Microsoft Fabric and PySpark: Coding tricks to improve your solutions

PySpark has some unconventional syntaxes which provide power to the development process, making it easier.

SQL Index Rebuild vs Reorganize Comparison

This tip covers the differences and similarities between SQL Server index rebuild and index reorganize operations.

Bad Data and Dirty Databases

Many years ago, my wife and I wrote an article for Datamation, a major trade publication at the time, under the title, “Don’t Warehouse Dirty Data!” It’s been referenced quite a few times over the decades but is nowhere to be found using Google these days. The point is, if you have written a report using data, you have no doubt felt the pain of dirty data and it is nothing new.

The PASS Data Community Summit Session Schedule is LIVE!

Join over 170 global data experts offering more than 150 sessions designed for all skill levels. Explore the schedule to plan your days on-site, secure your ticket, and book your travel before prices increase.

Raising the Cost Threshold for Parallelism (CTFP) Affects SQL Server Missing Indexes

This article explores how raising the Cost Threshold for Parallelism (CTFP) affects missing index recommendations in SQL Server along with examples.

EsProc SPL and SQL, Complimentary , But Different Technologies

Have you ever surfed the internet and felt overwhelmed by personalized advertisements that appear to know your every desire? Have you ever been amazed at how accurate some weather forecasts can be? These actions are based on data processing. EsProc SPL and SQL (note, SPL stands for Structured Processing Language and SQL stands for Structured Query Language). SQL is a major language widely encountered and used for data manipulation within relational databases. While EsProc SPL is another effective tool for data processing, especially suited for complex computations and in-memory operations, it is less commonly encountered.

Setup Excel as Front End Application for SQL Server

In this article, we walk through how to set up a simple Excel interface to work with SQL Server data to insert, update, delete, and select data.

Auditing SQL Server – Part 4 – Database Configuration Audit

This continues my series on auditing SQL Server. The fist parts covered discovery and documentation, server level hardware audits and SQL Server engine level audits. This section examines database configuration audits.

Microsoft return to PASS Summit 2024 as Sapphire sponsor

Get ready to meet Microsoft's experts on-site in the exhibit hall and in multiple educational sessions (including a pre-con, keynote and learning pathway). Watch a sneak peek of Microsoft's learning pathway 'Becoming an Azure SQL DBA – Advancing the Role of the On-Premises SQL Server DBA'

SQL Server 2022 Revealed: A Hybrid Data Platform Powered by Security, Performance, and Availability

Know how to use the new capabilities and cloud integrations in SQL Server 2022. This book covers the many innovative integrations with the Azure Cloud that make SQL Server 2022 the most cloud-connected edition ever. The book covers cutting-edge features such as the blockchain-based Ledger for creating a tamper-evident record of changes to data over time that you can rely on to be correct and reliable.

• Printed book:
  • US
• Kindle book:
  • US