inner join Vs scalar Function

Question

Which of the following query is better... This is just an example, there are numerous situations, where I want the user name to be displayed instead of UserID

Answer 1

To help you more, just a tip, in SQL server using the Managment studio you can evaluate the performance by Display Estimated execution plan. It shown how the indexs and join works and you can select the best way to use it.

Also you can use the DTA (Database Engine Tuning Advisor) for more info and optimization.