Read more...

This article shares some tips on using concatenation efficiently for application development, pointing out some things that we must consider and look at when concatenating values or fields in our queries or stored procedures.  Read more...

A free eBook from SQLServerCentral and Red Gate software can help you learn about the best hardware for your SQL Server instances.  Read more...

The Execute SQL Task of SSIS is extraordinarily useful, but it can cause a lot of difficulty for developers learning SSIS, or only using it occasionally. What it needed, we felt, was a clear step-by-step guide that showed the basics of how to use it effectively. Annette Allen has once again cleared the fog of confusion.   Read more...

in order to use the modify() method to delete data from typed and untyped XML instances, you must pass an XML DML expression as an argument to the method. That expression must include the delete keyword, along with an XQuery expression that defines the XML component to be deleted. Robert makes it seem simple, as usual.  Read more...

A quick solution is a table function that will create a date range based on the parameters given. Then, you can just join to the results.  Read more...

SQL Server developers and database administrators have one last chance for a full day of free training and networking at SQL in the City 2012.  Read more...

This article shows a clean non-looping method to parse comma separated values from a parameter passed to a stored procedure.  Read more...

When the average database developer is obliged to manipulate XML, either shredding it into relational format, or creating it from SQL, it is often done 'at arms length'. A shame, since effective use of techniques that go beyond the basics can save much code,  Read more...

Learn all you need to know about MDX, by drawing only on your current SQL knowledge.   Read more...

As you begin developing reports for deployment to a Report Server, what security considerations need to be taken into account in order to grant users access to run a report.  Read more...

In the first level of his Stairway to SQL Dialects, Joe Celko looks at the origins of the SQL language and how the language has spawned the various different dialects in use today.  Read more...

Quite often, tasks accomplished via SSIS are a part of procedures that run unattended, either scheduled to launch at a particular date and time or triggered by some arbitrarily chosen event. Marcin Policht shares a typical approach to implementing such a scenario.  Read more...

Merry Christmas from SQLServerCentral. We spend much of our working life helping solve SQL Server-related performance problems, hands-on, during consulting, or on online forums. We've seen a few weird-and-wonderful issues but, mainly, it’s the same problems and misconceptions time-and-again. This is our attempt to describe, diagnose, and solve the most common problems with SQL Server 2005, 2008, and 2008 R2. And it's free.  Read more...

This article contains a T-SQL script that can show you the dependency of all objects in your SQL Server database.  Read more...