Unpivoting Multiple Sets of Columns in SQL Server using CROSS APPLY
Learn how to unpivot data or sets of data with SQL Server queries using CROSS APPLY.
2023-11-24
Articles
Advanced SQL Server installation using Powershell DSC
Introduction In the previous article, we learned how to install a SQL Server instance with basic parameters like InstanceName, Features, SourcePath, SQLSysAdminAccounts, etc using Powershell DSC. In this article, we'll discover how to enhance our SQL Server installation with additional configurations. We'll cover things like setting up service account credentials, custom installation directories, configuring TempDB […]
2023-11-22
5,027 reads
Azure DocumentDB: Working with Microsoft's NoSQL Database in the Cloud
Coding for the new NoSQL JSON database service that supports SQL queries.
2023-11-22
T-SQL Fundamentals: Controlling Duplicates
When people start learning a new field, for example T-SQL, it’s tempting to spend very little time trying to understand the fundamentals of the field so that you can quickly get to the advanced parts.
2023-11-22
2023-11-20 (first published: 2023-10-02)
2,934 reads
SQL Window Functions Series: RANK() and DENSE_RANK()
Welcome to the fascinating world of SQL window functions! Today, we'll explore in detail: RANK() and DENSE_RANK().
2023-11-20 (first published: 2023-11-15)
12,572 reads
“How do my peers do this?” The latest best practices for IT architects implementing a major business initiative
How do other architects solve the common problems they encounter when tasked with implementing a major new business initiative? We asked 9 of your fellow IT architects to tell us how they approach the most common challenges.
2023-11-20
What are Warehouses in Microsoft Fabric?
In this article, we look at using Microsoft Fabric to build a data warehouse and some things you should know about doing this.
2023-11-20
Scheduling SQL Agent Jobs on Alternating Weeks
Bi-week... semi-week... fortnight... "every two weeks" Recently on the SQL Community Slack group, someone asked if there was a way to schedule a backup to run on alternate weeks. I'm not exactly sure why (maybe they wanted to run full and differential backups on alternating weeks), but yes, we can do that. In part one […]
2023-11-17
2,246 reads
How to get your security team on board with your cloud migration
In this second part of the Q&A with Dustin Dorsey, we asked him about how to get buy-in from security teams who are cautious by nature, how to encourage the wider IT team to accept their recommendations, and what additional challenges highly regulated sectors like healthcare and finance face.
2023-11-17
Blogs
macOS Tahoe breaks SQL Server on Docker containers on Apple silicon
The honeymoon is over, and macOS 26 Tahoe broke the Rosetta 2 emulation layer...
From Firefighting to Future‑Building: SQL Server 2025 and the New DataOps Mindset
By Chris Yates
There are moments in technology when the ground shifts beneath our feet. Moments when...
Why Developers Shouldn’t Have sysadmin access in SQL Server
Why Developers Shouldn’t Have sysadmin access in SQL Server 7 reasons—and exactly what to do instead It...
Forums
Extract from sql.to multiple sheets
Import-Module ImportExcel # Path to your .sql file $sqlFile = "C:\Data\MyQueries.sql" $excelPath = "C:\Data\SqlExtract_$(Get-Date...
sp_prepare and sp_execute vs sp_executesql
I have noticed sp_executesql also makes a single plan for a stmt with parameter...
Question of the Day
Who am I?
If I want to track which login called a stored procedure and use the value in an audit, what function can I use to replace the xxx below?
create procedure AddNewCustomer
@customername varchar(200)
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE @added VARCHAR(100)
SELECT @added = xxx
IF @customername IS NOT NULL
INSERT dbo.Customer
(
CustomerName,
AddedBy
)
VALUES
(@customername, @added)
END See possible answers