Should I use != or <> for not equal in T-SQL?

Question

I have seen SQL that uses both != and <> for not equal. What is the preferred syntax and why?

I like !=, because <> reminds me of Visual Basic.

Answer 1

It’s mostly recommended to use <> as it is ANSI compliant. Technically their functions are the same. If you’re using SQL Server AKA T-SQL (Transactional Structured Query Language).

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 But, if you're using it in stored procedures then you can use either != or <> .