Open-Source Databases · ben-nour

SQL-tips-and-tricks

SQL-tips-and-tricks is a curated reference guide covering SQL formatting, data wrangling, performance optimization, and common pitfalls across MySQL, Snowflake, and SQLite. It is a static educational repository with 2,300+ stars, MIT-licensed, and designed for analysts and developers learning practical SQL patterns.

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Source: GitHub — github.com/ben-nour/SQL-tips-and-tricks

2.3k

GitHub stars

105

Forks

SQL

Primary language

MIT

License (OSI-approved)

Key facts

Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.

Field	Value
Repository	ben-nour/SQL-tips-and-tricks
Owner	ben-nour
Primary language	SQL
License	MIT — OSI-approved
Stars	2.3k
Forks	105
Open issues	2
Latest release	Unknown
Last updated	2025-11-23
Source	https://github.com/ben-nour/SQL-tips-and-tricks

What SQL-tips-and-tricks is

A non-executable reference document (SQL code examples only) covering topics including CTE usage, window functions (QUALIFY), anti-joins, ROLLUP aggregation, NOT EXISTS vs NOT IN performance trade-offs, and NULL-handling edge cases. Content is RDBMS-agnostic with noted dialect variations.

Quickstart

Get the SQL-tips-and-tricks source

Clone the repository and explore it locally.

terminalbash

1git clone https://github.com/ben-nour/SQL-tips-and-tricks.git2cd SQL-tips-and-tricks3# follow the project's README for install & configuration

Need it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.

Best use cases

SQL code review and readability standards

Establish team formatting conventions (leading commas, indentation, CTE structure) by referencing concrete examples that improve code maintainability.

Onboarding analytics and data engineering teams

New analysts or junior engineers gain exposure to query patterns, performance trade-offs (NOT EXISTS vs NOT IN), and anti-join implementations without deep RDBMS documentation diving.

Performance troubleshooting and query optimization

Reference implicit casting, NULL value handling in subqueries, and window function filtering (QUALIFY) when debugging slow or incorrect queries in production.

Implementation considerations

Audit each tip against your specific RDBMS version and dialect; some features (e.g., QUALIFY) are Snowflake-specific and may not apply to MySQL/SQLite.
Treat performance assertions (e.g., 'NOT EXISTS is faster than NOT IN') as guidelines requiring validation with EXPLAIN PLAN on your actual schema and cardinality.
Incorporate formatting/naming conventions (leading commas, CTE structure) into your team SQL style guide before referencing this repo to ensure alignment.
Consider NULL handling edge cases (NOT IN with NULL) during code review and testing, especially in anti-join and subquery patterns.
Use examples as teaching material in sync with your org's preferred formatter tool (sqlfluff, poorsql) to enforce consistency.

When to avoid it — and what to weigh

You need executable test harness or runnable examples — Repository contains code snippets only; no data fixtures, test scripts, or CI/CD integration for validation across SQL dialects.
You require dialect-specific guarantees or compatibility matrix — Author explicitly notes 'some tips might not be relevant for all RDBMSs' without per-tip dialect tags or formal testing across MySQL, Snowflake, SQLite versions.
You need auto-formatting or linting integrated into your pipeline — This is a reference guide, not a tool; it references external formatters (poorsql, sqlfluff) but does not provide integration or enforcement mechanisms.
You are seeking advanced query optimization or query planning analysis — Guide covers foundational patterns and common mistakes; does not include EXPLAIN PLAN analysis, index strategy, or cost-based optimizer behavior.

License & commercial use

MIT License. Permissive; allows commercial use, modification, and distribution with attribution and license inclusion.

MIT is a permissive OSI-approved license. You may use, modify, and redistribute this content in commercial products provided you retain the original license notice. However, this is a reference/educational repository, not software; practical commercial integration typically means citing the guide or building internal tooling on top of its patterns.

DEV.co evaluation signals

Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.

Signal	Assessment
Maintenance	Active
Documentation	Strong
License clarity	Clear
Deployment complexity	Low
DEV.co fit	Good
Assessment confidence	High

Security considerations

Not applicable as a reference guide. No executable code, no dependencies, no network calls, and no data handling. When implementing patterns (e.g., anti-joins, subquery filters), apply standard SQL injection prevention (parameterized queries) in your application layer regardless of guide content.

Alternatives to consider

sqlfluff documentation and rule set

Provides executable linting and auto-formatting; enforces readability patterns programmatically. Covers dialect-specific rules for MySQL, Snowflake, SQLite. Requires setup but provides continuous enforcement vs. manual reference.

Official RDBMS documentation (MySQL docs, Snowflake University, SQLite docs)

Authoritative and version-specific; covers QUALIFY, window functions, NULL semantics, and performance guarantees per dialect. Higher learning curve but more reliable for production decisions.

SQL Style Guides (like Kickstarter, Gitlab internal guides)

Team-maintained, opinionated standards tailored to your org's dialect and tool stack. More context-specific than generic reference; may lack breadth of patterns covered here.

Software development agency

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Use these SQL patterns as a foundation, then let our engineers help you architect scalable data pipelines and query optimization strategies for your production environment.

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Related open-source tools

Surfaced by semantic similarity across the DEV.co open-source index.

sqls sqlancer sqlfluff

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SQL-tips-and-tricks FAQ

Can I use this in a production SQL linter or formatter?

Not directly—this is a reference guide, not a tool. However, you can extract patterns and manually configure tools like sqlfluff to enforce them, or cite it in your team style guide.

Are all tips safe to apply to my MySQL/SQLite database?

No. The author notes dialect variations exist. Features like QUALIFY are Snowflake-specific. Always test tips against your RDBMS documentation and schema before adopting in production.

Does this cover query optimization for large datasets?

Partially. It covers common performance pitfalls (implicit casting, NOT IN vs NOT EXISTS) but does not include EXPLAIN PLAN analysis, index strategy, or advanced tuning. Refer to dialect-specific optimization docs for deep dives.

Can I redistribute or embed this in my company wiki?

Yes, under MIT License. You must retain the original license notice and attribute the author (ben-nour). Modifications are allowed; document any changes clearly.

Software development & web development with DEV.co

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