SQL join with a range of values (int ranges, date ranges, whatever)

optimization, performance, query-optimization, sql

Solution

Well I have played with the problem and have a couple of suggestions. But first let's populate helper table

CREATE TABLE dbo.Numbers(n INT NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY)
GO
DECLARE @i INT;
SET @i = 1;
INSERT INTO dbo.Numbers(n) SELECT 1;
WHILE @i<1024000 BEGIN
  INSERT INTO dbo.Numbers(n)
    SELECT n + @i FROM dbo.Numbers;
  SET @i = @i * 2;
END;
GO

and test data, one minute commercials every minute for one year, and one customer call per minute for the same year:

CREATE TABLE dbo.Commercials(
  StartedAt DATETIME NOT NULL 
    CONSTRAINT PK_Commercials PRIMARY KEY,
  EndedAt DATETIME NOT NULL,
  CommercialName VARCHAR(30) NOT NULL);
GO
INSERT INTO dbo.Commercials(StartedAt, EndedAt, CommercialName)
SELECT DATEADD(minute, n - 1, '20080101')
    ,DATEADD(minute, n, '20080101')
    ,'Show #'+CAST(n AS VARCHAR(6))
  FROM dbo.Numbers
  WHERE n<=24*365*60;
GO
CREATE TABLE dbo.Calls(CallID INT 
  CONSTRAINT PK_Calls NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
  AirTime DATETIME NOT NULL,
  SomeInfo CHAR(300));
GO
INSERT INTO dbo.Calls(CallID,
  AirTime,
  SomeInfo)
SELECT n 
    ,DATEADD(minute, n - 1, '20080101')
    ,'Call during Commercial #'+CAST(n AS VARCHAR(6))
  FROM dbo.Numbers
  WHERE n<=24*365*60;
GO
CREATE UNIQUE INDEX Calls_AirTime
  ON dbo.Calls(AirTime) INCLUDE(SomeInfo);
GO

The original attempt to select all the calls made during commercials for three hours in the middle of the year is terribly slow:

SET STATISTICS IO ON;
SET STATISTICS TIME ON;
GO

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM(
SELECT s.StartedAt, s.EndedAt, c.AirTime
FROM dbo.Commercials s JOIN dbo.Calls c 
  ON c.AirTime >= s.StartedAt AND c.AirTime < s.EndedAt
WHERE c.AirTime BETWEEN '20080701' AND '20080701 03:00'
) AS t;

SQL Server parse and compile time: 
   CPU time = 15 ms, elapsed time = 30 ms.

(1 row(s) affected)
Table 'Calls'. Scan count 1, logical reads 11, physical reads 0, read-ahead reads 0, lob logical reads 0, lob physical reads 0, lob read-ahead reads 0.
Table 'Worktable'. Scan count 2, logical reads 3338264, physical reads 0, read-ahead reads 0, lob logical reads 0, lob physical reads 0, lob read-ahead reads 0.
Table 'Commercials'. Scan count 2, logical reads 7166, physical reads 0, read-ahead reads 0, lob logical reads 0, lob physical reads 0, lob read-ahead reads 0.
Table 'Worktable'. Scan count 0, logical reads 0, physical reads 0, read-ahead reads 0, lob logical reads 0, lob physical reads 0, lob read-ahead reads 0.

SQL Server Execution Times:
   CPU time = 71704 ms,  elapsed time = 36316 ms.

The reason is simple: we know that commercials do not overlap, so one call fits into at most one commercial, but the optimizer does not know it. We know that commercials are short, but the optimizer does not know it either. Both assumptions can be enforced as constraints, but the optimizer will not not it still.

Assuming that commercials are no longer than 15 minutes, we can tell that to the optimizer, and the query is very fast:

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM(
SELECT s.StartedAt, s.EndedAt, c.AirTime
FROM dbo.Commercials s JOIN dbo.Calls c 
  ON c.AirTime >= s.StartedAt AND c.AirTime < s.EndedAt
WHERE c.AirTime BETWEEN '20080701' AND '20080701 03:00'
AND s.StartedAt BETWEEN '20080630 23:45' AND '20080701 03:00'
) AS t;

SQL Server parse and compile time: 
   CPU time = 15 ms, elapsed time = 15 ms.

(1 row(s) affected)
Table 'Worktable'. Scan count 1, logical reads 753, physical reads 0, read-ahead reads 0, lob logical reads 0, lob physical reads 0, lob read-ahead reads 0.
Table 'Calls'. Scan count 1, logical reads 11, physical reads 0, read-ahead reads 0, lob logical reads 0, lob physical reads 0, lob read-ahead reads 0.
Table 'Commercials'. Scan count 1, logical reads 4, physical reads 0, read-ahead reads 0, lob logical reads 0, lob physical reads 0, lob read-ahead reads 0.

SQL Server Execution Times:
   CPU time = 31 ms,  elapsed time = 24 ms.

Assuming that commercials do not overlap so so one call fits into at most one commercial, we can tell that to the optimizer, and the query is again very fast:

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM(
SELECT s.StartedAt, s.EndedAt, c.AirTime
FROM dbo.Calls c CROSS APPLY(
  SELECT TOP 1 s.StartedAt, s.EndedAt FROM dbo.Commercials s 
  WHERE c.AirTime >= s.StartedAt AND c.AirTime < s.EndedAt
  ORDER BY s.StartedAt DESC) AS s
WHERE c.AirTime BETWEEN '20080701' AND '20080701 03:00'
) AS t;

SQL Server parse and compile time: 
   CPU time = 0 ms, elapsed time = 7 ms.

(1 row(s) affected)
Table 'Commercials'. Scan count 181, logical reads 1327, physical reads 0, read-ahead reads 0, lob logical reads 0, lob physical reads 0, lob read-ahead reads 0.
Table 'Calls'. Scan count 1, logical reads 11, physical reads 0, read-ahead reads 0, lob logical reads 0, lob physical reads 0, lob read-ahead reads 0.

SQL Server Execution Times:
   CPU time = 31 ms,  elapsed time = 31 ms.

Problem

Original source