Previously, we established SQL is not a modular language. Brent Ozar would like to point out it’s not a programming or scripting language either.

In a programming language like C# or Java, you tell the computer what to do, in order… SQL, on the other hand, is a declarative language where you declare the shape of your result set… You’re declaring the output that you want, not the methods the database server uses to build it. Oh sure, you CAN use SQL to declare the shape of your query plan, but generally that leads to heartbreak and despair…”

Click through to read all the reasons why, and when you should and should not force things.