.ScrapReason AS SC
ON SC.ScrapReasonID = WO.ScrapReasonID
WHERE WO.ScrapReasonID IS NOT NULL
GROUP BY PR.Name, SC.Name
UPDATE #ResultTable
SET ScrapStatus =
CASE WHEN ScrapQty > #ScrapComLevel THEN 'Critical'
ELSE 'Normal'
END
RETURN
END
Functions are not meant to be used that way, if you wish to perform data change you can just create a Stored Proc for that.
if you need to run the delete/insert/update you could also run dynamic statements. i.e.:
declare
#v_dynDelete NVARCHAR(500);
SET #v_dynDelete = 'DELETE some_table;';
EXEC #v_dynDelete
Just another alternative using sp_executesql (tested only in SQL 2016).
As previous posts noticed, atomicity must be handled elsewhere.
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[fn_get_service_version_checksum2]
(
#ServiceId INT
)
RETURNS INT
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #Checksum INT;
SELECT #Checksum = dbo.fn_get_service_version(#ServiceId);
DECLARE #LatestVersion INT = (SELECT MAX(ServiceVersion) FROM [ServiceVersion] WHERE ServiceId = #ServiceId);
-- Check whether the current version already exists and that it's the latest version.
IF EXISTS(SELECT TOP 1 1 FROM [ServiceVersion] WHERE ServiceId = #ServiceId AND [Checksum] = #Checksum AND ServiceVersion = #LatestVersion)
RETURN #LatestVersion;
-- Insert the new version to the table.
EXEC sp_executesql N'
INSERT INTO [ServiceVersion] (ServiceId, ServiceVersion, [Checksum], [Timestamp])
VALUES (#ServiceId, #LatestVersion + 1, #Checksum, GETUTCDATE());',
N'#ServiceId INT = NULL, #LatestVersion INT = NULL, #Checksum INT = NULL',
#ServiceId = #ServiceId,
#LatestVersion = #LatestVersion,
#Checksum = #Checksum
;
RETURN #LatestVersion + 1;
END;

How to detect interface break between stored procedure

I am working on a large project with a lot of stored procedures. I came into the following situation where a developer modified the arguments of a stored procedure which was called by another stored procedure.
Unfortunately, nothing prevents the ALTER PROC to complete.
Is there a way to perform those checks afterwards ?
What would be the guidelines to avoid getting into that kind of problems ?
Here is a sample code to reproduce this behavior :
CREATE PROC Test1 #arg1 int
AS
BEGIN
PRINT CONVERT(varchar(32), #arg1)
END
GO
CREATE PROC Test2 #arg1 int
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #arg int;
SET #arg = #arg1+1;
EXEC Test1 #arg;
END
GO
EXEC Test2 1;
GO
ALTER PROC Test1 #arg1 int, #arg2 int AS
BEGIN
PRINT CONVERT(varchar(32), #arg1)
PRINT CONVERT(varchar(32), #arg2)
END
GO
EXEC Test2 1;
GO
DROP PROC Test2
DROP PROC Test1
GO
Sql server 2005 has a system view sys.sql_dependencies that tracks dependencies. Unfortunately, it's not all that reliable (For more info, see this answer). Oracle, however, is much better in that regard. So you could switch. There's also a 3rd party vendor, Redgate, who has Sql Dependency Tracker. Never tested it myself but there is a trial version available.
I have the same problem so I implemented my poor man's solution by creating a stored procedure that can search for strings in all the stored procedures and views in the current database. By searching on the name of the changed stored procedure I can (hopefully) find EXEC calls.
I used this on sql server 2000 and 2008 so it probably also works on 2005. (Note : #word1, #word2, etc must all be present but that can easily be changed in the last SELECT if you have different needs.)
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[findWordsInStoredProceduresViews]
#word1 nvarchar(4000) = null,
#word2 nvarchar(4000) = null,
#word3 nvarchar(4000) = null,
#word4 nvarchar(4000) = null,
#word5 nvarchar(4000) = null
AS
BEGIN
-- SET NOCOUNT ON added to prevent extra result sets from
-- interfering with SELECT statements.
SET NOCOUNT ON;
-- create temp table
create table #temp
(
id int identity(1,1),
Proc_id INT,
Proc_Name SYSNAME,
Definition NTEXT
)
-- get the names of the procedures that meet our criteria
INSERT #temp(Proc_id, Proc_Name)
SELECT id, OBJECT_NAME(id)
FROM syscomments
WHERE OBJECTPROPERTY(id, 'IsProcedure') = 1 or
OBJECTPROPERTY(id, 'IsView') = 1
GROUP BY id, OBJECT_NAME(id)
-- initialize the NTEXT column so there is a pointer
UPDATE #temp SET Definition = ''
-- declare local variables
DECLARE
#txtPval binary(16),
#txtPidx INT,
#curText NVARCHAR(4000),
#counterId int,
#maxCounterId int,
#counterIdInner int,
#maxCounterIdInner int
-- set up a double while loop to get the data from syscomments
select #maxCounterId = max(id)
from #temp t
create table #tempInner
(
id int identity(1,1),
curName SYSNAME,
curtext ntext
)
set #counterId = 0
WHILE (#counterId < #maxCounterId)
BEGIN
set #counterId = #counterId + 1
insert into #tempInner(curName, curtext)
SELECT OBJECT_NAME(s.id), text
FROM syscomments s
INNER JOIN #temp t
ON s.id = t.Proc_id
WHERE t.id = #counterid
ORDER BY s.id, colid
select #maxCounterIdInner = max(id)
from #tempInner t
set #counterIdInner = 0
while (#counterIdInner < #maxCounterIdInner)
begin
set #counterIdInner = #counterIdInner + 1
-- get the pointer for the current procedure name / colid
SELECT #txtPval = TEXTPTR(Definition)
FROM #temp
WHERE id = #counterId
-- find out where to append the #temp table's value
SELECT #txtPidx = DATALENGTH(Definition)/2
FROM #temp
WHERE id = #counterId
select #curText = curtext
from #tempInner
where id = #counterIdInner
-- apply the append of the current 8KB chunk
UPDATETEXT #temp.definition #txtPval #txtPidx 0 #curtext
end
truncate table #tempInner
END
-- check our filter
SELECT Proc_Name, Definition
FROM #temp t
WHERE (#word1 is null or definition LIKE '%' + #word1 + '%') AND
(#word2 is null or definition LIKE '%' + #word2 + '%') AND
(#word3 is null or definition LIKE '%' + #word3 + '%') AND
(#word4 is null or definition LIKE '%' + #word4 + '%') AND
(#word5 is null or definition LIKE '%' + #word5 + '%')
ORDER BY Proc_Name
-- clean up
DROP TABLE #temp
DROP TABLE #tempInner
END
You can use sp_refreshsqlmodule to attempt to re-validate SPs (this also updates dependencies), but it won't validate this particular scenario with parameters at the caller level (it will validate things like invalid columns in tables and views).
http://www.mssqltips.com/tip.asp?tip=1294 has a number of techniques, including sp_depends
Dependency information is stored in the SQL Server metadata, including parameter columns/types for each SP and function, but it isn't obvious how to validate all the calls, but it is possible to locate them and inspect them.

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