An example of how a mathematical problem was converted into T-SQL by evolving a script in iterations.  Read more...

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This article describes an alternate use of CTEs for functional data processing.  Read more...

This article from new author Peter Kierstead shows us how to implement your own "fuzzy" dedup/merge logic without resorting to RBAR in T-SQL.  Read more...

The use of bitmasking is usually limited to decoding values in the system views, but it can be useful in other places when you want to save space. New author Lee Everest brings us an introduction to bitmasking and its use in SQL Server 2005.   Read more...

The third article in a four part series, this week Andy shows how to use the command object to work with stored procedure parameters.   Read more...

The use of bitmasking is usually limited to decoding values in the system views, but it can be useful in other places when you want to save space. New author Lee Everest brings us an introduction to bitmasking and its use in SQL Server 2005.   Read more...

Testing is an important part of programming and it is no different with SQL Server development. Longtime author Grant Fritchey brings us a look at the new testing features available in Visual Studio 2005.   Read more...

SQL Server does a great job of handling concurrency & ensuring that users can make changes in multi-user systems without conflict. However there are times a strict calling order is needed.   Read more...

Not many people enjoy using Globally Unique Identifiers (GUIDs), partly because they are cumbersome to type and work with for humans. However they fill a need and can provide some interesting benefits. SQL Server expert Andy Warren takes us through what a GUID is and how you can use it easily in your code.   Read more...

Part 1 of a 4 part series about ADO, this is a beginner level article designed to get you started using the ADO connection object. If you haven't used ADO so far, why not see what it's all about?   Read more...

For many of us, working with the identity property allows us to easily generate a sequential series of numbers. But what if you need to generate a sequence according to some pattern, like one that includes the year? New author Asif Sayed brings us a technique and the code for generating a patterned sequence.   Read more...

Robert is our expert on dynamic sql. This week he offers some good hints for planning the contruction of a proc that will use dynamic sql. He also adds some suggestions on how to format the code so that when you return to it later, you can figure out what you were doing!   Read more...

Do you know the difference between a login and a user? What's the best way to add them; Enterprise Manager, T-SQL, or SQL-DMO? In this beginner level article Andy demonstrates how to use all three methods to add logins and users and offers his view of which is the best technique.   Read more...

A short but interesting article, the author has figured out a way to create a PDF from a stored procedure without using a third party library.   Read more...

We've had a lot of coverage of dynamic sql (including another great one from Robert Marda later this week) but this one is a little different. Done in a question/answer format, Andy tries to explain to junior developers why dynamic sql is to be avoided, how to do so, what to do when you can't.   Read more...

SQL Server 2000 is an extremely powerful and flexible development platform, but if the users mess up the data, there's nothing you can do. Protecting the integrity sometimes means severely limiting access to users. Roy Carlson brings us a technique using sp_makewebtask that you can easily use to provide users with some data without giving them query access.   Read more...

Do you use the maintenance plans or hate them? Wish they would do more? Curious about how they work under the hood? Cmon, you gotta read this one! Trust us, it's not another "how-to" article! Well, maybe just a little bit!   Read more...

Mindy explores the metadata stored in SQL 2000 to show you how to produce a simple and useful data dictionary!   Read more...

This is the first article by Steve Jones that examines a programming technique for handling operations that may be too large to run in a single query.   Read more...