MDX Performance - burdens of IIF
I used to think naively that IIF is an innocent little function that can only do good and help me...
2011-02-16
3,109 reads
Articles
Working with SQL Server Profiler Trace Files
In a previous tip we looked at the steps to Create a Trace Template in Profiler. In this tip we will look at a few more tips such as creating a trace template from an existing trace file and saving a trace file to a SQL Server table.
2011-02-16
4,352 reads
Understanding Indexes
This article contains an introduction to SQL Server indexes and how they are used in your queries.
2011-02-15
23,335 reads
SQL Server: Natural Key Versus Surrogate Key
When designing a database to support applications you need to consider how you are going to handle primary keys. This article explores natural and surrogate keys, and discusses the pros and cons of each, allowing you to determine what makes the best sense in your environment when you are designing your databases.
2011-02-15
5,434 reads
Windows Instant File Initialization and SQL Server
One Windows setting that I think is extremely important for SQL Server usage is the “Perform volume maintenance tasks” right,...
2011-02-15
1,312 reads
An In-Depth Examination of Red Gate SQL Monitor
A review of SQL Monitor, the new DBA utility from Red Gate Software that can help you keep an eye on what your SQL Server instances are doing.
2011-02-14
3,799 reads
Avoid External Dependencies in SQL Server Triggers
I sometimes want to perform auditing or other actions in a trigger based on some criteria. More specifically, there are a few cases that may warrant an e-mail; for example, if a web sale takes place that requires custom or overnight shipping and handling. It is tempting to just add code to the trigger that sends an e-mail when these criteria are met. But this can be problematic for two reasons: (1) your users are waiting for that processing to occur, and (2) if you can't send the e-mail, how do you decide whether or not to roll back the transaction, and how do you bring the problem to the attention of the administrator?
2011-02-14
2,819 reads
SQL Saturday #47 - Phoenix
Come learn about SQL Server in Phoenix on Feb 19, 2011. For free! Spread the word to anyone you know in the area.
2011-02-14 (first published: 2011-02-09)
1,726 reads
Preventing usage of "SELECT *..."
Is there a way to not allow users to use SELECT * in their queries? New author AJ Raghuram has an interesting solution that can prevent this in code.
2011-02-11 (first published: 2009-11-05)
44,408 reads
SQL Server Data Mining with Microsoft Office Excel
This article demonstrates using SQL Server's data mining capabilities with the Excel.
2011-02-11
5,472 reads
Blogs
AI: Blog a Day – Day 6: Embeddings – How AI Understands
By Vinay Thakur
Continuing from Day 5 where we covered notebooks, HuggingFace and fine tuning AI now...
The Book of Redgate: Mistakes
By Steve Jones
This is kind of a funny page to look at. The next page has...
ADF Pipeline Debugging Fails with BadRequest – The Sequel
A while ago I blogged about a use case where a pipeline fails during...
Forums
Dynamic Unpivot
I have a table I didn't design that has tons of repeating groups in...
Writing as an Art and a Job
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Writing as an Art and...
String Similarity II
Comments posted to this topic are about the item String Similarity II
Question of the Day
String Similarity II
What is the range for the result from the EDIT_DISTANCE_SIMILARITY() function in SQL Server 2025?
See possible answers