SQL Server Performance Forum – Threads Archive

Programming below SQL

Dear Forum, just as well as other high-level languages, SQL trades useful programming features and ease of use against performance and low-level access. In the old days, when performance became an issue, it was always an option to go below the high-level language (i.e. use assembler) to gain maximum performance at the price of more development effort. I have never seen anything like this for SQL. Has anybody seen useful SQL-Server tools or applications (including data access), which use machine-near programming below SQL? Maybe direct access to the .MDF / .LDF files ? Kay

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In SQL Server for slow running queries you can use PROFILER and for performance issues PERFMON(SYSMON) is the best tool to capture the activity to assess the situation. I think there may be third party tools available to dig out internally for the assemblers. Satya SKJ
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I have never seen such tools. Moreover, I haven’t even heard about such idea. I think that it is easy enough to screw a query using SQL, so I wouldn’t dare to use any assembler-like language to access a database. I have programmed DPS-s and microcontrolers using assembler and it was always a kind of lottery. Anyway, the idea is still interesting – if you find something, could you post some links? — Marek ‘chopeen’ Grzenkowicz ‘You’re so cute when you’re frustrated.’ — Interpol

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I think on Informix you can (or could a few years ago) use C-Isam calls. Actually I had some C-ISAM programming on UNISYS CTOS where Informix was not involved. But anyway, I don’t think it is good idea using anything but sql on rdbms. Even if you could have lower-level access you would loose benefits of cost based optimizer and all sophisticated algorithms already implemented.

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