Slowly changing dimensions using T-SQL MERGE
Of all the technical solutions to the problem of slowly changing dimensions, the T-SQL MERGE statement is one of the most elegant.
2011-06-20
41,550 reads
Articles
A Tale of Identifiers
Identifiers aren't locators, and they aren't pointers or links either. They are a logical concept in a relational database, and, unlike the more traditional methods of accessing data, don't derive from the way that data gets stored. Identifiers uniquely identify members of the set, and it should be possible to validate and verify them. Celko somehow involves watches and taxi cabs to illustrate the point.
2011-06-20
2,815 reads
SQL Saturday #82 - Indianapolis
Come to Indianapolis on June 25, 2011 for a free one day training event on SQL Server.
2011-06-20 (first published: 2011-05-18)
3,318 reads
SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 Integration Services - Consuming Web Services Using Script Task
Web services can be easily leveraged in SQL Server 2008 R2 Integration Services by employing Web Services Task.
2011-06-17
3,337 reads
Lessons Learned from a Large Virtualization Implementation
Microsoft recently asked me to provide a summary of my experience with being part of a large-scale virtualization project. This was my response.
2011-06-16
6,088 reads
Raw Materials - Cloud Computing, the Next Generation
The pros and cons of having computing power close at hand.
2011-06-16 (first published: 2009-04-15)
8,534 reads
SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services Operations Guide
This white paper describes how operations engineers can test, monitor, capacity plan, and troubleshoot Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services OLAP solutions in SQL Server 2005, SQL Server 2008, and SQL Server 2008 R2.
2011-06-16
3,291 reads
SQL Server Management Studio keyboard shortcuts - Part 1
As responsibilities are growing every day, a DBA or developer needs to improve his/her productivity. One way to do this is to use as many shortcuts as possible instead of using your mouse and the menus. In this tip we take a look at common tasks you may perform when using SSMS and the associated shortcut keys.
2011-06-15
6,025 reads
2011-06-14 (first published: 2009-04-08)
7,724 reads
The 5 First SQL Errors to Check For
Is your SQL query crashing? Nine times out of ten it will be for one of these 5 reasons!
2011-06-14
13,312 reads
Blogs
Advice I Like: Pyramid Schemes
By Steve Jones
If someone is trying to convince you it’s not a pyramid scheme, it’s a...
Using Prompt AI for a Travel Data Analysis
By Steve Jones
I was looking back at my year and decided to see if SQL Prompt...
FinOps for Kubernetes: Leveraging OpenCost, KubeGreen, and Kubecost for Cost Efficiency
In the era of cloud-native applications, Kubernetes has become the default standard platform for...
Forums
Database file shrink issue.
Hi experts, I have a 3+ TB database on a 2019 sql server which...
The North Star for the Year
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The North Star for the...
Multiple Escape Characters
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Multiple Escape Characters
Question of the Day
Multiple Escape Characters
In SQL Server 2025, I run this code (in a database with the appropriate collation):
SELECT UNISTR('%*3041%*308A%*304C%*3068 and good night', '%*') AS 'A Classic';
What is returned? See possible answers