[SQL] how to avoid an inner join

Hi.

Assume a table having a key Key and a column ValidFrom (ValidFrom is a date). All rows with a definite Key have different ValidFrom's. Can I get the row with the youngest ValidFrom in the past (i.e. the row that is valid actually) without an inner join? Something like

    select * from table
    where Key = value and ValidFrom = "max(ValidFrom) <= today";

I'm no database expert, but I anticipate performance problems if I have to do the inner join.

Sincerely
Harald

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Harald Fischer-Hohlweck      mailto:Harald.Fischer-Hohlweck_at_ibix.de

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