After a very popular first article on tools for the DBA, David Bird is back with a list of some utilities you might find very handy for working with SQL Server.  Read more...

The ROW_NUMBER function has drastically changed the way we can write a number of queries in T-SQL. New author Francis Rodrigues brings us a few places where this function can improve the efficiency of your code.  Read more...

Use sysindexes\DMVs insead of select count(*) to retreive table row counts  Read more...

Indexes are critical to good performance in SQL Server. However many people don't understand how indexes work and why they are important. MVP Gail Shaw provides us with an introductory article to explain the basics of indexing.  Read more...

Find the country, region and city of a user from an IP address using SQL Server. Oscar Garcia provides some code and resources if you want to dig into your analytics on your own.  Read more...

This article will provide some useful information to write a SP. I have emphasized on performance.  Read more...

An interesting use of T-SQL to run a stored procedure as part of a SELECT statement to get a result set to be used and combined with other tables. From Eli Leiba, learn how you can build a stored procedure into your queries.  Read more...

If you need to connect to a SQL server and don't have the 'sa' password plus the builtin\administrators account has been removed then Rudy Panigas shows us what you need to know.   Read more...

Some tips on what to do when you inherit a database that you've never worked on before   Read more...

This articles brings a comparison of temporary tables with table variables from SQL Server author, Wayne Sheffield. In includes an in-depth look at the differences between them.  Read more...

Implementing searching in your database is always a challenge and MVP Michael Coles brings us a method of building a Google-like search for SQL Server.  Read more...

How the JOIN operator works, the different types of JOINs and relevant information about joining tables.  Read more...

An "old" subject is revisted where "newbies" can learn the methods and veteran users can get more performance out of the code.  Read more...

This article identifies which indexes are used when T-SQL code runs, and proposes ways of improving these targeted indexes, leading to better performing code.  Read more...

Is there a way to not allow users to use SELECT * in their queries? New author AJ Raghuram has an interesting solution that can prevent this in code.  Read more...

This article from new author Oleg Netchaev describes the cursor-less script used to generate insert statements. This allows you to efficiently and easily add data generation statements to your project deployments.  Read more...

This article describes a utility that allows you to inspect cached plans and extract information that can be useful in improving the performance of your SQL.  Read more...

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New author Nilav Ghosh brings us a performance tuning article to help your queries run better. This article examines how indexes can help reduce blocking.  Read more...

Continuing with his series on T-SQL enhancements in SQL Server 2008, Arshad Ali brings us a look at the HierarchyID and Large UDTs.  Read more...