• I totally agree with Manie Verster and his article Knowledge Sharing. I have found sites like SQL ServerCentral invaluable and have scoured the many articles that have been posted here and at other sites.

    I started programming in SQL some ten years ago and when I joined my current company I made the assumption that the developers all knew more far more than myself, but I soon realised from the headless chicken routines and sleepless nights that in fact they knew nothing apart from SELECT * etc.

    Of course, a little knowledge is dangerous and buzz words would creep into our daily lives like indexes, triggers and colleagues started to use these in the belief that they were doing it right. It was only after one disastrous deployment that never got off the ground and the subsequent witch hunt to find the cause of the failure, that I was galvanised into really getting to grips with the SQL innards.

    I was fed up with having little knowledge, the long hours and sleepless nights and through various forums I was soon able to trace the cause of many SQL / Server problems and to start advising colleagues on best SQL polices.

    I spent hours trawling through help forums which I found many many times more helpful than the MSDN help pages which say a lot but tell you nothing, and which if you are not careful can be lead you a merry dance following link after link until you get so lost you give up.

    Like Manie, I am a slow learner when it comes to written text, but I learn quickly from diagrams and worked examples something MSDN really lacks, but once I have learnt it is there to stay.

    Long live the forums and a big thank you to all who have contributed over the years.