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Although it is common to group by periods such as Week, Month, or Quarter, sometimes alternative periods are needed. This simple technique lets you split a year into periods with any number of days.  Read more...

Erin Stellato goes into detail about some practical use cases for a new DBCC command in SQL Server 2014 SP2 : DBCC CLONEDATABASE.  Read more...

The PIVOT operator was added to the Transact-SQL language in SQL Server 2005. It allows you to turn your row data on its side, so it can be presented as column data. This is useful when you want take unique column values and have them displayed as column headings, where the column headings are associated with summarized values displayed below each column heading. In this article I will be exploring how to use the PIVOT operator.   Read more...

It’s been said that one of the drawbacks to normalization to the third form (3NF) is more cumbersome data extraction due to the greater number of tables. These require careful linking via JOIN clauses. Improper table joining can easily result in erroneous results or even in the dreaded Cartesian Product. In today’s article, Rob Gravelle explores how table joins are achieved in MySQL.  Read more...

Redgate are trying to understand the broad problem of auditing and compliance from a database perspective. Though it's a wide-ranging topic, they're particularly interested in better understanding pain points in the area. Additional to the survey, they're also offering a $30 Amazon voucher for anyone who would be willing to participate in a short phone call.  Read more...

Use Powershell to troubleshoot SQL connectivity issues. A way to monitor up-time and connectivity of a SQL server database with some simple Powershell commands.  Read more...

Rob Farley explains why AT TIME ZONE is his new favourite feature in SQL Server 2016, but also shows that it can make a mess of cardinality estimates.  Read more...

A common misconception is that Redgate’s SQL Prompt is ‘just’ a code completion tool. While this is indeed at the heart of SQL Prompt, there are a host of features that will help you and your team work more quickly and efficiently, freeing you up to concentrate on the important stuff. Take a whistle stop tour around SQL Prompt in this short demo.  Read more...

Continuing his examination of the evolving DAX “Function / Iterator Pairs,” Business Intelligence Architect, Analysis Services Maestro, Microsoft Data Platform MVP and author Bill Pearson introduces the DAX Concatenate() and ConcatenateX() functions, discussing the syntax, uses and operation of each. He then provides hands-on exposure to Concatenate() and ConcatenateX(), in joining two text strings into a single text string, and in returning the concatenation of an expression evaluated for each row in a table, respectively.  Read more...

When a SQL Server database is operating smoothly and performing well, there is no need to be particularly aware of the transaction log, beyond ensuring that every database has an appropriate backup regime and restore plan in place. When things go wrong, however, a DBA's reputation depends on a deeper understanding of the transaction log, both what it does, and how it works.  Read more...

The following command is run to gain details on deadlocks. DBCC TRACEON (1222,-1) However, once the SQL instance is restarted this...  Read more...

For many years it’s been a best practice to never put an ORDER BY in a view. The idea is...  Read more...