(T-SQL) First get all the users and their maxdate. Join with the table to find the corresponding values for the users on the maxdates.
create table users (userid int , value int , date datetime)
insert into users values (1, 1, '20010101')
insert into users values (1, 2, '20020101')
insert into users values (2, 1, '20010101')
insert into users values (2, 3, '20030101')
select T1.userid, T1.value, T1.date
from users T1,
(select max(date) as maxdate, userid from users group by userid) T2
where T1.userid= T2.userid and T1.date = T2.maxdate
results:
userid value date
----------- ----------- --------------------------
2 3 2003-01-01 00:00:00.000
1 2 2002-01-01 00:00:00.000