The last major improvements in the T-SQL language allowed for better processing of running totals and other similar window functions. This was already a boon and allowed developers to replace arcane cursors with high performance T-SQL. These improvements are never enough for the most performance conscious developers among us, and as such there were still voices requesting further incorporation of the ANSI SQL standards into the T-SQL implementation.

Notable additions to the T-SQL syntax include the ability to finally split comma-separated strings using a single function call, STRING_SPLIT(), instead of the previous hacky implementations using loops or the Common Language Runtime (CLR).

The sensible opposing syntax for splitting strings is a function to aggregate values together, STRING_AGG(), which returns a set of values in a comma-separated string. This replaces similarly hacky solutions using the XML data type of one of a multitude of looping solutions.

Each improvement in the T-SQL language further extends the toolbox that we, as developers, possess to be able to manipulate data inside SQL Server. The ANSI SQL standards provide a solid basis to work from and further additions of these standards are always welcome.