Using SQL Server Query Analyzer

SQL Server Query Analyzer is a Microsoft® Win32® Microsoft Windows® application that is an excellent tool for the ad hoc, interactive execution of Transact-SQL statements and scripts. To use SQL Server Query Analyzer, users must understand Transact-SQL.

In SQL Server Query Analyzer, users enter Transact-SQL statements in a full-text window, execute the statements, and view the results in a results window. Users also can open a text file containing Transact-SQL statements, execute the statements, and view the results in the results window.

SQL Server Query Analyzer also offers excellent tools for determining how Microsoft SQL Server is interpreting and working with a Transact-SQL statement. A user can:

• Display a graphical representation of the execution plan generated for the statement.
• Start the Index Tuning Wizard to determine which indexes can be defined for the underlying tables to optimize the performance of the statement.
• Display statistics about the performance of the statement.