Inside Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008: T-SQL Querying

Appendix A. Logic Puzzles

Logic is at the heart of querying problems. SQL is logic, and each query problem in essence is a logic puzzle. The toughest part of solving a querying problem is usually figuring out its logical aspects. You can improve your SQL problem-solving capabilities by practicing pure logic puzzles.

A while back, I provided a couple of logic puzzles in my T-SQL column in SQL Server Magazine (www.sqlmag.com). I wanted to show the strong relationship between SQL and logic. Originally, I planned on providing only those couple of puzzles. But the puzzles raised so much interest with readers—interestingly, even more than the T-SQL puzzles—that for a while we published a new logic puzzle every month. I’d like to thank SQL Server Magazine ...