Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2008 All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies®

IV.1.3. Scenarios When It's Time to Use Another Programming Language

While T-SQL is well suited to interact with Microsoft SQL databases, T-SQL is not a full-fledged programming language like Microsoft's Visual Basic .NET or C# .NET.

.NET programming languages, such as Visual Basic .NET and C# .NET, are diverse and are used to create a wide variety of applications, from accounting applications to games to Widgets. Trying to use T-SQL for any of these applications just isn't possible. However, it's very likely that any of these applications will have T-SQL code embedded within them to interact with Microsoft SQL databases.

Times to consider using a different language than T-SQL are

• When an interface needs to be created: T-SQL doesn't have the tools needed to create an interface, such as a Windows form or a Web form.

• When complex calculations need to be performed: While T-SQL can perform these calculations, you can usually get better performance by using a .NET language.

  When deciding whether to use T-SQL or .NET CLR, consider the data that will be accessed and what will be done with the data. If you're performing calculations based on data from multiple rows, T-SQL usually performs better. However, if you're performing complex calculations or comparisons of data within the same row, .NET CLR performs better.

• When sophisticated string comparisons need to be done: While T-SQL can perform ...