In this article Randy Dyness shows you how to avoid temp tables whenever to maximize the performance of your queries.   Read more...

Knowing the various types of joins can greatly expand your T-SQL skills. Jambu Krishnamurthy brings us a refresher article on the various types of joins and how to write them.   Read more...

This article by James Travis details the differences between IS NULL and = NULL. He also discusses the ANSI_NULLS setting.   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...

Identity columns are commonly used as primary keys in database tables. These columns automatically assign a value for each new row inserted. But what if you want to insert your own value into the column? It's actually very easy to do.  Read more...

Arranging SQL data that you can effectively analyse requires an understanding of how to use certain SQL clauses and operators. These tips will help you figure out how to build statements that will give you the results you want.  Read more...

We're pleased to announce that Robert will be writing for us each month - generally on stored procedures, but occasionally on a different topic. This article discusses how nesting stored procedures works and how to use @@NextLevel. Good reading! If there is a stored procedure topic you'd like to see covered, add a comment to the article or email us at articles@sqlservercentral.com   Read more...

Knowing the various types of joins can greatly expand your T-SQL skills. Jambu Krishnamurthy brings us a refresher article on the various types of joins and how to write them.   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...

In this video, Kathi continues her T-SQL series and exands how to use the WHERE clause.   Read more...

In this second part video from Kathi, she covers how to write T-SQL in much more indepth. She covers how to handle NULLs and many more items in this video.   Read more...

In this video, you'll learn how to write basic select statements. This beginner video takes you from the ground up writing T-SQL.   Read more...

This is an entry level look at how temp tables work in SQL along with some tips about how to use them effectively.   Read more...

In this article Randy Dyness shows you how to avoid temp tables whenever to maximize the performance of your queries.   Read more...

Part 2 of Steve Jones' series on beginning SQL Server from the perspective of a system administrator or someone not used to working with SQL Server. If you've been designated the new administrator, take a look at this series for some help in coming up to speed on this product.   Read more...

A view is a virtual table that consists of columns from one or more tables. Though it is similar to a table, it is stored in the database. It is a query stored as an object. Hence, a view is an object that derives its data from one or more tables. These tables are referred to as base or underlying tables.   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...

This article by James Travis details the differences between IS NULL and = NULL. He also discusses the ANSI_NULLS setting.   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...

When most developers think of joins, they think of a.SomethingID = b.SomethingID. This type of join, the equijoin, is vitally important to SQL programming; however, it only scratches the surface of the power of the SQL join. This is the first in a series of articles that will look at several different types of exotic joins in SQL. This article will focus on using the BETWEEN operator in joins when dealing with range-based data.   Read more...

Knowing the various types of joins can greatly expand your T-SQL skills. Jambu Krishnamurthy brings us a refresher article on the various types of joins and how to write them.   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...

Identity columns are commonly used as primary keys in database tables. These columns automatically assign a value for each new row inserted. But what if you want to insert your own value into the column? It's actually very easy to do.  Read more...