October 2023 security fixes
SQL Server has an update that fixes several vulnerabilities, for all modern versions, from SQL Server 2014 SP3 right on up to SQL Server 2022. Go get it!
View ArticleBad Habits and Best Practices
Over a decade of posts and videos involving bad habits and best practices in SQL Server.
View ArticleDon’t use DISTINCT as a “join-fixer”
I talk about an inefficient but common use case for DISTINCT: removing extra rows from joins.
View ArticleDeployment checklists
In this tip, I talk about checklists to keep everyone involved in a deployment or migration - regardless of technical acumen - on the same page.
View Article2023 : Community Influencer of the Year
I recognize this year's recipient of my Community Influencer of the Year award.
View ArticleModernizing Stack Overflow for Teams
I discuss decisions and trade-offs when migrating Stack Overflow for Teams - first to a new cluster, and then to a new version of SQL Server.
View ArticleUnpivoting multiple sets of columns
UNPIVOT works great when you're populating a single output column, but I talk about how CROSS APPLY can work better in more complex scenarios.
View ArticleT-SQL Tuesday #168 : Window Functions
For this month's T-SQL Tuesday, Steve Jones asks us to talk about problems we've solved using window functions.
View ArticleStrategies for queries against bit columns
Bit columns can be tricky, and I discuss a few techniques for sanity and performance - including filtered indexes when skew is dramatic.
View ArticleThe Anatomy of a Featured Image
I talk about the evolution of my thinking on featured images, and how I use generative AI for most post companions these days.
View ArticleWhen an update doesn't update
I discuss reasons you might think a data change was successful when it wasn't - or vice-versa.
View ArticleAn Oracle feature I want in SQL Server
While I've very rarely been jealous of Oracle, 23c added something I really want in SQL Server.
View ArticleJust WAITFOR it : tips for testing in SSMS
I talk about some rarely-used WAITFOR functionality that I use for testing.
View ArticleT-SQL Tuesday #169 : Thanks!
This month, Kay Sauter encourages us to say thanks to those who helped us this year.
View ArticleCounting more efficiently
I show how to use metadata to avoid costly reads when retrieving counts, even for a subset of the table.
View Article2023 : A year in review
2023 was an interesting year for SQLblog.org - I talk about top posts and some changes I made here over the year.
View ArticleOptimized Locking in Azure SQL Database
Azure SQL Database got an update: A new locking model that might finally displace NOLOCK.
View ArticleClean up your setup config file
If you're planning to roll forward your existing ConfigurationFile.ini to SQL Server 2022, read this first.
View ArticleLeave it better than you found it
I talk about several things you can do to clean up after yourself and be a good RDP citizen.
View ArticleT-SQL Tuesday #171: A recent issue I sort of closed
For this month's T-SQL Tuesday, Brent Ozar asks about the last ticket we closed. I came close...
View ArticleUpgrade your workstation to SQL Server 2022
I put together a few pointers about upgrading SQL Server, including /SkipRules, and avoiding the web installer.
View ArticleGet the most out of SQL Server Agent logs
In this post I talk about how to avoid losing valuable debugging information in the abyss and noise of SQL Server Agent's history.
View ArticlePagination and ordering by large string values
I talk about a technique that can avoid expensive sorting to paginate by large string values.
View ArticleSnake draft sorting, part 1
In this four-part series, I borrow a concept from fantasy football to solve an optimization problem in a long-running weekly job in SQL Server.
View ArticleSnake draft sorting, part 2
In part 2, I show how I take advantage of snake draft order with a couple of real use cases.
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