DBAs vs Developers: JSON in SQL Server | Bert Wagner | September 30, 2017

Background BI developer @ Progressive Insurance for 6+ years I ❤ JSON – I use it in APIs, hardware projects, websites I also ❤ SQL – relational database structures

Overview What is JSON? Why use JSON? When is it appropriate to store JSON in SQL? Usage examples: ETL and reporting Database object maintenance Performance parsing Performance comparisons

What does JSON look like? { “Make” : “Volkswagen”, “Year” : 2003, “Model” : { “Base” : “Golf”, “Trim” : “GL” }, “Colors” : [“White” , “Rust”], , “Pearl” “PurchaseDate” : “2006-10-05T00:00:00.000Z” } What is JSON, where it used, why is it used

Why use JSON? Easy Processing Javascript: var car = { "Make" : "Volkswagen" }; console.log(car.Make); // Output: Volkswagen car.Year = 2003; console.log(car); // Output: { "Make" : "Volkswagen", "Year" : 2003" }

Why use JSON? APIs

Why use JSON? Storage Size XML: 225 Characters JSON: 145 Characters <Car> <Make>Volkswagen</Make> <Year>2003</Year> <Model> <Base>Golf</Base> <Trim>GL</Trim> </Model> <Colors> <Color>White</Color> <Color>Pearl</Color> <Color>Rust</Color> </Colors> <PurchaseDate> 2006-10-05 00:00:00.000 </PurcaseDate> </Car> { “Make” : “Volkswagen”, “Year” : 2003, “Model” : { “Base” : “Golf”, “Trim” : “GL” }, “Colors” : [“White”, “Pearl”, Rust”], “PurchaseDate” : “2006-10-05T00:00:00.000Z” }

Appropriate Usage Staging Data Load data raw Validate Transform

Appropriate Usage Error Logging ErrorDate Component Data 2016-03-17 21:23:39 GetInventory { "Make : "Volkswagen", "Year" : 2003} 2016-03-19 12:59:31 Login { "User" : "Bert", "Referrer" : "http://google.com", "AdditionalDetails" : "Invalid number of login attempts" }

Appropriate Usage Non-Analytical Data Sessions User preferences Non-frequently changing variables Admin emails Static dropdown menus

High-Performance Requirements Inappropriate Usage High-Performance Requirements

Validation/Integrity Requirements Inappropriate Usage Validation/Integrity Requirements

Inappropriate Usage Being Lazy

Demos ETL and reporting Database object maintenance Performance parsing w/ computed column indexes SQL JSON vs XML vs .NET performance comparisons

Performance Results - XML JSON faster in almost all categories If considering entire app performance, maybe faster in all categories

Performance Results - .NET Competitive with C# libraries Indexes on computed columns are BLAZING!

JSON – What’s new in SQL Server 2017? Clustered column store indexes support nvarchar(max) Compression Faster (maybe) In memory-optimized tables Computed columns All JSON functions supported

Recap Many good (and bad) uses for JSON in SQL exist JSON can be fully manipulated in SQL Server 2016 JSON is preferable to XML for new projects JSON performance is comparable to .NET, faster with computed column indexes

Thank you! Twitter: @bertwagner Blog: https://bertwagner.com <- new post every Tuesday Vlog: https://bertwagner.com <- new video every Tuesday Email: bert@bertwagner.com

Appendix Software for keeping screen region on top On Top Replica Blog posts and YouTube videos: SQL Server JSON Usage - Parsing SQL Server JSON Usage - Creating SQL Server JSON Usage - Updating, Adding, Deleting Performance Comparisons - .NET Performance Comparisons - XML Performance Comparisons - .NET and XML Redux JSON Computed Column Indexes Jovan Popovic’s JSON posts Microsoft Connect Add an option to JSON_MODIFY() to fully delete values from arrays