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I wish SQL had syntax more similar to dplyr[1] for complicated queries. I dislike having to do a nested sub-query every time I re-group the data - the query ends up being a deeply indented mess that needs to be read from the inside-out. Using "WITH" clauses helps a lot, but it's still not as easy to read as the more imperative dplyr style.

[1] https://dplyr.tidyverse.org/

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Be wary of WITH statements as they are optimization barriers as some engines can't optimize them -- that's changing but just FYI. I believe the latest Postgres release is handling them properly now -- I could be wrong.

Good note. Subqueries are sometimes optimization barriers as well - it depends on query engine. If you care about performance you need to look at the query plan.

"If you care about performance you need to look at the query plan." Always I would say, once your data gets above toy size.

we use azure data explorer for a lot of data storage. It is a terribly boring name but it highly performant at a large range of data sizes, stores rectangular (table) data with clear schematization, and uses the piping type of syntax of tidyverse. I love it. I really wish they would rebrand and market it more.

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