Implicit Conversions Cripple SQL Server
Learn about implicit conversions, which can dramatically affect the performance of your workload.
2026-07-17
3,232 reads
Articles
Vector search in SQL Server: VECTOR_DISTANCE, VECTOR_SEARCH, and index trade-offs
Learn how to use VECTOR_DISTANCE and VECTOR_SEARCH in SQL Server to find semantically similar data.
2026-07-17
How Clustering can be Used as a Preprocessing Technique for Classification in Azure Machine Learning
Learn about using classification as a technique to prepare your data for additional machine learning analysis.
2026-07-15
922 reads
Confession Time: I Never Taught You About B-Trees.
I work with databases for a living. I teach people, and I help them via consulting. And as far as I can remember, I’ve never written something about how b-trees work.
2026-07-15
It’s 2026. Why are databases still failing GDPR compliance audits?
This article examines three recurring database-layer failures documented in the EDPB’s 2026 enforcement findings: the complexity of executing erasure across relational schemas, the backup paradox that can silently undo compliant deletions, and the audit log contradiction that traps organizations between two competing obligations.
2026-07-14 (first published: 2026-07-13)
TRY_PARSE vs TRY_CONVERT in SQL Server: From Basics to Practical Usage
This article shows how the TRY_PARSE() and TRY_CONVERT() functions can be used to handle data quality issues and ensure that your software continues to function without throwing errors.
2026-07-13
3,490 reads
Understanding Deadlock Victim Selection in SQL Server
A short introduction to how deadlocks work and how you can affect their behavior inside your system.
2026-07-13 (first published: 2026-05-01)
2,921 reads
Why Your SQL Permissions Disappeared
When you change a schema owner in SQL Server, all object-level permissions vanish instantly. There is no warning. Here's how to prevent it and fix it when it happens.
2026-07-10
2,854 reads
Correct SQL Server Always On Availability Group Not Synchronizing
We had an issue with a SQL Server database in an Always On Availability Group (AOAG) where it was not synchronizing the secondary replica even though it was using the “Synchronous commit” Availability Mode for the secondary replica. This article explains how to troubleshoot and resolve:
2026-07-10
Five Intelligent Query Processing Features in SQL Server 2022 That Quietly Tune Your Workload
Learn about a few new features built into SQL Server 2022 that can help improve performance on your workload.
2026-07-08
3,186 reads
Blogs
Narrow Task Decomposition in AI Pipeline Agents
A nightly load into sales_fact fails. Ask an orchestrating agent to break down the...
Car Update: August 2026
By Steve Jones
It’s been some time since I provided a car update, so I decided to...
Microsoft Fabric OneLake Shortcuts: When to Use Them and When Not To
By James Serra
An architecture scenario Imagine separate Sales, Finance, Shared Data, and Executive Analytics workspaces. Sales...
Forums
Searching for my own posts
I have a really stupid question... Is there an easy way to search for...
How to Work with On-Premises AI Models to Generate T-SQL Code
Comments posted to this topic are about the item How to Work with On-Premises...
Escaping Strings
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Escaping Strings
Question of the Day
Escaping Strings
The STRING_ESCAPE() function requires 2 parameters in SQL Server 2025. The first is a string of text and the second is the type of escape rules being used. What are the options for the second parameter?
See possible answers