What is the equivalent for PL/SQL in MS SQL Server?

 The equivalent of PL/SQL (Procedural Language/Structured Query Language) in Microsoft SQL Server is T-SQL (Transact-SQL).

Both PL/SQL and T-SQL are procedural extensions to their respective SQL languages (Oracle SQL for PL/SQL and SQL Server's SQL for T-SQL). They allow for the use of variables, control-of-flow statements (like IF and WHILE), loops, exception handling, and the creation of stored procedures and functions.

Here are some key differences and similarities:

Similarities:

1. Procedural Programming: Both support procedural constructs like loops, conditionals, and exception handling.
2. Stored Procedures: Both allow you to create and execute stored procedures.
3. Functions: Both allow the creation of functions that can be called within SQL queries.
4. Triggers: Both support triggers to handle events like INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE.

Differences:

1. Syntax: While both languages are similar, they have different syntax and functions. For example, PL/SQL uses BEGIN...END, whereas T-SQL often uses BEGIN...END with slightly different control structures.

2. Error Handling:

   • PL/SQL uses the EXCEPTION block for handling errors.
   • T-SQL uses TRY...CATCH for error handling.

3. Variables:

   • In PL/SQL, you declare variables in a DECLARE block and use them in a BEGIN...END block.
   • In T-SQL, variables are declared using DECLARE and assigned using SET or SELECT.

Example:

PL/SQL (Oracle):

DECLARE
  v_number NUMBER := 10;
BEGIN
  IF v_number > 5 THEN
    DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Greater than 5');
  ELSE
    DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Less than or equal to 5');
  END IF;
END;

T-SQL (SQL Server):

DECLARE @number INT = 10;
IF @number > 5
BEGIN
  PRINT 'Greater than 5';
END
ELSE
BEGIN
  PRINT 'Less than or equal to 5';
END;

Overall, T-SQL is the procedural extension used in SQL Server, just as PL/SQL is used in Oracle databases.