1. DBAs vs Developers:
JSON in SQL Server 2016
GroupBy Conference | Bert Wagner | June 9, 2017
1

3. Background
• BI developer at Progressive Insurance for 6+ years
• I love JSON - I use it in APIs, hardware projects, websites
• I also love SQL and relational database structures
• Slide, demos, code is available on bertwagner.com
3

4. 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
4

5. 5
What does JSON look like?
{
“Make” : “Volkswagen”,
“Year” : 2003,
“Model” : {
“Base” : “Golf”,
“Trim” : “GL”
},
“Colors” : [“White”, “Pearl”, “Rust”],
“PurchaseDate” : “2006-10-05T00:00:00.000Z”
}

6. 6
Why use JSON?
Easy Processing
var car = { "Make" : "Volkswagen" };
console.log(car.Make);
// Output: Volkswagen
car.Year = 2003;
console.log(car);
// Output: { "Make" : "Volkswagen", "Year" : 2003" }
Javascript:

7. 7
Why use JSON?
APIs

8. 8
Why use JSON?
Storage Size
<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”
}
XML: 225 Characters JSON: 145 Characters

9. 9
Appropriate Usage
Staging Data
• Load data raw
• Validate
• Transform

10. 10
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" }

11. 11
Appropriate Usage
Non-Analytical Data
• Sessions
• User preferences
• Non-frequently changing variables
• Admin emails
• Static dropdown menus

12. 12
Inappropriate Usage
High-Performance Requirements

13. 13
Inappropriate Usage
Validation/Integrity Requirements

14. 14
Inappropriate Usage
Being Lazy

15. Demos
1. ETL and reporting
2. Database object maintenance
3. Performance parsing w/ computed column indexes
4. SQL JSON vs XML vs .NET performance comparisons
15

16. Performance Results - XML
16
• JSON faster in almost all categories
• If considering entire app performance, maybe faster in
all categories

17. Performance Results - .NET
17
• Competitive with C# libraries
• Indexes on computed columns are BLAZING!

18. Recap
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• 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

19. Thank you!
Twitter: @bertwagner
Blog: https://blog.bertwagner.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6uYLOg8N_NzjkikbJ_vrtg
Email: bertwagner@bertwagner.com
Visit https://bertwagner.com for these
slides and demo code! 19

20. 20
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
Microsoft Connect
• Add an option to JSON_MODIFY() to fully delete values from arrays