In honor of Phil Factor's recent post on SQL Smells, I thought I would post some blogs SQL smells and why some of them are bad as well as when they may be OK. Let's start with the top of the list that Phil has compiled. Use of deprecated syntax such as *= (Dave Howard) There are two problems here. First this is not in compliance with the SQL 92 standard. We should strive our code to be standards compliant whenever there is a standard available. Now this sounds like a cop out along the lines of "Because ......
Phil Factor blogged about his quest for SQL Code Smells. He wants to start some discussions about coding standards and best / worst practices. This is sure to generate a lot of discussion. In fact it already has. Follow the #sqlcodesmells hashtag and you can follow the discussion. I have tweeted several sql code smells of my own. There are also some interesting comments on the blog. There is a debate brewing there about the futility of defining standards, art vs. science arguments, etc. One comment ......