This article attempts to show a practical scenario on improving DB design and performance through row density and compression in Microsoft SQL Server 2008.  Read more...

This Friday Steve Jones talks about database design and specifically asks how you prefer to design triggers.   Read more...

In this next installment of his series on TDD, MVP Andy Leonard continues the development of his database.  Read more...

In the second part of this series, Leo Peysakhovich provides a mechanism for tracking real time data changes.  Read more...

You can easily re-factor bad DML code, but if a database design is wrong, you can do little to rescue the problem, even with expert queries. So what constitutes 'wrong RDBMS design? What are these errors that continually crop up? How can you recognise them and fix them? Joe embarks on a new series of articles by identifying a series of bad practices based on the habit of 'splitting' that which shouldn't be split.  Read more...

Joe Celko tackles the subject of the Stored Procedure and its place in database design. What he writes is food for thought, even for experienced database developers.  Read more...

Having described tables, Joe Celko explains how to make them work together as a database and touches on what Entity Relationships and Views are.  Read more...

Let's face it: requirements change. There is usually a lot of churn during the design and initial development stages, but changes can happen to mature applications, too. The key is to introduce those changes with the least amount of effort and risk.   Read more...

As multi-tier architectures grow over time, it is often challenging to coordinate those changes across the data, logic and presentation tiers. Unless planned and implemented carefully, an act as simple as adding a column to a table can grind all of the components of your application to a halt. While some of us have comfortable 12-hour maintenance windows every weekend, many of us are bound by service level agreements that are much more strict. So we must find ways to introduce fixes and new features with zero downtime, and without requiring every single component to be refactored at the same time.   Read more...

A guest editorial from Andy Warren looks at a bad database design he recently ran across.  Read more...

In a sequel to his first article on Time Bomb Design, David Poole examines the issues we find between development environments and production ones.  Read more...

There are several types of tables, each with their special requirements for rules and integrity constraints. Whatever the requirement, table-level constraints will ensure that the rules are enforced and data integrity is maintained.  Read more...

A series by Joe Celko that examines the craft of designing a database to meet your needs.  Read more...

A clear understanding of SQL Data Types and domains is a fundamental requirement for the Database Developer, but it is not elementary. If you select the most appropriate data type, it can sidestep a variety of errors. Furthermore, if you then define the data domains as exactly as possible via constraints, you can catch a variety of those problems that would otherwise bedevil the work of the application programmer.  Read more...

Before you start to think about your database schema or tables, you need to consider your data: the type of data it is, the scale you use for values. It needs to be unique, precise and unambiguous. Then you need to name it in such a way that it can be generally understood. Joe Celko explains...  Read more...

Handling security in an application can be a bit cumbersome. R Glen Cooper brings us a database design technique from the real world that can help you.  Read more...

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Handling security in an application can be a bit cumbersome. R Glen Cooper brings us a database design technique from the real world that can help you.  Read more...

Timothy Claason continues talking about database design in a new article. This one talks about expanding the functionality that Bridge Tables provide in your schema.  Read more...

In building a database, typically we want a well normalized design. However there are cases for considering options for denormalization in complex systems. Timothy Claason gives you some thoughts on the subject.  Read more...