As a SQL Server developer, you may come across situations where you need to compare two sets of data and find the differences between them. In Oracle, you can achieve this using the MINUS clause. But what about SQL Server? Does it have a similar operation? The answer is yes, SQL Server has the EXCEPT clause, which is exactly similar to the MINUS operation in Oracle.

The EXCEPT query and MINUS query both return all the rows in the first query that are not returned in the second query. This can be useful when you want to find the differences between two result sets. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when using the EXCEPT clause in SQL Server:

• Each SQL statement within the EXCEPT query must have the same number of fields in the result sets with similar data types.
• The order of the columns in the result sets must also be the same.

Let’s take a look at an example to understand how the EXCEPT clause works in SQL Server:

CREATE TABLE EmployeeRecord
(EmpNo INT NOT NULL, EmpName VARCHAR(10),
EmpPost VARCHAR(9), ManagerID INT,
Salary INT, COMM INT, DeptNO INT);

INSERT INTO EmployeeRecord
VALUES (7369, 'SMITH', 'CLERK', 7902, 800, NULL, 20);
INSERT INTO EmployeeRecord
VALUES (7499, 'ALLEN', 'SALESMAN', 7698, 1600, 300, 30);
INSERT INTO EmployeeRecord
VALUES (7521, 'WARD', 'SALESMAN', 7698, 1250, 500, 30);
-- Insert more data...

SELECT EmpNo, EmpName
FROM EmployeeRecord
WHERE Salary > 1000
EXCEPT
SELECT EmpNo, EmpName
FROM EmployeeRecord
WHERE Salary > 2000
ORDER BY EmpName;

In this example, we have a table called “EmployeeRecord” with various columns such as EmpNo, EmpName, EmpPost, ManagerID, Salary, COMM, and DeptNO. We want to find all the employees whose salary is greater than 1000 but not greater than 2000. By using the EXCEPT clause, we can easily achieve this.

Now, let’s compare this with the MINUS operation in Oracle:

SELECT EmpNo, EmpName
FROM EmployeeRecord
WHERE Salary > 1000
MINUS
SELECT EmpNo, EmpName
FROM EmployeeRecord
WHERE Salary > 2000
ORDER BY EmpName;

As you can see, both the SQL Server query and the Oracle query return the same results. This proves that the EXCEPT clause in SQL Server is equivalent to the MINUS clause in Oracle.

It’s important to note that the EXCEPT clause can be a powerful tool for data comparison and finding differences between result sets. However, it’s crucial to ensure that the number of fields and their data types match in both queries to avoid any unexpected results.

So, the next time you need to compare two sets of data in SQL Server, remember the EXCEPT clause and its similarity to the MINUS operation in Oracle. It can save you time and effort in finding the differences between result sets.

Thank you for reading! If you found this article helpful, be sure to check out our other articles on SQL Server concepts and operations.