The other day I had the need to select an exact number of rows in a TSQL stored procedure. The circumstances constrained me in multiple ways and I just so happened to come across this little gem of a trick for selecting a set number of rows without using TOP.

All one must do is use the following assigment:

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SET @@ROWCOUNT = # OF ROWS TO SELECT

Then perform the select statement and your in business!

The only easy way to insert multiple records in TSQL (and it's quick!):

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INSERT INTO TableName(COLUMNS...)
SELECT Val1, Val2...
UNION ALL
SELECT Val1, Val2...

etc.