SQL Server, the misleading XLOCK & optimizations

From some recent testing and reading I've done, it seems the "X" (exclusive) name part of XLOCK is misleading. It in fact doesn't lock any more than UPDLOCK. If it were exclusive, it would prevent external SELECTs, which it doesn't.

I cannot see either from reading or from testing and difference between the two.

The only time XLOCK creates an exclusive lock is when used with TABLOCK. My first question is "why only at this granularity?"

Further, I came across a blog that states the following:

However, watch out for XLOCK hint. SQL Server will effectively ignore XLOCK hint! There's an optimization where SQL Server check whether the data has changed since the oldest open transaction. If not, then an xlock is ignored. This makes xlock hints basically useless and should be avoided.

Has anyone run across this phenomenon?

Based on what I'm seeing, it seems this hint should be ignored.

Edit Report

based on the comments in @Martin's answer, here is a little script (run the different parts in different SSMS windows to test the lock preventing a SELECT:

--
--how to lock/block a SELECT as well as UPDATE/DELETE on a particular row
--

--drop table MyTable
--set up table to test with
CREATE TABLE MyTable (RowID int primary key clustered
                     ,RowValue int unique nonclustered not null) 

--populate test data
;WITH InsertData AS
(
    SELECT 4321 AS Number
    UNION ALL
    SELECT Number+1
        FROM InsertData
        WHERE Number<9322
)
INSERT MyTable
        (RowID,RowValue)
    SELECT
        Number, 98765-Number
        FROM InsertData
        ORDER BY Number
    OPTION (MAXRECURSION 5001)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- #1
--OPEN A NEW SSMS window and run this
--
--create lock to block select/insert/update/delete
DECLARE @ID int

BEGIN TRANSACTION

SELECT @ID=RowID FROM MyTable WITH (ROWLOCK, XLOCK, HOLDLOCK) WHERE RowID=6822
PRINT @ID

--COMMIT  --<<<only run the commit when you want to release the lock
          --<<<adfter opening the other new windows and running the SQL in them



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- #2
--OPEN A NEW SSMS window and run this
--
--shows how a select must wait for the lock to be released
--I couldn't get SSMS to output any text while in the trnasaction, even though
--it was completing those commands (possibly buffering them?) so look at the
--time to see that the statements were executing, and the SELECT...WHERE RowID=6822
--was what was where this script is blocked and waiting
SELECT GETDATE() AS [start of run]
SELECT '1 of 2, will select row',* FROM MyTable Where RowID=6822
go
DECLARE @SumValue int
SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL REPEATABLE READ;
SELECT GET


                        
                        
                            answered 2011-01-07T15:20:26.487

SQL Server, the misleading XLOCK & optimizations

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